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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My SIL called earlier to tell me that her husband (my husband's younger brother) has given the go to start planning a trip for next year! That means, that 3 out of 4 main (adult) characters from my last trip are ready to start planning! My husband is a Muggle, always has been, and probably always will be, so 3 out of 4 is all we can hope for!
BACKGROUND
Our first and only trip to WDW was during the last week of January. We loved the low crowds, and we were lucky to have really nice weather (aside from a few literally freezing days!). This time, I'd really like to see some of the Christmas decorations and maybe even enjoy the pool if it's warm enough. I'd really like to do a 10 day trip again like we did last time, and I don't want to take my kids out of school for more than a week. My kids get Veterans Day off (and this year, they get the Friday after Veterans Day off, but I don't know if they'll get an extra day next year). They also get the week of Thanksgiving off.
My SIL says we can use her Hilton Grand Vacations Club points again (we'll split the annual maintenance cost with her, so it's a week's stay in a 2 bedrm condo for very little cost), so for now we can plan on a week at the HGVC on I-Drive (the one next to the outlet). My BIL LOVED the few days we tacked on at the BC and really wants to "go big" again this trip! My SIL and I loved BC, but we both would like to try AKL CL. We both would also like to try Poly CL, and the convenience to the Epcot monorail is a plus! My husband? Well, being the Muggle that he is, he doesn't want to give the Disney company a penny more than he has to but I think he enjoyed the BC a lot more than he let on. We also LOVED Boma.
My daughter and I really want to check out Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, including the WWoHP. We had thought about staying at a US resort, but not if it means splitting our vacation into 4 hotel stays!
WHEN SHOULD WE GO?
Should I take advantage of the Veteran's Day holiday and go from roughly Friday, November 11 until about Tuesday, November 22? Or should I take the red eye the night of Thanksgiving, and do November 25 until Sunday, December 4?
If I do the first set of dates, we can be there a few extra days, but I'll probably miss most if not all of the holiday decorations.
Also, with hurricane season not ending until November 30, if I go the earlier dates, I'm worried there may be more chance of heavy storms.
WHERE SHOULD WE STAY?
It's pretty much a given that if we stay at HGVC for a week, we'll definitely tack on a few days on Disney property. If we go the earlier dates, is it crazy to do a few nights at Poly or AKL, move to HGVC for a week, and then move back to Poly or AKL for a few more nights? Then we could take advantage of DME both ways. We'd rent a car during the HGVC week and could do our US visits during that time.
If we go the later dates, we'd only be able to do either Poly regular, AKL CL or BC. Which would you recommend?
Ok, if you've followed my ramblings so far and have an opinion, I'd love to hear it!
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but I think he enjoyed the BC a lot more than he let on. 
and have an opinion, I'd love to hear it!
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