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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I was working a very busy very short staffed and hectic day yesterday when I received a very stressful call from Alicia in Uganda. She was crying hysterically!! I had to leave my work area to call her back. Needless to say I was thrown into a panic! I think she is okay. She was not physically harmed in anyway, but apparently there has been quite a bit of drama in her intern unit. She is in a new village (for her program) this year, so it has been exceptionally difficult on all the interns - and villagers too I imagine! Long Story short, mostly because I still don't know the long story - the "National" intern was not doing his job properly, Alicia called him out on it, then everyone else got mad at her and she became overly emotional. His job in part is to translate, which he was not doing appropriately. He was keeping things from the group that the villagers were discussing with him and doing what he wanted to about it without letting the group know until weeks later! This in not how the program is supposed to work! This is also his first year there. It does not build trust with either the village or the interns when this happens. To the groups defense, my daughter can be very emotional and explosive, so I'm sure she "ripped him a new one" and was not very diplomatic, when she found out what he had been doing. She is overly passionate at times! Her hysteria was not good and she sounded completely over whelmed and exhausted. This was not like her at all!!
Please send some pixies that things are better for her today. She comes home in 2 1/2 weeks. It is hard when so much dedication and hard work has been put in and things have been undermined behind your back. From the sounds of things she did not handle the situation well - but even so, the other intern made a really big error in judgement as well. There is going to be a really big interpersonal mess for all of her team to clean up in the next couple of weeks!
Definitely sounds like the Nat'l Intern has been very wrong in the way he's doing his job. Tough situation and I feel for Alicia because I know all that emotion and hysteria comes from the concern she really feels for these people and the fact that she wants to get the job done properly. I hope it gets cleared up and she can leave with a lighter heart (and you, too!)
You may have hit the nail on the head, she's probably exhausted and a bit overwhelmed. Who wouldn't be? Remember, she's a strong girl for even going over there let alone twice. The next 2 1/2 weeks will fly by and I bet next time she calls you'll hear "sorry about that mom, I was having a really bad day but I'm better now". Good luck making it through!
Oh, I feel your pain. My DD is like that as well and I have gotten many of those calls. It hurts so much to not be able to wrap your arms around them tight and let them get it all out. You are probably right in your assessment of the situation. I know my DD doesn't always handle things in the best manner, but her heart and usually her assessment are spot on. Good luck!
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This in not how the program is supposed to work! This is also his first year there. It does not build trust with either the village or the interns when this happens. To the groups defense, my daughter can be very emotional and explosive, so I'm sure she "ripped him a new one" and was not very diplomatic, when she found out what he had been doing. She is overly passionate at times! 
Her hysteria was not good and she sounded completely over whelmed and exhausted. This was not like her at all!!
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