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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 have a class that finishes between 8 and 9 in Shrewsbury and an appointment at MGH in Boston the next morning at 8. I have been thinking that instead of spending too many hours in my car, I'd look for a hotel for the night. Somewhere between the two, with relatively easy access to MGH. I will be driving and would prefer to be able to leave the hotel at 7 and get to my appointment in time, recognizing the time it takes to park and get to my clinic.
I am leaning towards the Newton area. Any better ideas. I want safe, parking and not three hours of traffic in the morning. A "quick" shot down Storrow Drive is the best I've come up with.
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Former MA person here . . . I assume you are going to the main campus on Fruit Street? I would drive into Boston after your class in Shrewsbury (traffic will be light at that hour) and stay somewhere close to MGH, maybe even walking distance. Why risk the chance of getting stuck in rush-hour traffic and miss your appointment? Storrow Drive is crazy at rush hour!
Thanks, Pooh Maine. I have made several 8 o'clock MGH appointments driving down from NH or should I say crawling down. Strange as it may seem, it is easier to get in for 8 than 9 or even 10 and we would often arrive at 6:50 after leaving 5ish.
I am trying to avoid some of the driving (1.5 hours back from /shrewsbury and then a good hour and a half to Boston. I would prefer not to leave early (5 am) after getting back after 10.
I am also concerned about parking and safety so thought staying out side the city would be easier.
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Is Natick a possibility? That puts you on the Mass Pike. There are several hotels there near the mall. I've stayed at the Hampton which is nice, and the Crowne Plaza (which is a little weird).
I've thought about Natick but am concerned about how long it will take me to get in on the mass Pike in the morning. Right now I am thinking that I will leave my class early so I can be home by 8:30 or 9 and then leave at 5, which gets me to MGH by 6:30, have breakfast when I get there and bring some work to do.
I've also though about staying where there is quick access to the T and taking that in.
All the driving is driving me nuts. I can also change my class to Thurs. evening.
I just want a quick, traffic free way into Boston for 8 AM. Perhaps that desire is not set in reality.
I visit friends in Framingham all the time and the commuter train (Boston-Worcester line) goes right through Natick, with stops in Natick and West Natick. If you stay somewhere near the station, or at a hotel with a shuttle to the station, you could take the commuter train into South Station, then the Red Line to MGH.
The commuter rail and the T sound like good ideas, if you're looking for traffic-free commutes. That is if you're allowed to ride the T after your visit to MGH. I'm all for stress-free travel.