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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 know we have some well traveled Passporters, so I'm hoping to get some opinions.
We (me, DH, DD 21, her boyfriend 21 & DS15 - ages at time of trip) are planning our 2nd trip to Europe for summer 2016. First was in 2014 - a Med cruise w/pre & post cruise time in 2 cities on our own. While we loved the trip, the cruise portion was so hectic, not allowing time for anything but a little taste of the port cities. We knew that going in, but it worked well for our 1st time in Europe. We want to take things a little slower this time.
We only have 17 days for this trip, 2 being arrival & departure days. So, really 15 days for the trip. I've been told by my family, less churches & museums, more just taking in the cities, shopping, relaxing & eating. So here is what I have as far as days:
London: 6 days, one of which will be arrival day.
Paris via Eurostar: 5 days, I'm counting the arrival day as a full day, since I hope to be on the earliest Eurostar & we won't be jetlagged.
Amsterdam via train: 4 days, counting arrival day as a full day. I hope to be on the earliest train to Amst. Not sure if that will be too much time here. If we only stay 3 days, I would add the extra day in Paris.
In Amst. we plan to see the Anne Frank House & Dutch Resistance Museum, probably not any of the large art museums. We mostly would like to just walk around the city, taking our time & enjoying the atmosphere.
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I think you could probably do what you want in 3 days without a problem. We were there last summer for a couple of days, one of which was quite jet lagged. I suggest a canal tour as well as what you have planned. Be sure to get your Anne Frank museum tickets on line well in advance (3-4 months at least). I tried to get tickets about a month before we arrived and none were available.
I agree - I think four days would be a bit much and I think three would be plenty. The canal tour is wonderful and a great perspective to see the city from. The Anne Frank Museum is not to be missed - we did it about 14 years ago on a weekday in November and we didn't have a problem getting in, but that was a long time ago and I think it's a lot more popular now.
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We lived in Holland 3 years and Germany 2 years (went to both countries while living in the other lol)
While in Amsterdam, I recommend excursions to - Kinderdijk isn't all that far and the windmills are very interesting; a bike tour if you are in good shape (biking is a great way to see any portion of Holland but can be exhausting); Museums of Van Gogh and Rembrant (yes touristy but so worth it); Volendam is a great tourist city; Apenheul Primate zoo for a great interactive experience as the monkeys roam free.
We did not visit either Anne Frank or the resistance museum - but got to know a neighbor who was very active in the resistance so kinda the same.
Have fun!
Thanks for the input everyone! We will definitely get our Anne Frank tix ahead of time. There are so many things we want to see in each city, it would probably make the most sense to have just the 3 days in Amsterdam. But with a fourth day there, could do something outside the city to see some of the countryside. Decisions, decisions! Back to my research!
We lived in Holland 3 years and Germany 2 years (went to both countries while living in the other lol)
While in Amsterdam, I recommend excursions to - Kinderdijk isn't all that far and the windmills are very interesting; a bike tour if you are in good shape (biking is a great way to see any portion of Holland but can be exhausting); Museums of Van Gogh and Rembrant (yes touristy but so worth it); Volendam is a great tourist city; Apenheul Primate zoo for a great interactive experience as the monkeys roam free.
We did not visit either Anne Frank or the resistance museum - but got to know a neighbor who was very active in the resistance so kinda the same.
Have fun!
Oh, yes, Kinderdijk is wonderful. We saw it last year on our cruise and I loved it.
What a beautiful picture, Pris! I'm going to have to go back & re-read your trip report. I did read it, but that was before I knew I was going to Amsterdam.
Personally, I wouldn't allocate more than 2 days to Amsterdam. I've been there a few times (we live about 3 hours away by car) and while it's a great city, there just aren't that many sights...
Personally, I wouldn't allocate more than 2 days to Amsterdam. I've been there a few times (we live about 3 hours away by car) and while it's a great city, there just aren't that many sights...
I think I need to see how early the train from Paris would arrive. If it's early enough to see one of our must-do sites that day, then we might get away with just two days in Amsterdam. That would give us an extra day to add to London or Paris (maybe adding a trip outside 1 of those cities to see something). Thanks!
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