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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I can't help you as I wouldn't even know where to begin on what to give a 16 year old boy. Good luck and I know he will LOVE anything his mom get's him!
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The Christmas after I turned sixteen, my parents gave me my own set of keys to the house and cars on a fun key chain. Does he have a Swiss Army Knife or a multi-tool? Those are always great gifts for boys.
I like the Swiss Army Knife idea. I would also think of gas cards so you can insure that when he does drive the car, it comes back with a full tank! Maybe a AAA membership? You could a "Favorite Things" basket full of gift cards to his favorite restaurants, stores, etc.
My boys (and girl) always treasured their swiss army knives, but actually were much younger than 16 when they got them.
Building upon the idea of gas card and keys, why not do a "basket" of driving things. Besides a AAA membership or the like, gas cards, a breakdown kit, car wash stuff, emergency beacons, etc.
Other ideas would be tickets to a sporting event for him and a couple of friends. One of my boys enjoyed golf, but it was expensive for a teen so he would ahve enjoyed that as an outing. My other one always wanted us to give him tickets to his favorite pelagic bird watch, which was a few months after his birthday. I wold try to do something consistent with his interests and if possible let him bring a few friends along.
When my DD was 14 she wanted a trip to 6 Flags with a couple of friends.
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I have no clue. I can't remember what we gave any of our kids for their 16th!
I do know that I didn't give them their own keys to the car. NEVER. The reasoning being that if they have their own keys, you can't take them away. I like the control of being able to say "Give me MY keys to the car, you've lost your driving privilege."
I've never had to do that, but I like the idea.
Since he won't be able to drive on his own for at least another 6 months, I guess I'd focus more on his likes right now. How about tickets for a sporting event? Going to the movies with a group of friends and then out to dinner? Tickets to a concert?
I didn't get my own car at 16 ...I didn't get it until I went out and bought it myself at age 21. Before that I just drove whatever was available to me at the time. I appreciated the car a lot more when I did buy it because I worked hard to get it, and it was mine.
As Far as a gift, what about his own Itouch? so yours doesn't get messed with Are there any Wii Games he has seen and wanted?
You could go totally Humorous and buy all over the hill items and tell him its all down hill from 16 LOL... beat the 40th and 50th birthday party for that! LOL.
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Since he won't be able to drive on his own for at least another 6 months, I guess I'd focus more on his likes right now.
Best news for me Teresa-- starting in July in Indiana you have to hold your permit for 270 days(9 months) if you don't take drivers Ed. Works for me!!!
I'm like you Amy, no one ever bought me a car either. I had to buy my own, if I wasn't working, I sure wasn't driving either because that meant I couldn't put gas in it.
Thank god we don't have the 9 month rule here in Pa, although it wouldn't matter since Kelsey is taking Drivers Ed next year at school. I can't wait until she can drive and I won't need to take her to any more practices.
I like the idea of tickets to an event for him and his friends.
What about having him make up his "dream list"? Like top 10 things he'd want, but then scale them to budget. Or...and how fun would this be? Take him to Target, and have him do the registry!!! Walking around the store with the scan gun, then print out his "wish list"!
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Are there any Wii Games he has seen and wanted?
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you've had lots of good ideas so far though.
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