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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
My parents went to Disney last year for their anniversary and took part in the special deal that lets you plan a vacation at the same hotel next year, with some kind of Disney dining special too I believe. We have been looking forward to all going as a family at the end of this summer. However, this year the marching band my brother and I are in is also planning a trip to Disney over a break. So, we decide to forgo the family trip at the end of this summer. The family members who are not going on the band trip do not want to miss going to WDW, of course so they want to go around the same time my brother and I would be on the band trip. So the problem is should i not go with the band and have a family trip instead? Im a hidden Disney fanatic. So, I wont be able to run around with my passporters treasure hunt book or look for hidden mickey or wear my pin lanyard or plan and make reservations of where were eating, staying ect... well I could but I'd rather not Any suggestions on what I should do???
ps. if it helps, I have been going to Disney since i was 2. So Ive been there maannnyyy times))
Personally I'd go with the family. Our senior trip was to Disney and I didn't bother going. At least with your family, especially since you've been there sooo many times already, you know who's willing to do what rides and all that. If on the band trip you end up with people who don't feel like doing something, it'll kind of ruin it for you.
Plus, it's more fun being open about being a Disney fanatic!
Gosh - that is a hard one. I think I would opt for the family trip - I think having input on the trip would be a big draw for me as opposed to having whomever is in charge for the band trip making minor and major decisions. Our children 3 & 8, get to have input and feel like they are part of the planning of our trips.
No! No! No! Go with the band! I marched down Main Street with my high school band and I left my family at home. The memories you will make with your band mates on this trip will be absolutely priceless. It will also give you a sense of independence as you are traveling quite a distance away from the comforts of home and the safety net of family. I shared a room with 3 girls who were just acquaintances and left the best of friends. I turned 16 on that trip and it was magical to me to be able to experience the world on my own with only my friends. I actually fell in love with Disney on that trip.
The band let us go "free". They got us into the park, gave us times to report and where to report, what to do in an emergency, and where we could find an adult at all times.
I say go with the band and make some priceless memories. I'm not discounting memories that can be made with your family, but this is truly once in a lifetime event and I don't think you'll regret it.
It was absolutely an amazing experience and it helped me understand what it was going to be like in college, being far away from home, responsible for my own expenses, not under the constant scrutiny of adults, having to be report to certain places on my own by a certain time, etc.
I have an entire photo album filled with pictures from that trip that I cherish to this day - 16 years later.
I agree with TM3 particularly when you've been to WDW many times with your family.
Sure, you'll have some rules 'n' regs to put up with since it's a school trip, but that's not necessarily a drawback as TM3 pointed out. It would be a great sample of what the independence of college life will be like, I agree.
You'll see very different aspects of Disney that you may never before have noticed when you're touring only with people your age, too.
So, do re-consider going with the band.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Last edited by Her Dotness; 08-15-2010 at 11:03 AM..
About This Page: 
so they want to go around the same time my brother and I would be on the band trip. So the problem is should i not go with the band and have a family trip instead? Im a hidden Disney fanatic. So, I wont be able to run around with my passporters treasure hunt book or look for hidden mickey or wear my pin lanyard or plan and make reservations of where were eating, staying ect... well I could but I'd rather not
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
