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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hey everyone! I'm ecstatic to introduce this pre-trip and trip report. It's been a few years since my family and I have enjoyed time in the World and it's long overdue!
Now, about the title... In October of last year, my mom had a heart attack, which led to her having two stints put in. It was one of those "out-of-no-where" type of situations. My mom is an RN at a local hospital where we live and so for her to have told my sister and I that she felt she needed to go to the ER, we knew she meant business. You know how some nurses are, they take care of people at the expense of their own health, selfless, that basically describes my mom.
So, after all of the hospital visits, rehab and lots of prayer, my mom decided she wanted to go to Disney for our family vacation because next year, next month, not even tomorrow is promised. So we are going to be celebrating my mother, her life, our lives and life in general!
Introductions...
Me...25..disnerd, disneyphile, whatever word you describe what we do. I was raised on Disney by my mother and late grandmother. I've been to the World several times. I'm looking forward to the new Maleficent movie, as she is one of my favorite Disney villains. I'm making it my goal to get as many pictures with characters as possible.
DMom..My mom...young at heart...lover of Disney. Has made her two daughters her world and raised them as a single parent and a strong, moral woman. She loves the classics, Bambi, Snow White, etc but loves new movies like Frozen. She doesn't know the surprises I'm planning for her to show just a small portion of the great amount of appreciation my sister and I have for her.
DSis...my sister...22...Loves Disney. She automatically turns into a child when she enters the World. Student at The Ohio State University, this trip is post finals so she's definitely going to be needing a break and some fun.
***side note...my mom is going to be checked by a cardiologist before we leave to make sure where she's at with everything. We've decided to go her speed. If she needs to sit, we sit, etc. My mom's health is of top importance to us and I'm a little nervous going this soon, but she says she's ready for it...plus, I know God's got His eye on her!
Where we will be resting our heads...
POFQ. This will be our first time staying here. I offered it as an idea to my mom from all of the great things I've read about it on here. Plus, I'm just really excited to be staying somewhere that's not CBR because that's been our norm for the past couple trips. I like experiencing new things.
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Wow what a scare am sure for you all. And how wonderful for you and your sister to be doing this for your mother. And I understand your mothers' need to want to do it now because tomorrow is never promised and as long as the doctor gives the green light go and smile and make wonderful new memories...just knowing your mother is there with you both is a wonderful memory all by itself.
And I love POFQ..in my opinion great choice. Small and quiet and a wonderful boat ride to Downtown Disney.
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I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
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Wow what a scare am sure for you all. And how wonderful for you and your sister to be doing this for your mother. And I understand your mothers' need to want to do it now because tomorrow is never promised and as long as the doctor gives the green light go and smile and make wonderful new memories...just knowing your mother is there with you both is a wonderful memory all by itself.
And I love POFQ..in my opinion great choice. Small and quiet and a wonderful boat ride to Downtown Disney.
It sure was. We were in that thought process she'd live forever. Believe me, my mom deserves so much more than this, but it definitely will make her happy! Thanks for the comment on POFQ, definitely makes me pumped about the boat ride to DTD!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindadarrall
How exciting to return to The World, and with a fresh perspective on how precious every day is!!
I've been to WDW planning every little aspect, this time, with the fresh perspective, I think we are going to try and live a little without planning everything and embrace the experiences!
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmom
love POFQ!! can't wait to hear about this trip
Thanks! I can't wait for it to get here. Glad to see you love POFQ!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great start! A trip to WDW is definitely the best way to celebrate life!
Thanks! and Agreed! Celebrating in the happiest place on Earth with your loved ones, can't be beat!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great start! Congrats on booking POFQ! Nice dining choices, too. A trip to Disney sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate your mom's life.
Thanks, Cam! My mom is a foodie so she picked a lot of our ADRs as they are some of her favorites.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iwonathomas
What a wonderful reason to be going to WDW! Your dining choices look great
Thanks! Going to try to make it as stress-free on my mom so she can relax a little more than previous trips haha.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Great start!! I can't think of a better way to celebrate life!
Thanks! Me either. I hope others can read this TR and get something from it about life and being grateful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bsblady01
I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start and plans!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Great start and some yummy meals coming up for you!
Thanks! I know I'm looking forward most to Sci-fi, it's just so neat!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
Great start and what a wonderful way to celebrate life!
Thanks again for all the responses. You guys are awesome.
I hope someone who reads this can get something out of it, whether it be trying not to take loved ones for granted, trying to celebrate every day, live more and worry less, love harder, never taking the good and bad experiences as anything less than a learning experience that will mold you. My mom is a trooper and we are all here learning these things right along with her. She is my hero, for sure.
Sorry to get all deep on you guys there, it happens hahah.
I need some expert opinion from everyone. I'm wanting to do some nice things for my mom while we are down there. Things to just enhance the awesomeness. I was looking at some ideas/items on Disney Florist and it got me wondering if any of you have any ideas on things I could plan to do to surprise my mom? Maybe some things my younger sister would enjoy too? Maybe some experiences you'd like to share from a vacation that could give me ideas?
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Congrats on booking POFQ! Nice dining choices, too. 
A trip to Disney sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate your mom's life. 
Deb
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