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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Background:
The girls go to a private school, 3yr. old to grade 12. The 3yr. old to grade 3 building is about a mile and half away from the other 2 buildings, which share a campus. The campus is where my kids are - one in each building. When I can't pick them up on time, Kathryn (grade 10) can rattle about the HS and just "hang" with no problem. Lauren (grade 5) must go to after school care (at $5/hour) until I get her - Kathryn can't pick her up and just take her to the school library.
The situation:
Yesterday I go to pick up Lauren, and there are 2 little boys running through the halls. N. and H. are the brothers of one of Lauren's classmates. They are in grade 1 and 4-yr. old programs. They attend the OTHER building. They are running about the grade 4 to grade 7 building with no supervision, making quite a ruckus. There was a HS volleyball game going on, plus a middle school soccer game outside (the MS houses the only gym for the school - and the soccer and lacrosse fields are right there - but people are coming in to watch the OTHER school play also). The mother of H. and N. is in a meeting, in a room, with no idea what her baby boys are doing. This is not the first, second, or hundreth time this has happened.
My problem:
I HAVE to pay for Lauren to sit in a room and do her homework. Yesterday, she couldn't even to that, because N. and H. were making so much noise the person who was watching Lauren's group told them to never mind trying to study. (the care-givers told me that!). These boys SHOULD have been in child-care, but weren't, since their mother picked them up from the other building to come to her meeting. N. and H.'s parents are huge contributors to the school, very active in every aspect, and on the board. They seem to feel that they aren't held under the same rules the rest of us are. I do actually like the mother - she is a very sweet, but highly naive person.
So - do I say something? TO her or to the school administration?
I would absolutely say something to the administration! You are paying for your child to be there and she should not be disrupted in this way. That parent is inconsiderate.
So she must think that someone else is responsible for her children's safety because she and her family are so important? Sounds like a political situation... I am not all that good at that kind of thing...
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
I also would say something to the administration. Rules should be followed by everyone. If the mother had a meeting, then she should not have picked up the kids until it was over. Because she didn't follow rules, other children suffered.
I would say something to the administration, not the mother. She may take offense if you speak to her, personally. If you are paying for your child to be in a quiet environment to study and do homework, someone else's kids should not be running around like wild animals. Who knows what could happen to these little boys, if there is no one watching them! I'm suprised that none of the staff have thought to mention this.
Speak to the administrator but maybe couch it in terms of child safety/school liability. Since there are so many at the school, the children are unsafe. What if one is injured?
If they are big contributers, then I bet speaking to the administration would not net you any action. I'd speak to the mother directly. Not in an ugly way, but a did you realize that your kids were acting this way and there IS care available. I might mention that you were worried about the kid's safety (even if you weren't) with all the strangers at the building watching the sports events.
If they are big contributers, then I bet speaking to the administration would not net you any action. I'd speak to the mother directly. Not in an ugly way, but a did you realize that your kids were acting this way and there IS care available. I might mention that you were worried about the kid's safety (even if you weren't) with all the strangers at the building watching the sports events.
This sounds like a great idea. I'm sure the administration won't really care. They may just blow it off. If you talk to the mother and mention their safety, that may change the situation.
Administration will probably play the political line and do nothing. Money talks remember? I would approach Mrs Naive and take the safety/security tact - 'Anyone could have taken them....' Oh dear! Then as a side note I would complain to her about the high cost of after school supervision vs what your child actually does there. Best wishes for a smooth result.
PS I only wish my kids' school had an after school homework session. My eldest is turning 12yrs in November and will no longer be able to go to after school care with his sister. My youngest is in long day care the two days we use ASC. So that leaves me with a 12yr old in a private school too far from home to use public transport and too old for A/S program but not allowed to hang around library, school, church or care buildings - where do I leave him until DH finishes work? Woe is me - thanks for reading, sorry to hijack your post.
That is a sticky situation either way. I always look at it from a safety perspective as young children need someone to watch over them and be accountable for them. It isn't really their fault as they just doing what children do if nobody is watching them. If I had seen them running, I probably would have said something to the kids and would have marched them back to their mother-meeting or not. She ultimately IS responsible for them.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Parlor Panther in 'stalking mode'
This sounds like a great idea. I'm sure the administration won't really care. They may just blow it off. If you talk to the mother and mention their safety, that may change the situation. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
