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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I have been planning our trip for a little over two weeks now, this will be our family's first trip. Before I had started really considering a vacation here I always thought of DW as a "magical" trip destination. I was very excited at the beggining of the planning phase now I just don't seem to have much interest in anything Disney, maybe I got a too large dose of Disney or this is turning out to be much more work than I thought, not to mention I am a nursing student and that in itself is stressful. Am I just experiencing a burnout and should I lay off the DW planning for a while, our trip isn't until Jan and I love to plan but I'm not overplanning either, I've laid out a basic layout of what parks we are going to visit on which days, our must do's and our dining reservations but other than that I guess I'm just trying not to get too excited for the trip, I guess I'm afraid it may not be as I imagine it in my head. Have any of you ever experienced this or do you have any tips, am I just going nuts?!!! (how can I not be interested in anything Disney anymore?!!!)
First of all congratulations on your 1st WDW trip, and 2nd to the boards.
You sound pretty stressed right now. I'd say make your ADRs as soon as you can (180 days from the 1st day of your trip), and then maybe take a break for a little while. This is supposed to be a vacation, and a lot of fun too! If it's not right now, then take a break and when you're ready, maybe ease into it by watching the planning dvd or another Disney movie. Try to get into the Disney spirit w/o actually doing your planning. Does that make sense??
If you have more questions or concerns as you ease back into planning, please feel free to frequent these boards and ask away. WDW can be overwhelming on your 1st trip, but it doesn't have to be. We'll help you!!
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
Hi and welcome to PassPorter. Planning your first trip can be really exciting and overwhelming. I would suggest that after you make your ADR's put it away for awhile. Then later (a little closer to January) finish up your plans. Your going to have a very magical time but relax and don't stress about it.
There's nothing that says you need to be kneedeep in Disney 24/7. It's pretty typical, particularly when 'real life' interjects (i.e. school) to have that initial burst of planning, then overload (I do the same thing).
As has been already suggested, just make your ADR's, then put it all away for a while, then you'll enjoy pulling it out when things kind of settle down.
I felt the same way. I was really stress before our 180 day mark on our vacation. After the 180 day mark, and making all of my reservations, I was able to relax. I would come to the boards and stuff to visit, to get any up to date information and to chat for a bit. But not focus on planning our trip. Well, for the past few weeks I'm back to planning our trip again. I'm going to start feeling burnt out after I make a ressie for horse carriage ride in the WL.
Another vote for put it away for awhile after you've made your adr's. I'm taking my first trip to DW in December. I'm going for 10 nights and I have 4 adr's planned and made, I'm going to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, and am seeing Cirque du Soleil. Other than that I have a plan of what parks on which day and that's it. I may not even stick to my plan for which parks on which day. I'm done with planning and tinkering with my trip. There's nothing that says you have to plan every minute of your trip or plan your trip every day until your trip starts. If you're not enjoying the planning put it away and come back to it in a few week and see how you feel about it then.
just relax and have fun with it you don't need to plan every moment of your trip. so put it away for awhile and come back to it when it gets closer to your trip.
I hope that you have a magical time at the world.
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Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
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I think everyone's given you some great advice already and I'd really just echo it. Once you get any ADR's made that you want for meals, then I'd have a break from planning, as it can become overwhelming. I'm sure it won't be long before you want to get back to it and feel enthused about your trip again.
Another vote for put it away for awhile after you've made your adr's. I'm taking my first trip to DW in December. I'm going for 10 nights and I have 4 adr's planned and made, I'm going to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, and am seeing Cirque du Soleil. Other than that I have a plan of what parks on which day and that's it. I may not even stick to my plan for which parks on which day. I'm done with planning and tinkering with my trip. There's nothing that says you have to plan every minute of your trip or plan your trip every day until your trip starts. If you're not enjoying the planning put it away and come back to it in a few week and see how you feel about it then.
Hey, when are you going? We're going on our second trip to WDW in December as well. We're going to be heading to the parks during the day, attending MVMCP, and will be seeing Cirque du Soleil.
I really stressed out with the DDP last year, trying to maximize the plan and get the most food for our money! It helped to just walk away from it for a while, and come back to it at a later time
I don't want to sound like a broken record but I agree too. Once you have done your ADR's put everything away- take it back out about a month before when you are getting close and the excitement has started to rebuild itself.
Actually, it sounds like you've done all you can at this point. Once the ADR's are made, and park dates figured out, there's not much to do except get excited about your upcoming trip! As long as you know what parks you're doing on what day, what time you're eating, and have a basic plan of attack to hit the "must-do's" that's pretty much it. Just remember that when you get there, it will likely not go exactly as planned in your head. On my last trip I was disappointed at first when my plans didn't go as expected (mostly due to my traveling companions), but then realized that it doesn't matter. Just go with the flow and you'll still have a magical trip no matter what happens. And always remember, especially with this being your first trip, there will always be a "next" time!!!!! Relax and take it easy for awhile. The magic will return, I promise!!!
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Tanya
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Hey, when are you going? We're going on our second trip to WDW in December as well. We're going to be heading to the parks during the day, attending MVMCP, and will be seeing Cirque du Soleil.
I'll be at WDW December 07-17. I'm going to MVMCP on the 11th and attending the 6pm Cirque show on the 12th. Oh and I'll be staying at AS Music.
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