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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Is taking a WDW trip starting to sound a little too lavish? We'll have ours paid off by Oct 15 (minus incidentals) but I'm starting to look at the total and listening to what some are predicting for the nation (particularly comments about some certain matter hitting the fan, and that we're watching it in slow motion)...and I can't help but acknowledge that this is serious money! We have plans that would be too hard to cancel (brother with booked airfare flying down for DiveQuest after I asked him to....downgrading is no longer even available)...but sheez. I'm getting a little concerned here.
Maybe I'm just reading too many doomsday reports? Gosh, I hope so!
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Last edited by simbarel; 09-27-2008 at 10:12 PM..
Reason: hyperbole, gerunds, and correcting sentence structuring
I think you need to look at what money you have set aside, and if you have enough in your emergency fund if something were to happen Then decide on the trip.
I'm debating postponing our cruise next year.....we've got the money in the bank, and plenty in our emergency fund, but with me not working, and now out $1800 on my car issue, I'm debating whether or not that it makes sense to spend that kind of money on a vacation. Thankfully I've got months and months to go before I have to make that decision!!
I think that if you've already saved the money and planned for it then taking a trip isn't going to hurt anything. On the other hand if no plans are in the works, I can't personally see spending the money on a vacation right now.
I am probably going to cancel the cruise next year- I am super worried about student loans and Nick has at least one extra semester before he graduates since he changed schools and majors- and I am a bit worried about the stability of my job- I am the best in my dept ( not bragging but I know my metrix and the team averages) so I wouldnt be the first to go but as employers lay off, it al trickles down.
That said, if you have the $$$ and some emergency cash, you should go- you dont stirke me as a frivolous spender and you havent taken a trip for awhile-- memories with Jimmy are important too and who knows, it might get a lot worse before it gets better--
kind of a long answer
We felt a bit foolish going on our trip this year as the company that DH works for had closed two plants this summer and DH's is next if things don't improve. However, we booked it before things got bad and paid it off right away. We didn't consider cancelling but only told a few select friends and family where we were going on vacation. Some of DH's and my family don't save their money and get a bit jelouse of what we do and have. His boss and co-workers knew he was on vacation but he didn't want to tell them when some were getting laid off and things are so uncertain. We were thankful that we could go though as we needed the time away and we truely love it there. I am sure though that it will be a long time before we plan another trip of any kind. Gotta save our pennies now.
I think that family vacations are important. However, I know that as I make plans for upcoming vacations (Disney as well as any other place) that there are things that I can cut back on. For me, when I go in December with my 6 year old niece, we will be eating at only counter service restaurants and the food court area. This can save tons of money. It is also easy to cut back on souveniers. I usually just buy one Christmas Tree ornament (with the year that I visited on it) and that is it. So, a vacation can still be enjoyed while not going overboard. Everyone knows how much they have to spend.
i think you should go...enjoy yourself...can't live for the what if's too much,,,this is just my opinion only. yes, i think there is too much doomsday stuff out there and we can all get sucked into it very easily. i agree that once you are there you can save tons of money by only doing counter service and cut way way back on the "tangible memories" (souvenier's in my language!). i hope you can still go and enjoy yourself without worrying....
I know where you`re coming from! However you`ve saved the money, would lose money and complicate plans with the family if you cancel- so I would put thoughts of the economy to the back of your mind and just go and make those memories.
I talked to dh abouth cancelling our trip (we leave on oct 7) and he said the same thing that other people have said. We have saved the money already and just because we have the money doesn't mean that we have to spend it. Since it will just be dh and I know it will be a little easier to cut back since dd isn't going. I think you should go and create the great memories with you son if you have already saved and maybe just not do as much as what you might do.
DH and I asked ourselves this very same question this week. This is what we came up with:
* Both of us are truly blessed with jobs at very stable companies.
* Our vacation is paid for - airline tickets are non-refundable, resort is paid for, money has been set aside for dining and shopping (we'll be doing some Christmas shoping while there).
*We are holding off on buying a larger place/starting a family (we're currently in my 900 sq ft condo with a dog and cat. It's a bit cramped and no room for a baby). The reasons are two-fold: while the condo is small, it is cozy (we're newlyweds). Should something happen job wise, the mortgage pmt can be handled on a single salary. And we're putting additional funds aside to make sure we have an adequate down payment plus getting DH's student loan paid down/off.
Bottom line: I think it just comes down to common sense. If you've made your plans and your trip is essentially paid for, go and enjoy. Set a spending limit for your vacation and stick to it. Dont turn on the TV and revel in the bliss!
This will be our last vacation for a while...next trip is planned for 2010 for my Dad's 65th birthday. So we have a year+ to save for that, and put $$$ aside for the house. And DH has made me promise to stop obsessing on the economy - between the news and online articles, I was driving us both crazy, not to mention stressing myself out. I think we're all going to have to do what we do best as Americans: come together, tighten our collective belts, and settle in to weather this out. I know for certain that I would rather take care of this now, then leave it to my future children and grandchildren to have to deal with. They'll be burdened enough as it is.
And hey, on a happy, positive note...maybe when we go back to WDW in 2010 we'll be on our "babymoon"! Pixies for that!
Thanks, everyone. We're on the regular Dining Plan, which is truly the most economical for us since DH is a foodie and gets most of his WDW enjoyment from the food so he'd be incredibly let down if we dropped it for CS only. If it was just me, I'd drop it. There's a part of me that wishes I hadn't upgraded to the AKL...I have a code discount, but it's still a difference. I hope we have a magical time. DH knows that we're not having a trip next year (he's the one who lobbied for this trip, he works hard and needed a getaway) and that the next time we go we hope to stay at FW in an RV rental...we weren't planning on going back until Jimmy was a bit older, like 3-5. I just feel like I have a big heavy rock on my chest, I desperately want to release it. I was ok until people started freaking out about last week. Our e-fund isn't as big as Dave Ramsay suggests, but it exists and can get bigger within a few weeks (I know, I know...please no comments.) I feel like we have a lot of other things in our favor (car/location/winter heat situation/small mortgage/short commutes/stockpiled cupboards/warm clothes for DS/cloth diapers/secure industry-for me, at least/etc.) I just keep having Mad Max visions. I appreciate the thoughts and comments given so far.
for your babymoon, Loubell. I don't know if you mean vacation while pg or with a baby...but I went while pg and it was But that was under weird circumstances.
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Rachel, you are financially resposible- you have insurance, you're not behind on bills, I read how careful you guys are- I worry too but I think you should go...
I try to find a balance between being smart and sensible and also enjoying life for what it is today. It's tough, but I think if you've got it paid off and things look good for your savings/emergency fund, then go ahead and take the trip. It's hard to not listen to the doomsday reports but I try and take it one day at a time.
Thanks for the pixies, Simbarel -I just hope that by Feb of 2010 we're trying for a munchkin...that's the goal! I know I've told you before, but I just love that picture of your DS! What a cutie-pie he is!
I think you're smart to keep the DP as is...go and enjoy! And hey, maybe there's a silver lining to all this financial distress: the realization that what is truly important in life is not a huge house, fancy cars, and state of the art electronics.
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Gosh, I hope so!
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Thank
Pixie Dust
Then decide on the trip.
We're on the regular Dining Plan, which is truly the most economical for us since DH is a foodie and gets most of his WDW enjoyment from the food so he'd be incredibly let down if we dropped it for CS only. If it was just me, I'd drop it. There's a part of me that wishes I hadn't upgraded to the AKL...I have a code discount, but it's still a difference. I hope we have a magical time. DH knows that we're not having a trip next year (he's the one who lobbied for this trip, he works hard and needed a getaway) and that the next time we go we hope to stay at FW in an RV rental...we weren't planning on going back until Jimmy was a bit older, like 3-5. I just feel like I have a big heavy rock on my chest, I desperately want to release it. I was ok until people started freaking out about last week. Our e-fund isn't as big as Dave Ramsay suggests, but it exists and can get bigger within a few weeks (I know, I know...please no comments.) I feel like we have a lot of other things in our favor (car/location/winter heat situation/small mortgage/short commutes/stockpiled cupboards/warm clothes for DS/cloth diapers/secure industry-for me, at least/etc.) I just keep having Mad Max visions. I appreciate the thoughts and comments given so far. 
But that was under weird circumstances. 
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