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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are going in the first week of December and I was thinking of doing some type of scrapbook for my mom when we get back as a Christmas present for her (If I can finish it in time) and another for myself to remember our trip. The idea of this trip is that it is her first trip to Disney
I haven't really made a scrapbook before but, I think it would be good to have that memory as well as to have something to look at when we plan our next trip . My questions are how would you organize the pages? Would you do it chronologically, by different parks, or something else?
Is there someplace that I can get the supplies to make the scrapbook and get ideas of what to add in addition to the photos?
There are Disney scrapbooking kits at almost every store in WDW. Try the World of Disney while you're there, they seem to have the largest variety.
I do my Disney scrap books by themes: Dining, Characters, Parks, Resort, Resort Hopping, etc. It just seems to flow better than : here we are in MK, now look at what we ate at GF, back to MK, then to the resort, the pool, etc.
Which day you did which thing isn't always what's important, it's the memories you have of the trip as a whole.
If there is a JO-Ann's ETC. near you, they have tons of Disney scrapbooking stuff for sale. I'd also look into taking one of their scrapbooking classes, or look into classes at a local craft store or church. Also, if you find a Precious Moments seller, she/he usually does scrapping days for a fee. It's usually about $10 to $30, and you can use their hardware (scissors, stamps, etc) and buy any supplies you need (although for these things, it's usually better to bring your own - and much cheaper). I'd do all of that before I go, just to have an idea of what you want to do - you can scrap book just a page or two of preparations.
I have a couple of thoughts for you. You really have 2 options, you could do traditional books (which take more time and supplies) or you could do a photo book (a great option if time is short.) Here are thoughts on both options:
Traditional scrapbook- oh the possibilities with this are endless. I prefer tranditional scrapbooking but really more because the process of creating them is something I find relaxing. You can find Disney themed scrapbook items lots of different places- while you are in WDW, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Jo-Anns, heck I just found some stuff at TJ Maxx. I will admit that I'm a bit of a scrapbook snob and I only use Creative Memories albums (they have a super cute Disney book.) They are pricer but the quality is 100x better than what you get at a hobby store (my books are constantly being handled by tiny little hands and they look brand new even still!) One consideration here is that there are a lot of tools that aren't totally necessary but make scrapbooking much easier (cropping photos, etc.) If scrapbooking isn't something you think you'll continue with past your Disney books, I would highly recommend finding a local scrapbook store if you have one and seeing when they have times (crops) that you can go in and use their tools (our local store does Friday night crops for $5, includes your space and dinner.)
Photobooks- I love this option to. You find a place (shutterfly, snapfish, even Photopass) and upload your photos to their site. Then you organize and place the photos on the pages, order and they print the book for you (these make awesome coffee table books.) You can check out the books at Photopass, they have great Disney graphics. The biggest pro with this for your situation with the book for you mom is that you can do it quickly (to put this into perspective, it takes me a solid 40 hours to complete my disney scrapbooks.)
I do my books chronologically, only because that's the easiest way for me (it's easier to organize and I feel like it tells a better story for someone looking at it who wasn't on the trip.) But I think doing it chronologically is tougher in terms of creativity because instead of having all of my EPCOT pictures in 1 or 2 layouts, I could have 5+ layouts and I don't want them all to look the same.
Well, that's probably more info than you were looking for. One suggestion I would give you if you think you wan to go with a traditional book is to start making layouts now and just leave space to add photos when you get back.
I usually organize my scrapbook by resort, parks, characters, etc. If you have a Michaels or AC Moore near you, you can find a lot of scrapbooking stuff there. Our Michaels has a large collection of Disney supplies. Also right now in the Dollar section at Target they have Cars and Toy Story stickers.
Thanks for all the great information. I was thinking of doing more of a traditional scrapbook. If I can't finish it in time for Christmas I will just use it for something else. We don't have any of those stores around here but, I am sure I can find something locally.
Thank you for the information on the photobook also. I might consider that for the gift for my mom and then just create the scrapbook for the memories.
If you start the scrapbook for your mom, and can't quite finish it before Christmas - give it to her anyway with the promise to "continue the story". We moms love that kind of stuff.
My questions are how would you organize the pages? Would you do it chronologically, by different parks, or something else?
Entirely up to you. Either way is the right answer!
DGF has recently finished the "Disney Scraplopedia of DOOOOM" ... something like 300 pages' worth. (Can you say, "overkill" ...? Hah!)
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Is there someplace that I can get the supplies to make the scrapbook and get ideas of what to add in addition to the photos?
There are LOTs of stores that sell supplies of that nature. Look for crafting stores; Michaels and A.C. Moore are the two DGF frequents most often (here in Massachusetts, anyway).
I also think the traditional scrapbooking is best for WDW. You can add anything you want! I have used creative memories stuff and it is better quality but it is more expensive. Another great store is Archivers. Not sure if they are in your area. They have scrapbooking sessions. I have not done their scrapbooking but have just asked for help and the staff are always more than willing to help. They have a website where you can search for locations. It is easy to pick up the albums and supplies at WDW. Have fun! It is another chance to enjoy your trip. First the planning, the actual trip, then scrapbooking it!
Oh I usually do chronological, but have a section of where we stay, and the last time did a section of desserts! You can do whatever comes to you.