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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
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My DH almost got me a WDW trip.....
Last night, I mentioned to the family that after dinner, I'd like to show them the pictures of the Castle all lit up like ice, how pretty it was, etc. I told them that I had shown it to my friend Teresa (at work....trip buddy twice) and how she immediately said she wanted to go...now! I told her (and them) that was exactly the feeling I got when I saw the photos.
DH starts smiling and says to the kids....your Mom wants to go to Disney for Christmas. That maybe I should take DS14 since I'll be taking DD12 next Sept with her BFF. I turn around and look at him...shocked. Is he seriously saying I can plan a trip? DD12 picks up on this immediately and is ready to run upstairs and start planning a trip for Christmas instead of next Sept. Meanwhile, I'm busy saying that wasn't what I had in mind when I mentioned the picture, but yes, I'd like to go next year for the Christmas theming (Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks)...and it would be too hard to plan something this late for this year and save any money at all. Meanwhile, the back of my mind, I'm like, how could I pull this off....we don't have any plans at Christmas yet.......
It was like a free-for-all for awhile there. DH is still smiling and egging everyone on. DD12 and I had to go out for some craft materials for a school project and while I had her alone in the car, I explained that if we went at Christmas instead of Sept, that we wouldn't get free dining (we're kind of counting on it in order to make our trip work right) and we wouldn't be able to take her BFF to the nice restaurants...and we'd eat all counter service. That did it....she changed her mind. Sept sounded much better.
When we got home and she'd finished her project, DH mentioned that he was surprised that she didn't go up and get on the computer and start planning. She told him that she changed her mind and why.
So, anyway..... No Christmas trip this year. But I am hopeful that I can get this same reaction next fall and plan a trip of some sort during the WDW holiday season.
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We did the exact same thing - DBF and I were watching a video on Youtube of the "Ice-lights" being turned on, and we literally both started crunching numbers as how to make a quickie 4-day Dec. trip work.
It was only after an hour of agonizing, and then not being sure if we'd even be able to get DVC accommodations, realizing that I'd have to call off work "sick" for 2 days, and also forgoing any sort of Christmas for plane and park tix that we just scrapped the whole idea.
At least there's that youtube video to keep my company.
Sorry you won't be able to go right NOW! That stinks... but on the positive side, your DD is very smart! September sounds like it is much better for you both!
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PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
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I'm sure if I planned a Christmas trip, DH would be fine about it.....hence the silly scenario at our house last night. On a whim, a bit a go, I went to the reservation site and tried putting in dates for after Christmas. There is no room at any resort! So, even if I really did want to go now....looks like we'd have to stay offsite....and I'm not willing to do that during holiday season.
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My DH almost got me a WDW trip.....
I told them that I had shown it to my friend Teresa (at work....trip buddy twice) and how she immediately said she wanted to go...now! I told her (and them) that was exactly the feeling I got when I saw the photos. 
Is he seriously saying I can plan a trip? DD12 picks up on this immediately and is ready to run upstairs and start planning a trip for Christmas instead of next Sept. Meanwhile, I'm busy saying that wasn't what I had in mind when I mentioned the picture, but yes, I'd like to go next year for the Christmas theming (Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks)...and it would be too hard to plan something this late for this year and save any money at all. Meanwhile, the back of my mind, I'm like, how could I pull this off....we don't have any plans at Christmas yet.......
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Which is why I don't go there with him! 
On a whim, a bit a go, I went to the reservation site and tried putting in dates for after Christmas. There is no room at any resort! 
So, even if I really did want to go now....looks like we'd have to stay offsite....and I'm not willing to do that during holiday season.
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