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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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We're travelling to the OBX this summer - staying on Hatteras Island in Avon for a week. We've been there before and have done the day trip to Ocracoke Island and did a day at the Wright Brothers Museum -- we generally just go to the beach and veg out.
Are any of you locals to NC or vacation there often to know of something that we're missing? I'm wanting to do a visit to the graveyard of the atlantic museum this year ...
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You could climb the Dune at Kitty Hawk, visit the Christmas store in Manteo, and the lighthouse at Corolla, which has an interesting 'museum' with it and you can climb to the top.
We LOVE the OBX. It's up there with WDW in my heart. We always stay in Avon and think it's a great part of the island to stay on. We visited the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum last June and it was very interesting (but I am a nerd over the shipwrecks and history of the island). There are a couple shipwrecks you can actually see yourself. One is the Laura Barnes found on Coquina beach across from the Bodie Lighthouse. Another is the Oriental from 1862. It's located at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. You can park at the Pea Island Comfort Station. We did this around 11am one morning and the tide was out and you could clearly see the boiler sticking up out of the water.
We like to go crabbing as well. You can find spots around the Sound.
We always take one day to drive up to Kill Devil Hills and eat at the Rundown Cafe. It's not the same little trailer it once was, but they serve up one of the best burgers we've ever had.
On Ocracoke, if you like history, there's the British Cemetery that holds the graves of sailors that washed ashore after an attack from a German U Boat. Two are uknown.
We love to hit up the local seafood shops and cook a lot at the beach house. The best thing about being at the OBX is just enjoying your beach house and the beach itself... so peaceful!
I looked into the OBX recently for a spring trip with my mother, sister, and our DD's. We ultimately decided on Myrtle Beach instead - just got back actually - but I thought the OBX looked wonderful. The most interesting thing to me was Roanoke Island and the site of the Lost Colony. I'm a stay at home mommy, but my degree is in history, and this appealed to the nerd in me. LOL It looked really interesting.
We love to hit up the local seafood shops and cook a lot at the beach house. The best thing about being at the OBX is just enjoying your beach house and the beach itself... so peaceful!
Awesome! That is why we like going too!!
We have been staying in Avon for the past few years and enjoy driving onto the beach - and doing nothing - but the kids are at that somewhat "entertain me" age. I think they love the beach as much as we do but I'd love to show them more ... we've taken the ferry to the Island but never did much over there, except hit that main Pirate Store and have lunch.
We'll have to hit Bodie Island this year - we've never stopped! LOL It takes forever to get there from NJ - but it is very worth it.
If your kids like pirate stuff, there's a museum on Ocracoke that we went to last year... It's Blackbeard's Museum... It's totally cheesy but we had a good time wasting about an hour in there last summer.
And while you're in Ocracoke, there's a really good ice cream shop (that also sells fudge) at the marina. That's a must stop for us as well And then there's all the shops around the marina.
Your kids might like to do a fire on the beach. We do that at least one night during our stay. Beach campfires are legal at the OBX. We go down (with LOTS of bug spray), build a fire in the sand, and make smores for the late evening.
There's always the windsurfers at the Canadian Hole right at the end of Avon. They are entertaining to watch for a bit. And you can always rent jet skiis for the sound which my DH and his brother and uncle and dad did one year when DH and BIL were teenagers.
We are leaving on Saturday for a week long stay on Hatteras Island. The woman who is loaning us her house told us there was a 9 hole golf course nearby....can anyone tell me if that is still there?
The old guidebook from the library listed it but there is no mention of it anywhere online. We aren't up for 18 holes with our 6 year old but we think he might be ready for 9. Don't want to haul down all of our clubs if it isn't there.
We are so looking forward to the campfires (can't have them on our beaches).
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Hi Nicole- Our guys have always talked about playing golf while we're down there but have never actually done it. I'm pretty sure the course is still there. :-) Enjoy your trip!! I'm anxious for our week to get here!!
Just back from our stay in Buxton, which was TOTALLY relaxing and wonderful. We live on the coast of NJ and are invaded every year by people going to our beaches so it was interesting to be the tourist for a change and visit other beach areas.
At the National parks, the rangers do have activities for kids. My son liked some and not others so I think it really has to do with the individual child's interest. The NP website had a schedule for each location, they have programs for adults as well.
The golf course in question in my earlier post was called Ocean Edge (in Frisco I believe) and it was closed down. If you are staying on Hatteras Island you will need to drive quite a while to get to a golf course. However, there was some mini golf available which was a great bargain because you pay and have access to the course all day, so my son played morning and evening rounds.
Have fun, things are fresh in my mind, if anyone needs answers.
Just back from our stay in Buxton, which was TOTALLY relaxing and wonderful. We live on the coast of NJ and are invaded every year by people going to our beaches so it was interesting to be the tourist for a change and visit other beach areas.
At the National parks, the rangers do have activities for kids. My son liked some and not others so I think it really has to do with the individual child's interest. The NP website had a schedule for each location, they have programs for adults as well.
The golf course in question in my earlier post was called Ocean Edge (in Frisco I believe) and it was closed down. If you are staying on Hatteras Island you will need to drive quite a while to get to a golf course. However, there was some mini golf available which was a great bargain because you pay and have access to the course all day, so my son played morning and evening rounds.
Have fun, things are fresh in my mind, if anyone needs answers.
Nicole
Awesome! Thanks for the heads up. We're also in SJ so it is refreshing to go to a place where the beaches aren't mobbed - unfortunately, we rarely visit NJ beaches anymore. Maybe when the kids are older and I don't have to worry about losing them amid the 1,000 of beach umbrellas. LOL
We have three weeks left til we're off to the OBX. My kids are excited!!!
Our OBX vacation is coming up very soon, too! It's our first time there, and reading this thread has been very helpful. I am still on the lookout for more restaurant (and ice cream!) suggestions on Hatteras Island if anyone wants to share their favorites!
Our OBX vacation is coming up very soon, too! It's our first time there, and reading this thread has been very helpful. I am still on the lookout for more restaurant (and ice cream!) suggestions on Hatteras Island if anyone wants to share their favorites!
Hi Heather - we always go to The Dolphin's Den and I love to go to Dirty Dicks - both in Avon. We're going to try a place near the Hatteras marina this year. When are you leaving? Are you there already???
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And then there's all the shops around the marina.
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