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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hey guys, I was just wondering what and how you guys bring to WDW for the kiddies to snack on to save cash? Here is my, nerdy way as my husband says, to do it.
I get one quart size zipper bag for each person for each day. Since I have 6 kids, I do 6 different zippers per day. I write the names on them. NO fighting over bags!
In each one I put:
Gum- this year it is Double Bubble
Mints ( the lifesaver ones that come in the HUGE bag)
1 breakfast bar or Rice Krispie Treat
small pack of goldfish
1 pack of gummies
3 Slim Jims
Skittles or Starburst
A special snack (pic shows Stars Wars Mints)
YoGos
Other small candy or treats
Then, this is when it really gets nerdy, I put all of day 1 in one BIG gallon bag and write "DAY 1" or "Day 2" you get the idea. Each morning, they get a "snack bag" out of my suitcase and hand them out. If they have leftovers from the day before, they share or put them in thier new bag.
Here is the bag I make for each kid for each day.......
This is the loot I put into each bag, give or take a few different kinds of stuff.....
Then the goodies are loaded into each kids bag.....
And then into a Gallon bag with the day written on it......
Oh my! That's alot of work. I'm impressed. I don't bother bringing anything I figure that expensive junk food is part of the vacation/Disney fun. However since it's just me I have to feed, water, and keep in souvineres it's not that bad. Although I can see how bringing your own snacks would become an economic necessity with 6 kids and a dh in tow.
From one nerd to another... good job! I have six kids as well and that is how we have always travelled. I actually also would put the kids outfits for the day into gallon zipper bags all labeled properly. I think Moms with lots of kids share this nerdy organizational gene. It is funny because my older five kids are all close in age and all now teens, so I do none of that for them now. Our next trip to WDW is with JUST our six year old and I have a hard time not overpacking, etc. We are on the Deluxe Dining Plan this trip and I know we will have too many snack credits. I swear I am bringing nothing but water bottles this time! (hubby is laughing saying "yeah right")
Several years ago we took the whole group to Jamaica and I ziplocked everything... Customs was quite an adventure!
My plan to date was to take it all with me and pack it each morning (or the evening before), however, I like the idea of having them prepacked, so I have one less thing to do each day. My thoughts so far for my girls include nuts and granola bars, but only because if they have the sugary treats, they will be bouncing even more off the walls, than they will be with just going to WDW.
Great idea, I really like that, it would save a lot of time in the morning when you are trying to get out the door. I think I will do it for our December trip.
That's too cool! Does it take up a lot of room in your luggage? I guess that you'd be allowed a bunch of luggage with so many of you! How do you pack all those bags through the airport?
In my family we use rolling duffles from LL Bean, they are huge and durable. With the new weight limits on luggage we would have to have more duffels in the smaller size I think! I have always had a rule that kids can "carry on" whatever they can carry and will fit under the seat. (Overhead bins are bad with a preschooler that continuously wants to access the bag) Usually when we fly, we take up a few rows so sharing is easy. On road trips everyone gets a duffle bag and a backpack. Clothes go in the duffles and they all go in a roof top carrier until we arrive. Whatever they want for the drive is in their backpack and they must deal with it.
I found that if I packed each kid a complete outfit in the gallon bags including socks and undies, one for each day, then rolled out the extra air, things fit into the duffle bags way easier than just folding. I put all the toothbrushes, etc together, all swim suits together and all the PJs together, etc.
We have always traveled a lot. There was a time when I had a 5 r old, 3 yr old, 10 month old and newborn twins... we got really good at packing and organizing real fast!! LOL You can probably imagine how simple I think it is to travel now with my one six year old!!
I have 5 kids , so I know how you have to keep organized also! Our our trip, I wasn't quite as organized as you (I only took 3 of the kids). I took a box full of breakfast and snack items. Of coarse, the breakfast was ate in the room. Each kid had their own fanny pack and were told to pick a few snacks out of the box each morning before heading to the parks and put them in their fanny packs. To my surprise, they often didn't get eaten. I can relate to the need to seperate things individually though-- I often do this at home also because I will buy something (Ex. brownie debbie cakes) and then when there gone in like 5 minutes - one kid is usually hollering-"I didn't get any!". So I often seperate things in baggies and such , just to keep things "fair"!
With only 3 kids (the youngest was still nursing) we purchased bulk packs of lollies then portioned them into ziplock bags for each day. The two older kids, DH & me all shared - most days we had leftovers and we just threw in another bag each day. I found I had way too many snack items leftover from the plane flight (purchased from hometown) plus the extras packed for each day that we didn't buy any more snacks for the flight home! More budget tips please...
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