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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Tonight we were scheduled to go to 'Ghouls at Grassmere' - or what I like to call Zoo Boo. Our zoo has trick-or-treating, a hayride, a Monster Mash dance floor, shows, games, etc. and tons of family stuff.
Unfortunately, Kelley was under a nose-blowing attack all day - not sure if she has a small cold or some type of allergies going on. She felt fine, but when it got time to go, she told us she didn't see how she could have any fun if she was blowing her nose every five minutes. Since she had a mountain of tissues in a pile beside her, I understood...
So, Cory and I went solo while Kelley stayed home and watched movies with dad.
We had a great time. For me, one of the highlights of going to events like this is to see all the cute and creative costumes the kids (and some adults) are wearing. We saw a five year old Indiana Jones that was to die for! And a little Ariel that looked like she could have been the real thing. And a really cool ghost. But of course, one of the hardest things to see is someone wearing a pair of Mickey ears that you know they got at WDW and you feel homesick and wish you were there.
I was one of the very few adults to wear a costume, and I got lots of comments and compliments (and a couple dirty looks from people who wished they had worn one!) I actually heard one little girl tell her parents as we passed, "See - that mom's wearing a costume!"
Anyone else do anything "Halloween-ish" this weekend?
We picked up our pumpkins! The girls each got large white ones. They're about 35 pounds each. Kathryn intends to make hers look like Jack Skellington. Lauren hasn't made up her mind. DH got one that we had to use a dolly to take it out of the patch, and it took both of us to lift into the truck. We can fit a small child in it with no problem.
Mine is a green heirloom one, and is only 12 pounds.
Friday night we took the older two to Fright Night and Six Flags. It was cold but no lines for the rides. Saturday night we went to St. Louis Zoo's Boo at the Zoo. We took all three of our kids and our nephews. Last night we went to Purina Farms for the hayride and other activities.
This is our favorite time of year, so we usually have lots of things planned. We usually end up going to three or four different pumpkin farms, not that we get a pumpkin at each one, we just go for the activities.
I picked up my costume for this weekend. I was going to go as Alice in Wonderland but I didn't like the costume. Now I am dressing as a magician and my DH will be the Rabbit I pull out of my hat.