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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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DDs and I are getting ready for our last big trip. From the way things are going this year, I think I'm not going to be doing shows for my business anymore, so this is a last hurrah. We have a show in NJ followed by one the following weekend in TN. On the way home from WDW, 12yo asked if we could do a quick drive through of the New England states (ME, NH, CT, MA, RI, VT) between shows so they can add those to their maps. I've got a trip worked out (New England in 2 days!), but we really need to eat on the cheap this time. I started out the year well hauling a microwave, electric kettle, soups, etc, but that was TOO much work, so we resorted to fast food and dinners out. Bad for my bottom line. I'd like to keep this trip cheap food-wise, so need some suggestions that do NOT involve my taking the microwave. I'm not pulling my trailer, either, but will have a rooftop carrier and cargo tray on the back, so coolers are most certainly an option. We'll be on the road for 12 days with 8 hotels. I will take the electric kettle and a chest cooler...should I get a hotplate for soups/mac & cheese?
I'm not an expert, but I can think of what DH and I would bring for ourselves.....
Peanut butter and bagels
Lots of fizzy water (fizzy cans would need to be in a cooler, but bottles are ok room temp---not to mention a better bargain)
Granola bars
Prepared Mac and Cheese
Cold cuts.
Squeeze bottle of Gulden's, maybe mayo.
For bread...we might just stick with the bagels b/c DH hates it when loaves of bread get smushed, and anytime I'm near a loaf fo bread I smush it so I imagine it would be even worse (for me) in a long-term car situation.
Single-serve cans of soup (sometimes you can get decent coupons on these.) We don't mind eating lentil/pasta soups unheated.
Tuna fish (in this case, we'd definitely bring the mayo.)
Hot dogs (or in our case, veggie dogs)
Prepared chicken....we'd probably get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and keep it in the cooler.
Carrots
Celery
Broccoli
Hummus
Apples
Plums
Peaches
etc....
Get the hot-plate. Take along a pot. In the evening, you can have soups, spaghetti (sauce doesn't need heated if the spaghetti's hot), stir-fry etc. In the AMs, there's always eggs, sausage, oatmeal. Or get instant oatmeal and use the kettle for the water.
ON the road:
Lunch meats, cheeses, veggies, fruits. Nothing else needed. Frozen bottles of water will work well as "ice" for a while. then, you have water to drink. I take those Kool-aid packs you can add to water, just for fun. You could also freeze juice in water bottles.
I'm getting SO excited about this trip...thanks for the tips! I'll be heading to BB&B this week for the hotplate and start stocking up. I'm going to make the mission to have the most fun on the least amount of food $$$. We'll be hitting Mystic Aquarium, probably stopping in the Stonewall store in York, driving across to touch in Vermont (hopefully see some foliage), and finish at Sturbridge Village (on their homeschool day, even! )
If you get to Rhode Island and decide to hit one of the mansions in Newport, I find the Astor's Beechwood to be one of the best themed with kids in mind. They have actors pretending to be back in that time period take you around the 'cottage'.
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I'm not sure where you are planning to stay, but one of the easiest ways to get a good, cheap breakfast is to make sure you stay at a hotel that offers free breakfast.......They're pretty easy to find these days. Then you have one less meal to worry about!
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My kids never dealt well with repeated meals out so on vacation. We always has a rental car and I would pack a collapsible cooler. I would always stop at supermarkets and pick up turkey and bread (bakery bread) to make sandwiches and perhaps some premade tuna or egg salad. I also get lots of fruit-apples, oranges and premade fruit cups. I'd also pick up some good cheese and crackers, sometimes a hard sausage. My kids love hummus with pita chips and salsa and corn chips for snacks. I'd never travel without peanut butter for crackers, bread or bagels. My kids also liked to snack on dry cereal, dried fruits and nuts. Sam's Club/Walmart has some great snack mixes for around $5. for a large bag.
For dinner we would frequently get a roast chicken, potato salad and some vegetable salads. We also would go to the salad bar. So many stores have good premade foods.
Also when we stayed in REsidence Inns and Homewood Suites, we would bring breakfast to the room and keep a couple of extra yogurts, bagels and fruits for later.
Have fun. And enjoy New England. The weather has been lovely and depending on the timing, you may get to see our great folliage.
My dd's dad just bought us a cooler on wheels to keep in hotel rooms for when we are away at hockey tournaments (if I eat out less it's cheaper so I ask him for less money). DD & I eat turkey and cheese wraps, yogurt, fruit - although that is harder now as dd can't eat apples without them being peeled and cut up due to braces. I also bring chips and salsa and pop tarts for breakfast.
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I will take the electric kettle and a chest cooler...should I get a hotplate for soups/mac & cheese?
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). DD & I eat turkey and cheese wraps, yogurt, fruit - although that is harder now as dd can't eat apples without them being peeled and cut up due to braces. I also bring chips and salsa and pop tarts for breakfast.
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