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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We have an awkward situation on our hands and really don't know what to do so I could do with some advice. We have been living in France for over a year and haven't seen my in laws in more than a year. So to compensate as a Christmas present instead of buying them something they wouldn't use we had organised to take them out for a meal after Christmas as a family event. It was all agreed and booked.
They have just got a new puppy and emails have been full of how naughty and how much of a handful he is. Anyway as we phoned today to say merry Christmas they announced they were taking the puppy to the meal. This is something I have a massive problem with I hate dogs in restaurants, it is a pet hate of mine and DH doesn't particularly like this idea either but he isn't as upset as I am. Being a party that turns up to eat with a dog is really not something I can do so I offered to stay at home. Hubby has decided to cancel and offer to take them a take away instead but none of the take away places are open lunchtime and we can't cook for them as the house we had near them is sold. I am now thinking just giving them the useless present I was trying to avoid. Any clever ideas of how we can get out of this awkward situation?
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Any chance they'll agree to taking/keeping the puppy in a carrier? Maybe just taking a deep breath and being one of "those people" who bring in dogs is the best thing...a nice present for people you haven't seen in a year.
I guess bringing a dog to a restaurant is allowed in France? (Or are you back in England? I can't tell.) 'Cuz you sure can't do it in the States, unless it's a service animal.
I wouldn't like bringing a dog in with me, either. How about you choose a place you know you won't be going back to, so no matter how the puppy misbehaves, it won't mess up your future visits.
Or can you just announce that the place you have reservations for doesn't accept dogs in the place, so sorry?
Any chance they'll agree to taking/keeping the puppy in a carrier? Maybe just taking a deep breath and being one of "those people" who bring in dogs is the best thing...a nice present for people you haven't seen in a year.
I guess bringing a dog to a restaurant is allowed in France? (Or are you back in England? I can't tell.) 'Cuz you sure can't do it in the States, unless it's a service animal.
I wouldn't like bringing a dog in with me, either. How about you choose a place you know you won't be going back to, so no matter how the puppy misbehaves, it won't mess up your future visits.
Or can you just announce that the place you have reservations for doesn't accept dogs in the place, so sorry?
Ginger
Thanks we are back in Scotland for Christmas to do some business's type stuff and see some family. We are only around for a few days which is why we thought they could have put the puppy in its cage for the duration of the meal but they are refusing and whenever we tell them we are not comfortable with a dog in a restaurant they just say it will be ok. However to me it isn't ok and I feel physically sick at being that person so we are thinking cancelling. Kinda feeling a bit hurt as it seem like the puppy is more important than her grandchildren. I know I should suck it up but this is long been something that bothers me.
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I don't mind dogs in restaurants, unless they're naughty.
I guess what you'd have to decide is how important this meal out is for family relations. Will it engender bad feelings if you cancel due to the dog going? Will your DH or his parents be upset if you do not attend?
If you take over take-away, will you all stay for the meal?
How will you explain not going to the restaurant?
I think if it were me, I might ask they leave the puppy at home, giving the excuse that you know he's a handful and you'd like to be able to concentrate on your in-laws. If they're resistant to that, then I'd suggest the take-away.
I say just go to the dinner.... Ignore the dog/pretend like it's not there/let them deal with it.... enjoy the dinner... say to yourself: "I can handle anything for under two hours".... That's what I would do...
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I certainly don't understand why the in-laws can't leave the puppy at home in his cage for a few hours. It seems a bit selfish, that they are more concerned about the dog than enjoying the time with family. I'm sorry that they are putting you in this situation. I'm sorry I don't have better advice, but if they are not willing to bend on the issue and you are uncomfortable taking the dog out to eat, then it sounds like cancelling is the best option.
A (they think) endearingly "naughty...handful" of a puppy? No, not in any restaurant I'd want to dine in. Well-behaved older dogs in countries where dogs are permitted in restaurants, no problem, but not a puppy who sounds like a ready disruption for yourselves and other patrons.
I'd be hoping the dog goes through obedience training before its naughtiness becomes a longterm habit, that's certain.
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I am a dog lover, have always had two and three live here now. But a dog in a restaurant? No. Puppy belongs home in a crate where it will feel secure, not in a restaurant where it will be over stimulated and probably anxious. I'd approach from the idea, home is better for the puppy.
I'm guessing that restaurants round there do allow dogs in, because seriously all of ours here wouldn't allow a dog in. Just thinking that might solve the problem...
Thanks for the advice everyone. We tried talking to them and telling them we were not happy with the idea but it fell on deaf ears they are insisting on taking the dog so we have cancelled. We did offer take out but at lunchtime it isn't an option so we will simply buy a present and leave it at that. We tried. Disappointing but it is what it is.
I say just go to the dinner.... Ignore the dog/pretend like it's not there/let them deal with it.... enjoy the dinner... say to yourself: "I can handle anything for under two hours".... That's what I would do...
Thanks for this post it made me smile because that's actually how I got through childbirth
Glad the decision is made. What a disappointment to have them be so uninterested in spending some family time. Even if the dog were a new baby, you'd expect family to get a sitter in order not to miss a family holiday. The health laws don't allow pets into restaurants around here, so there wouldn't have been an issue.
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Now do you have to visit with them and "endure" the puppy antics whilst you present your gift? To me that would be almost as bad as sitting through a meal in a restaurant with them giving all their attention to the dog under the table!
Best wishes for whatever you need to do.
I'm sorry to hear that you had to cancel but I agree with you. Granted, I live in the states and only service animals are allowed in restaurants/stores/etc but no matter how much I love dogs (I own two), a puppy in a restaurant would be very disruptive. And I'm thinking from both sides - not only would it make me uncomfortable being at the table with said puppy, it would be very awkward sitting at another table with a puppy that you're describing. Just my two cents but your inlaws were very selfish because it would affect everyone in that restaurant, not just your table, and IMO it would make all of you look bad to the other patrons and most likely all the staff too. Again, I'm sorry you had to cancel but I think it was for the best.
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