USA - live in it? From there? Please read this! :o) - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
USA - live in it? From there? Please read this! :o)
Hello there my American friends
I'd like to ask for your , if I may? I'm researching in preparation for writing a book for British couples who want to get married in the USA - there's barely any information available here other than travel brochures featuring 'packages' that you pay for and turn up on the day, then get left to your own devices afterwards. Those are fine if that's what you want (and there's nothing wrong with them at all - I would never criticise anyone's choice of wedding style), but I want British people to be more aware of what America has to offer wedding-wise beyond the usual four we are offered: Las Vegas, New York, Hawaii and Florida. These places are great, obviously, but our wedding brochures would have us believe that they are all that exists across the Atlantic. I've always had such an affection for your country - I want to show them that they can have both a wonderful holiday AND a day more special than they'd ever dreamed possible!
My own wedding did happen to be in New York City but it wasn't a package deal, every part was organised independently with separate vendors, as though we were doing it at home - venue, food, flowers, music, suits etc. I'll admit that I loved every minute of it (and I really missed the fun I'd had wedding planning for months after the big day - it had been like Disney trip planning with extras!) but I know that not everyone enjoys this sort of thing, or has the time to trawl the Internet looking for information. Plus if you don't have any idea about where you want to go, to look at every single state in order to narrow it down could take longer than most people wish to spend planning the entire wedding! That's where my book will come in - I'll do all the legwork so that UK couples don't have to. I want them to be able to pick it up and see that they could get married in a beautiful 'Port Orleans Riverside' style mansion house in the South, or that they could visit the Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas on their honeymoon (how amazing would it be to find a diamond together at the start of your marriage?!). My plan is to cover all 50 states, so all contributions are very welcome, wherever you may be.
I have the tourism websites for each state bookmarked, and am merrily working through them finding out what there is to see and do (and learning a lot!). My lists of interesting and memorable places to get married and to honeymoon is getting ever-longer, but was wondering what else is out there. What special places do you know of that might not be listed among the usual tourist hotspots in your area? What would you recommend to a friend from elsewhere who wanted to have her wedding in your town/city or state? Are there any particularly unusual or memorable wedding venues near you? Any activities you think would be suited to honeymooners, be it romantic, sporting, cultural, historical or something totally unique (I'm very enamoured with the Crater of Diamonds idea!)?
I'm looking for anything at all at this stage - the more information the better! I will, of course, credit you with any recommendations when I get to the book-writing stage (if you wish me to). In the meantime, please let the suggestions roll!
Very many thanks,
Toyah
__________________
Tinkerboo (or in the real world, Toyah) Reading Challenge 2015: 0/84
Follow my journey from sweaty panting mess to running goddess (I hope!) Out walking with The Boy...
What an excting project! One little hidden gem that you might consider is Barnsley Gardens near Rome, Georgia. Its stunningly beautiful, very private, and offers wonderful wedding facilities and is close enough to Atlanta that if you want to fly out afterwards it is eaily reachable. You might also look at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta (its where we wree married!) and Chateau Elan just north of Atlanta.
I didn't get married here but I know I've seen wedding parties having their pictures taken at the Old North Bridge in Concord MA (Minute Man National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service). I just can't tell you offhand where the actual weddings took place but I suppose what I've given you is a start.
Another place I've heard of people getting married is here at the Wayside Inn and there's a beautiful Grist Mill too where pictures have been taken. This second website has a lot of the information you'd be looking for.
OK, in my neck of the woods, a few spots that come to mind are: Annapolis, Maryland; St. Michael's, Maryland (a VERY pretty spot, indeed); just outside of DC there's a place called Meadowlark Botanical Gardens that has a gorgeous gazebo for weddings. It is located in Vienna, Virginia (and just about in my backyard!). Anyplace along the Shenandoah Mountains would be beautiful. The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia is spectacular - The Inn at Little Washington - Weddings.
What a fun idea for a book!
ALASKA!!!! How about getting married on a glacier? Or with Mt McKinley (aka Denali) lurking in the background? Or at the Alyeska Prince Hotel in Girdwood? Or on a glacier cruise ship? Or underwater in Prince William Sound (Had a friend do that)? Or...or...or...I could go on and on!!!!
__________________
Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
What a great idea!!! This will be a popular book if you publish it in the UK. I wanted to get married in the states but i wasn't as brave as you in doing the planning myself. We got married in Edinburgh instead.
What about emailing some of the tourist boards for each state and seeing if they can send you any info??
Thanks all - I knew I could rely on PPers for help!
Eeyoresmom - thanks, the legal side is something I'm very aware of as it was the one subject I was asked most about when I was planning ours: "but will it be legal in the UK?" and "how long do you have to be there before the wedding?" being the most common questions. I guess each state has different rules?
Alex'sMummy - thanks for those words of encouragement! This is the first time I've ever discussed it with anyone, it feels a bit weird that it's not just a random idea floating round in my head any more.. I will definitely contact the tourist boards for each state for advice (especially about the legal stuff above).
jenifermg0 - Alaska is one place I'm especially looking forward to learning about, just because it's so different to anywhere here in the UK...I may come back and ply you with a few questions!
again everyone!
__________________
Tinkerboo (or in the real world, Toyah) Reading Challenge 2015: 0/84
Follow my journey from sweaty panting mess to running goddess (I hope!) Out walking with The Boy...
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.
In the STL area a lot of people get married in the surrounding wine country areas (St. Genevieve, Washington, Hermann) or at the MO Botanical Garden. A recent one I've heard about is at a place called City Museum (CITY MUSEUM- Home) and I think this would be a pretty cool/funky/unusual place for a wedding or reception.
Thanks everyone - it's all going into my Big Research File!
__________________
Tinkerboo (or in the real world, Toyah) Reading Challenge 2015: 0/84
Follow my journey from sweaty panting mess to running goddess (I hope!) Out walking with The Boy...
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.
About This Page: 
Hello there my American friends 
, if I may? I'm researching in preparation for writing a book for British couples who want to get married in the USA - there's barely any information available here other than travel brochures featuring 'packages' that you pay for and turn up on the day, then get left to your own devices afterwards. Those are fine if that's what you want (and there's nothing wrong with them at all - I would never criticise anyone's choice of wedding style), but I want British people to be more aware of what America has to offer wedding-wise beyond the usual four we are offered: Las Vegas, New York, Hawaii and Florida. These places are great, obviously, but our wedding brochures would have us believe that they are all that exists across the Atlantic. I've always had such an affection for your country - I want to show them that they can have both a wonderful holiday AND a day more special than they'd ever dreamed possible! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
This will be a popular book if you publish it in the UK. I wanted to get married in the states but i wasn't as brave as you in doing the planning myself. We got married in Edinburgh instead. 
again everyone!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Linear Mode
