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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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DD's school is having a 4th grade spelling bee on Friday. Each classroom has two representatives in the bee. DD's class took "their test" (whatever that means!) yesterday and she's one of the two from her class who will compete.
Could I have some pixies for her please? Not that she wins the thing, but that she handles the situation well. She hasn't missed a spelling word all year, so you can imagine what it will be like to make a mistake so publicly!
She's already worried that she will let her class down if she doesn't win -- apparently someone made the comment that they were sure to win with her in it. (The class that provided the winner gets a prize on the last day of school)
She keeps bouncing between three positions: the words will be easy and she'll look like a snob for getting them right; the words will be easy and she'll make a mistake that makes her look stupid or silly; or they'll pull out the big guns and she'll be clueless.
I've tried to explain to her that spelling aloud for a bee is a very different skill than spelling on paper. And that she's putting a lot of pressure on herself for something that really isn't going to matter when she's 30! But she's 10 so she only hears half of what I say
I see that I've gone on about this for a while. Sorry it's so long.
Updated with results in post 23.
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Carolyn
Last edited by Carousel96; 05-24-2010 at 12:11 PM..
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Tons of pixies for her! I was the representative for my 5th grade class and failed miserably. You're right - spelling out loud is different than spelling on paper. I got excited and nervous and the word DROWNED came out "d-o-w-n-e-d"
It's not the end of the world, and it doesn't affect who you are - but you always remember it!
There is a reason the really good spellers (National competitors) have quirks - it releases pent up nervous energy.
Have her practice with you, tonight. If you can, get an audience together.
And tell her to breathe! She has a whole bunch of Disney lovers rooting for her - and that much pixie dust should do something!
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Good luck to her!! That's a lot of pressure for the school to put on one poor kid - that they're responsible for whether or not their class wins a party! I qualified for the school spelling bee in middle school (8th grade maybe? Can't remember) and I was so nervous that I faked being sick that morning and stayed home. Surely your DD will handle it better than me. Hmm..guess it'd be kind of late to ask now since you said the bee is tomorrow, but any chance they could give her some sample words so she might have an idea of the level of difficulty? PS - definitely remind her that she can say stuff like "I would like the definition" or ask them to use it in a sentence. Anything to buy time if she needs to think for a minute. (Look at me with all the advice...you'd think I didn't skip out on my own...)
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
MY daughter rides competitively. Some times she is brillant, other times not. Some times she just plain messes up. Sometimes the horse is great, other times not (or really bad). Competition has always been about doing your best and accepting that sometimes it's just not your day. If your DD messes up, my message to her would be that's fine, stuff happens, you tried your best.
She rode on a varsity team at her university which was the first time she experienced riding as a team sport. It was a wonderful experience in part because the team was so supportive. They accepted that everyone makes mistakes-and this was at an ivy league school where kids were sued to being best.
It will be a great experiecne for her -win or not win.
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Hmm..guess it'd be kind of late to ask now since you said the bee is tomorrow, but any chance they could give her some sample words so she might have an idea of the level of difficulty? PS - definitely remind her that she can say stuff like "I would like the definition" or ask them to use it in a sentence. Anything to buy time if she needs to think for a minute. (Look at me with all the advice...you'd think I didn't skip out on my own...)
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