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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 its almost time for our annual WDW trip & in order to get a great airfare deal we had to do Monday to Monday in October. DD(5) is in kindergarten this year and school is closed on Friday so she would only miss 4 days. However I was thinking we wouldnt have to leave for the airport till around 11am and the school is right by our house. I'm thinking maybe I should take her on Monday at least till 11am so she will only really miss 3 full days. It's just kindergarten so I don't think it would be a huge deal but i heard schools can get nasty when it comes to kids missing days, so what's your experience with taking your kids to school the same day you travel? Is it just easier to keep her home that day instead?
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....first trip to WDW (we drive) we picked up my daughter from school at 11am ....and therefore she got 'credit' for the day (a Friday). There was no 'problem' with the school.
...we also took the kids out of school for two days (Monday and Wednesday) as part of our trips to WDW that were during "Jersey Week" ....and again ...no problem. (during those trips ...there wasn't a problem ...because everyone else was pretty much going to WDW too ....even the teachers.)
.....we don't do that anymore because my youngest daughter is in (going in) to her senior yr of high school ...and is in all honors or AP classes ...and can't afford to miss a day's work. But ....I don't think it should be an issue in kindergarten....
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We pulled DS out of kindergarten for an October trip. At that grade level, they really aren't missing much. It's the older kids that have a much heavier workload. I have several friends that are teachers. Most are fine with kids missing a few days and will give homework to work on. DS has worked on his during the drive to and from Disney. I think it depends on your child, how well they're doing in school and the teacher. At kindergarten level, I wouldn't sweat it. Go when it's best for you.
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My son is starting kindergarten and we will be taking him out for 9 days. I called the school before we booked our trip and they told me as long as a student doesn't miss more than 25 days in a school year we as the parents can make the call on how many days.
We have taken our kids out of school for all but one of our trips. We now homeschool, so we just take time off of school while we are gone. We never really had a problem with taking them out, except one teacher that was a little bit of a pain and seemed to punish my DD for missing. But that is the exception not the rule.
However, in your circumstance, if you could take her to school and use that time to finish packing, loading the car etc., I would do that and just pick her up on the way to the airport. Much better for everyone.
We took youngest DS (now 20) out of school several times for 5 days each time. I always spoke with the teacher a couple of months before and never had a problem. Some of the teachers gave him assignments as he got older but not that much. He was in kindergarten the first time and his teacher asked him to tell the class about his trip and he was very excited.
One comment I will make is just how much do you think a child in Kindergarten is going to get out of a day at school when they are leaving for Disney at 11? Heck, I know I don't get much done at work in the WEEK leading up to trips since I'm so excited
I personally wouldn't bother, as getting my daughters up and ready for school, out the door on time, then to worry about going to pick them up again??? I have enough to worry about departure day for a trip, the last thing I want is to have to worry about getting my kid to school for two hours.
Tim
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Hey, check out my blog all about being active with a disability -> activeandblind.com
Our school district is a little stricter. We have to ask for permission at least 60 days prior to taking the kids out of school unless it is an emergency. We have to receive a letter from our Supervisory Union granting permission for the kids to be released from school. We had to do it last year when we took our kids to visit our in-laws in Hawaii. It was a pain in the butt, however we have to follow the rules or the kids are the ones to suffer.
We are going to try to take our grandson with us this year. He will be in kindergarten in a Spanish Immersion School. I hope it does not cause a problem. We will talk to his teachers next week.
Our state is strict. Students are only allowed to miss 10 days a year. If you are in high school, it is only 5 days a semester. It used to be 18. The one time I had planned to take a Disney cruise and my kiddos got the swine flu and the youngest missed 5 days because she had to get IV meds at the hospital. The others only missed a day or two. Because of that, I had to cancel the cruise. I was so upset. I miss homeschooling when we could go whenever we wanted. Of course, now I am the teacher, so can't miss. LOL
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Sandi
mom of 6: dd25, ds22, dd17, ds13, dd12, and dd9
mawmaw to 3 beautiful granddaughters: 5, 3, 1 and #4 due in February
16 trips to WDW
I'm so glad there's no such thing as a limit to how many days your child can miss school in Canada! well it's something like 80 or more days before a concern may be brought up. it is the norm here to take kids out of school for vacations. life experience counts for a lot! and sick days are never, ever, ever, ever questioned.
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