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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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No I have never given gifts to my dd's middle school teachers. When they only have one or two teachers in elementary school (or some years 3 for my dd) we did gifts but that stopped when dd hit 6th grade which starts middle school.
When my kids were in middle school, I would buy the team of teachers a nice book about a topic they studied. This worked well because they team taught subjects together. I am also a crazed cookie maker, so I would either send in a large plate for all, or separate small plates.
In elementary school, I would by a classroom book and include a gift certificate to a local, independent bookstore.
My DD gave out gifts to her friends and teachers and still does this today and she is a Senior. My DS has no interest in doing this and he is in middle school....So I think it depends on what your child wants to do.
As far as budget, we tend to make homemade gifts. This year we are taking fortune cookies and dipping the tips in chocolate and touching them with candy sprinkles. Wrapping them up in little take out box's. Teachers and friends will be given the same gift.
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One year we gave them books. But generally do some sort of Christmas-y dish or mug with candy in it. Those are hard for the kids to carry around and give out. This year, I think we're doing $5 gift cards from somewhere (haven't decided where yet). Six teachers....$30.
My HS age son, says no gifts for his teachers this year. Last year he gave them boxes of those chocolate/mint straw things.
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This year I got each of the boys' teacher cute notepads with their names on it and a $25.00 gift card to Target.
We also typically give their bus driver a card with a little something in it.
Once my kids hit middle school, no more teacher gifts. Between the 5 teachers plus specials - art, music, computer tech, cooking/sewing, etc., it is too many to buy for. I have two in high school this year and would go broke if I bought for all of their teachers.
And I should've mentioned the embarrassment factor. My DS did not want to hand out things to his teachers once he hit high school. He felt that only a few of the kids do that, and it is usually girls.
Thanks a lot Margaret, I forgot about the bus driver. This is the 1st year she has been in middle school and the 1st year for taking the bus. I guess $5 gift cards to Panera would not be too much.
My kids have too many teachers - Lauren (grade 5) has 7 and Kathryn (grade 10) has 9 - so no.
If I get anything for them at any time, I'll buy a large bouquet of flowers and have the girls give each teacher one or two. It's a nice way to touch their day RIGHT then, plus they don't have to keep something for years and years.
Roo's preschool teachers get gifts, but the entire school takes a collection and divides the money equally. The teachers get gift cards to their favorite stores, and the classrooms get items from their wish lists fulfilled. Our donation this year is $40. per child. It seems high, but he is in special ed preschool, so there is a teacher, two aides, speech therapist, OT, PT, and the two office staff that all get rewarded. So forty bucks for the whole staff isn't too bad. I give them lots of homemade cookies, fudge and chocolate dipped pretzels, too. Roo likes to make them book marks every seasons, so that is his special gift.
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My kids have up to 4-5 teachers once they get to middle school. If its someone they reallylike, I get a $15 B&N giftcard with a small box of Godiva Chocolates.
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This is the 1st year she has been in middle school and the 1st year for taking the bus. I guess $5 gift cards to Panera would not be too much.
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