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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We will be at WDW for DD 15th Birthday. She wants to go parasailing, but other than that i need ideas to make the day EXTRA special for her. This trip is what she wanted for her birthday (otherwise we would go during a cooler, less crowded time), so I want to make it extra special.
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I'm sure I sound like a broken record, but if she's into the princess thing, do the BBB @ the castle. It books EARLY, so call now! Lots of princesses much older than 15 get all done up & once you are out in MK afterwards, you get lots of attention! Also, get the bday pin @your resort or guest services in the park, and mention the bday when booking ADR's and again when you check in! We were there this Feb for DD's 14th and she was just the Queen of Sheba with all the attention she was getting! We were able to do the boutique thing the day of the Pirate/Princess Party, so she was all ready for that nite with her tiara(brought our own from a Claire's shop), and an old bridesmaid dress of mine!
We just returned from a birthday trip. Our dd turned 12 in WDW.
We did a few special things, most notably we did one surprise every hour on the hour all day long. She LOVED it and all day she kept asking what time it was.
Some were simple things - gestures of love really - like notes and cards from friends and family. I even did a few "video" messages from her 2 best friends and our Sunday School class from home.
We also wore all matching red Incredibles t-shirts (there were 6 in our party total) and then on her shirt we wrote on the back with fabric paint "One INCREDIBLE birthday". We also decorated her mouse ears with birthday buttons and streamers (like a ribbon you'd put on a fancy present).
Some of the "big" surprises we did included: breakfast at the castle (including the slipper dessert), horseback riding at Ft. Wilderness (the ultimate b-day present for her) and dinner at Coral Reef with a birthday basket/gift arranged thru Disney Floral including a real tiara, princess towel and personalized birthday autograph book signed by lots of characters. Also at the dinner at Coral Reef, we arranged for the diver with a birthday sign with her name on it and the personalized menu.
If you need more detail on any of these fun things and how to do them, private message me.
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Past Trips: 21 to WDW & 1 to Disneyland Upcoming Trips: October 2009 - Halloween at Kidani Village; June 2010 - Celebrating 2 graduations at Kidani Village.
Check out some of the tours that are available throughout the world. My daughter, also 15 really wants to do the tour at Epcot with the dolphins and the one at the AK that takes you backstage to see the animals. I agree about the BBB. DD15, loved it and had a wonderful time there (but do it AFTER parasailing!) And make sure you end the day watching fireworks. Have a great time planning and Happy Birthday to your princess!