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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What is the shortest trip to WDW you would take if you had to fly?
The backstory:
DH is on an industry committee that has traditionally met late Nov/early Dec on Marco Island. It often coincides with a short week of school for DD, so we'll go with him and get a nice vacation on the company dime.
This year, they're meeting in Orlando! That's the good news. Bad news -- it doesn't match up with a day off. I have things to do here the weekend before his meeting, but I can change my plans.
So... the dilemma part. Assuming we go with DH at all, how long should we go for? His meeting starts on a Tuesday, so we could do family things Sat, Sun and Mon. That would let DH move to his conference hotel, and limit the amount of time DD misses school. But three days doesn't seem like long enough to justify the plane fare.
I'd say it depends upon how important getting to WDW right then is for all of you.
We once flew to San Francisco for a 3-day weekend, halfway across the U.S. for us at the time. It was well worth it. We had a great time...and haven't been able to get back there since.
There's nothing as precious as making wonderful memories when the opportunity arises, IMO. I'd say, go for it if you possibly can. Everybody needs to do something impractical and unreasonable at least once in their life.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
I think that depend...
we've already done an international flight for a 4 night stay...But those plans were only possible due to either a great air fare ticket or hotel discount.
If I could take the red eye out of Denver, I am in Orlando around 9 am, so that give me pretty much a full day in the park. 4-5 days, but I want the last possible flight back to Denver on day #4 and preferrable a late afternoon flight on day #5.
For me, that would also depend on how old your DD is. The older the child, the harder it is to miss school. What if you flew out on Friday, either right after school or take her out at lunchtime? Then you'd have the evening in Orlando & be able to hit the ground running on Saturday AM. Take the last flight out as possible on Monday. Of course, this would depend on the cost of the airfare...
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First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
For our family I would say at least 4 nights as I can't imagine going and skipping one of the parks, but that's us. I think as someone said, if you are making memories it doesn't matter how long you can get there for, just do it.
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Me ~ Christina; DH ~ '92; DD ~ '99; DS ~ '06
My reasons for breathing!!! MGM Studios October 2007
I'd say it depends upon how important getting to WDW right then is for all of you.
There's nothing as precious as making wonderful memories when the opportunity arises, IMO. I'd say, go for it if you possibly can. Everybody needs to do something impractical and unreasonable at least once in their life.
I love that!! I agree, and how can you get anywhere NEAR Orlando and NOT go to Disney?! In those circumstances, I would be able to make it work, but which park to leave out? Hmmmm.......
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I just did a two day plus one extra evening trip driving 10 hrs each way. One more day would have been better. I've flown for a three day trip before when DD was 5. My next trip, we'll fly and have three and a half days...she has a four day weekend off.
I think the shortest we've done before is six days and that's the minimum for us, as it's usually about a year in between WDW fixes. That gives us a full day at each park, a second day to go back and potentially another day at either another theme park or for shopping...
I like to go a full week (seven nights) but the shortest time i would go for would be four days. We went once for four days and it seemed too short but it is long enough to visit all the parks and do most of what we wanted to do.
Hubs and I are doing a 3 night getaway in October. I don't think we could only do 3 nights with the kids though. They'd be disappointed that they missed something. We're cramming a lot of stuff into those days though!
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