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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So we are going 2/11-2-18 which happens to be my daughters 17th birthday week. My husband wants to give it to the kids as a Christmas gift and I wanted to wait all the way up until a week before we leave.
I need surprise ideas, should I wait or should I give it to them on Christmas?
My kids are 16, 12, and 3 so if I tell them at Christmas I feel that ruins the surprise cause they have to wait for February to go?
I don't think telling them at Christmas (as a Christmas gift) would ruin the surprise for a February trip. Infact, I think it would be a good idea, so that they can spend the following month+ helping with some planning or voicing their opinions (which they will want to do, especially the older 2). Them helping in the planning process might be a bit of a bonus gift and help bring out some of their independance.
As for your daughters birthday, if you want to get her a little surprise while you are there, get in touch with Betsy from Memories By Betsy. Her specialty is creating custom gift baskets which she will be able to help you come up with some great ideas. I just used her for a basket and flowers to help with my proposal to my now fiance on our recent trip last month. She was a real pleasure to work with and talk to and her prices are pretty reasonable (much cheaper than Disney Florist).
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I agree that using is at a Christmas surprise (present?) is the way to go.
It's especially important if your teen is going to be missing school, so that she knows it's coming up and can prepare for the time off (as well as informing teachers).
CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement! Thank you for the great advise I am on her website now.
Thanks you. To give you an idea, the basket she made for me had a Jack and Sally doll sitting on top of one of those Mickey trick or treat bins, along with one of those light up ghost lanyard things (I wanted to really catch her off guard with the proposal so we went with a Halloween themed basket). Inside the trick or treat bin was a 5" glass slipper that she had etched with "Let's Live Happily Ever After". It couldn't have worked out more perfectly (except I had to tell my fiance to stop playing with the dolls and light up ghost because there was something else inside). The fall flower arrangement I had her get for me was beautiful and the flowers lasted the length of our trip and some made it back home with us. The basket cost about $165 (with $100 coming from the glass slipper), and the flowers ran an extra $50, which all included her fee and delivery.
Last edited by DrDoof4Prez; 11-09-2011 at 11:11 AM..
We're planning our 4th family trip the following week in Feb (2/21 - 2/25) and our two daughters do not know. I want to surprise them for Christmas as well. Not sure if I'll do the t-shirts (not too crazy about the color choices on the Disney store website) or maybe a new pin or lanyard announcing our upcoming trip. My girls are 9 & 12. So I'm thinking the 9 year old will be excited with a new autograph book and pen. She'll know for sure why she'll need then
I'm with the others - I don't think telling them at Christmas would ruin the surprise for February. It'll give them something to look forward to after Christmas.
I'm with you - I'd wait until about a week before, unless you see logistical, school, or emotional problems (my DD10 likes to know what's coming, so I'm giving her a 3-day warning rather than waking her up and getting on a plane).
That being said, it would take a lot of pressure off Christmas presents. We're going a couple weeks before Christmas, and I'm worried that a card under the tree that says, "Disney was your Christmas present" isn't gonna fly.
If you children were younger I would say wait becuase they have no concept of time. But at their age they can have a countdown calendar and enjoy the anticipation of it.
Ohhh! The countdown calendar is the best!!! For our first trip, we actually made a paper chain and hung it up on our fireplace mantel. Every morning, my DD9 would get up and take off another link. She loved it!!
With older kids, just having something on your computer desktop is enough to get me excited! Since our upcoming trip is still a secret . . .I can only see our countdown whenever I log into Passporters, after the girls have gone to bed!!! 3 months, 1 week and 3 days!!!!
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Hilda
Last edited by hildai; 11-11-2011 at 06:25 AM..
Reason: error in countdown ~ oops!!
We will be going the first week of March and are planning to tell them at Christmas. I ordered the Mickey Ears hats online that are red and say "I'm Going to the Walt Disney World Resort" on them. I have one for each of us and will wrap them with a Disney Gift Card (part of their spending money) and we will all open them at the same time. I plan to have us all wear them while we are traveling to WDW.
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I'd surprise them at Christmas too! My son enjoys helping me select where to eat, what park to hit first. They'll have fun planning! And once you know the whats and where for each park they're interested in, you can order the free custom maps to come in the mail. And you can order a batch of pin for trading (I've gotten some great deals on Ebay) and they can sort thru those while counting down the days. For us, the planning and anticipation can be half the fun. But whichever way you work it..... It'll be magical! After all, how can you go wrong with Disney???
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