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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I know we talk alot about taking our special needs kids to Disney and how to make the most of it whike keeping our sanity and theirs. But I thought I'd share a decision that we probably have to make more often than peopel know.\
We came back from a trip sans our autistic DD. We only took our Aspie DS. We were excited that the next trip would be with DD and started planning immediately after we came home in June 2010. Well, mid-November and puberty hit our household all at the same time. Our DD has been having a hard time controlling emotions, behaviors, etc. We have adjusted meds and modified her behavior plan at home and school and she is doing better but not great.
This weekend we made the tough decision to cancel our December 2011 trip and just postpone until we were sure that we could all have a fabulous time.
It's not an easy thing to say that you can't go to Disney because your child's behaviors prevent you from doing so. But it's OK. Disney World isn't going anywhere and I have faith that DD's issues will be resolved within the year (yes, hormones rage for that long or longer!).
We will rebook, eventually. But for now, this is the best decision.
I know what you mean, and you seem at peace about your decision. We've only recently decided to go back and I'm fairly anxious about it. Thankfully we know WDW so it's our A-#1 go-to destination, we know what we're getting into, we know the layout of the land, we know the best places to stay and to eat, so we can cross "rookie tourist mistakes" off our list........but the crowds. The crowds! DS's schedule! The probability of Character Fear! I'm nervous, and personally could wait if I knew the $ would go towards home improvement or something. (But, OTOH, I'm also wicked excited. ) GL with these adolescent years!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I know what you mean. We've had to cancel more than once. One time was for a child failing a grade. We had told him we wouldn't go if he didn't at least pass, and he had from December to June to do it, so it's not like we were expecting a Hail Mary. We cancelled due to HIS choice not to pass that grade. It was the hardest thing I think I've ever done as a parent. The other kids were devastated, and it was tough not to try to deflect some of the blame from him - but we needed him to know WHY we cancelled.
You are in a different boat, and yet the same. A child's behavior was the catalyst.
I hope you get to reschedule soon, and that puberty doesn't wreck havoc in your house for too long. I think you made a wise decision and you'll thank yourself later.
sorry you had to postpone your trip, but I think you've made a wise decision. If you had gone and had to fight the entire trip to be happy than it wouldn't have been fun for anyone.
Canceling is no fun but being miserable in WDW would be even less fun. I understand completely. It has been 4 years since we went to WDW or any other vacation. We have a hard time out in public anywhere with DD. She just doesn't do well. We are working hard on it with her teachers and therapists. As much as we love WDW we know that she is not ready for anything like that. We will just be patient and wait until she is ready.
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.
Thanks everyone. We are definitely at peace with the decision and may take a DS only trip next fall. Since he's on the spectrum as well, it's hard for him to understand why we are cancelling so maybe a short trip is in order for him.
In the mean time, we have scheduled a trip to the shore which is close to home and a place she LOVES and does well with.
Thanks for all the support and I hope this thread helps make a decision for families affected by ASD to go or not a little easier.
Thanks everyone. We are definitely at peace with the decision and may take a DS only trip next fall. Since he's on the spectrum as well, it's hard for him to understand why we are cancelling so maybe a short trip is in order for him.
Thanks for all the support and I hope this thread helps make a decision for families affected by ASD to go or not a little easier.
Hugs,
Deanna
You have support here. If the peanut gallery in your life have opinions on your decision to take a DS only trip, come here and we'll support you. I know of a few people who have made this difficult decision, and the judgments from people who did not have the whole story were more painful than the decision itself.
I'm sorry to hear you had to cancel but sometimes, like you said, it's the right choice. Hopefully you can manage a short trip for your son and that you're planning a trip for everyone sooner rather than later.
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.
About This Page: 
Sometimes The Best Decision is Not to Go :(
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
) GL with these adolescent years! 
I understand completely. It has been 4 years since we went to WDW or any other vacation. We have a hard time out in public anywhere with DD. She just doesn't do well. We are working hard on it with her teachers and therapists. As much as we love WDW we know that she is not ready for anything like that. We will just be patient and wait until she is ready. 
Linear Mode
