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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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This trip will be a little bittersweet for the Hubs and me. We travelled last year, during the Halloween season for a sweetheart long weekend, after finding out we were unexpectedly expecting beebster #4. Long and short, our Darby Grace was stillborn on 4/7/13 at 35 weeks gestation.
To keep me occupied, Hubs told me to plan another WDW vacation so that we all would have something to look forward to. And, boy oh boy, are we looking forward to spending some time in our favorite place. All of us.
We'll be staying in a 2BR villa at WL from 10/26-10/31. There will be five of us: me, Hubs, son Jonah (12), daughter Ella (11) and daughter Piper (5). Plans are looking like this:
Arrive later on Saturday out of PHL to MCO, dinner at Whispering Canyon (KETCHUP!) at 6:35. EMH at AK on Sunday, with a breakfast/brunch at Tusker House at 10:30. HALLOWEEN PARTY on Sunday evening - dinner at Crystal Palace at 6:00. (Should I have the girls hair done? They'll be in costume for the party.)
Monday: Epcot. Brunch at Coral Reef at 11:30 (Jonah's request - our most favorite picky eater ever!!), dinner at Via Napoli at 7:00. I figured we should be finished in time to see Illuminations on our way out.
Tuesday: O'hana breakfast at 9:55, then MK for the day. Cinderella's Royal Table at 6:40. Maybe have the girls dolled up this day instead of Sunday? When we went to CRT last year for Thanksgiving, everyone loved it. (again, including Jonah who is so hard to please.) I've got to say that Stitch is one of my all time favorites. I'm looking forward to going to the O'hana breakfast after not going there on our last few trips.
Wednesday: Hollywood Studios: Lunch @ 50's Prime Time because all of the kids love it. I could pass - I love Brown Derby but will have to plan a time for Hubs and I to get away again to enjoy it without the kidlets. I find the food at 50's okay. Maybe I am not trying the right thing? Anyone have any menu suggestions for me?
After HS, heading to DTD (unless we have fastpass times for Rock n Roller Coaster or ToT) for a little time at Disney Quest then dinner at House of Blues (with a Restaurant.com gift certificate) at 7:00.
Heading home on Thursday afternoon. Have a 9:05 breakfast at Whispering Canyon so we can spend some time by the pool or exploring the resort before we finally have to pack it up.
Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and we get great weather for the Halloween Party. I would hate to think that we pulled the kids out of school during the last week of the marking period and it gets rained out!
I am so sorry for your loss. Planning a holiday to WDW to keep you busy and give the family something to look forward to is a truly wonderful idea. I think your plan sounds amazing and I am green with envy just reading it!
Have a wonderful time together and build happy memories.
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