As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Some of you know that I have started at University and that means no WDW for 3 years as I will be on a very basic wage - which will not go far!
My partner, Andy, has come up with the great idea of camping in a tent so that we can still go away on vacation for at least 2-3 weeks of the year whilst im studying.
To be honest im scared by this .... ive never been an outdoorsy type person im very scared of all bugs. I have tried to be enthusiastic with him as its a great idea.
Do any of you love camping .... if so convince me its going to be great!
__________________
Clare Loves Stitch
"sometimes the right path is not the easiest one"
Grandmother Willow - Pocahontas
Proud DVC owner at BWV from March 2011
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
There are many "levels" of camping. Tent camping is pretty tough if you are not used to it. The bugs are the least of it. There is sleeping on the ground, cooking outdoors, leaky tents and wet clothes if it rains, walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night, taking a shower in the "bath house". I don't mean to scare you off, but tent camping is a whole different "vacation". It also won't save you a heck of a lot of $ if you are not already set up with the gear for it (tent, camp stove, sleeping bags, flashlights, tarps, lanterns, cooking supplies, coolers, table, camp chairs,etc.) I'm not knocking it....I just wouldn't suggest it as a way to save on vacations if you are not a camping person.
Andy does overnight fishing alot so has stoves sleeping bags a lantern so just have to buy the tent and we have seen a few for the £120 mark.
We would be taking the car so can leave clothes etc in there so they dont get wet.
but yeah the shower blocks are pretty much the sticking point for me
__________________
Clare Loves Stitch
"sometimes the right path is not the easiest one"
Grandmother Willow - Pocahontas
Proud DVC owner at BWV from March 2011
We camp in campsites that offer electricity at each campsite, some times with running water and only if they have real bathrooms within walking distance to the tent. That way we can use our inflatable mattresses, brew coffee, and take a hot shower. It's much better than the camping we did as Girl Scouts and my kids thoroughly enjoy a camping trip now.
Be a discerning camper - plan, research the campsites, and help in the planning. Then it won't seem so out of control.
We're avid campers and it!! We tent camped numerous times, then bought a 5th wheel trailer that we love, but takes away the "roughing it" feeling.
Many variables come into camping: weather, location, and your mental state! If "roughing it" to you means staying at a road side motel, w/o cell phone coverage and eating at McD's, then you probably won't like camping.
What we love about camping:
Building campfires
Cooking all food over open flames (I'm one helluva camp cook!)
No noise! No phones, no computers, no barking dogs, no neighbors, no loud vehicles, no jackass father in law...
DH telling campfire stories to the kids and scaring the begeezes out of them!
Fishing
Nature walks- we just have to be mindful of bears, moose and mountain lions.
Gazing at the stars- amazing how bright they are when the city lights don't interfere!
I could go on and on. It's very peaceful for us.
I would try it once. Go for a short trip and keep an open mind. It's not for everyone, but you may be surprised at how much fun camping can be!
I hate camping. I've only camped in a motor home, and sorry but no thank you. My oldest DD went camping for 4 days with my brother and SIL in their pop-up camper and said she'd never do it again. I need a hotel.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Sorry but my DH's idea of camping is no room service. If tent camping is the only
way you can vacation then I say go for it. I would have to do it alone since DH
has issues.
Camping isn't really all that bad. Go to your bookstore (or library) and buy a guide that lists all the campgrounds in your area. Research the campgrounds, look them up online etc. Usually the guides will give the campground a rating. Go with the campgrounds with a higher rating unless they come highly recommended from a friend.
Definately choose a spot with running water and electricity even though they usually cost a bit more. If you find yourself needing to camp in the high heat of summer, at least with electricity you can bring a fan along to help keep you cool. Bathrooms in a nice campground are that bad. They are typically cleaned 1 to 2 times a day. Just don't forget to pack flip-flops for the showers.
Don't buy a small tent, buy something with a bit of room in it just so you can spread out your stuff. Buy a good inflatable air mattress. And, if you have a good inflatable air mattress, bring regular bedding (sheets, blankets) rather than a sleeping bag. I am miserable in a sleeping bag; not enough room to move around.
I enjoy tent camping, but only for a night or two at a time! Then I am ready for a good shower. I also agree with the poster above who said the start-up costs of camping can be quite high - you may be just as well off looking for very cheap hotels on Hotwire.
I can't help convince you to go tent camping because honestly, I hate it. I've done it a few times and it's just not for me. I hate the bugs, can't seem to get a decent sleep on an air mattress/ camping mat and in a sleeping bag, and strongly dislike that I tend to feel cold and damp at night. Sorry
I agree that you should try it once for a short trip (2-3 nights max) to see if it's for you. Personally, I'd rather save a little longer and then stay in a budget motel or something like that.
Many variables come into camping: weather, location, and your mental state! If "roughing it" to you means staying at a road side motel, w/o cell phone coverage and eating at McD's, then you probably won't like camping.
Ohhhhh my idea of roughing it is that !!!
__________________
Clare Loves Stitch
"sometimes the right path is not the easiest one"
Grandmother Willow - Pocahontas
Proud DVC owner at BWV from March 2011
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it!! We tent camped numerous times, then bought a 5th wheel trailer that we love, but takes away the "roughing it" feeling. 
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