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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi all! We just spent a fun weekend at WDW. We are Dh,Ds (13),Dd(11), and me. We stayed at POR in Alligator Bayou and loved it! How did this trip come to be? Well, Dh is in the very beginning stages of developing his own side business and there was a huge industry trade show in Orlando last weekend. His two buddies who are involved in the business couldn't attend, so we decided to surprise the kids and scoot down to Florida for a quick trip. Dh attended the trade show on Friday and we got a mini family vacation out of it.
The kids are aware that our scheduled vacation was coming up, but not exactly sure of the dates. We wanted to surprise them with this quick weekend. So, at 4:30am on Thursday we told them it was time to get up. After some questions of "Why?"and "What time is it?", we said we thought they might want to go to Disney World. They were certainly awake after that! Covers flew off and people were dressed in no time! We were on the road at 5:00 with a stop for gas and cash from the ATM.
After an easy drive to WDW, we went straight to our room in building 39. I had gotten a text at 11:30 that the room was ready. So, we were unpacked by 3:30. Not bad!
Originally, we had planned to hang out at the resort for the remainder of the day. We were going to swim and eat dinner at the food court. After checking the park hours, we realized that our last day ( AK day) would end at 5:00. Since we have APs, we decided to visit MK for a few hours on Thursday evening and save our swim/resort time for Saturday evening.
We were able to make FPs for Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise and BTMRR ( at sunset!). Dinner was pepperoni flatbreads at Pinnocio's Village Haus. In addition to our FP rides, we rode the carrousel, the TTA, the Haunted Mansion, and let the kids play the interactive Adventureland game. We returned to the room for showers and bed and slept great! I have to say that the mattresses and sheets are more comfortable at POR than at AKLV.
Friday morning came quickly and we got ready for a full day at Epcot. Dh left for his trade show and the kids and I hopped a bus to Epcot. Although we were at the first stop and really didn't wait too long, I thought it odd that three AK busses,several MK busses and two DHS busses came before one Epcot bus. I'm used to driving a car to the parks. Do the busses usually come in waves?
We made it to Epcot and I let the kids choose our morning activities. We had FPs for later, so Dh could ride with us after he finished at the trade show. So, where do my kids decide to go first? Ellen's Universe of Energy! Oh well, they enjoyed it and it saved our feet from a little wear and tear. Next up, Figment! That is until we saw the wait listed at 35 minutes. What? They decided against that one. We walked to the Land for a restroom break and snack. I thought we might ride Livin' with the Land. After our potty break, the kids decided Agent P and food from WS would be more fun. So, we walked to WS after grabbing popcorn for dd. The kids signed up for Agent P and chose Japan as their first country for a mission. We took things at a slower pace than normal for us. As the kids played Agent P, we stopped for snacks as needed. I had pot stickers from China, DS had a pretzel from Germany and later dd had fries from America. They played games in Mexico, France and the UK. Dd always gets a chocolate crepe from France, so that is where we were when Dh texted that he was on his way to the parking lot. By the time he met us at the Rose and Crown pub for his beer, it was time for our first FP. All four of us made our way to Mission Space and, after some instruction from Gary Senise, practiced a bumpy landing on Mars.
Our next two FPs were for Soarin' and Spaceship Earth. We easily made our way onto these two attractions and then discussed dinner. This trip was to be strictly CS, but Dh decided he would like to try Nine Dragons again. I was able to make an ADR for 7:30pm. After checking in, we were seated after a short wait. Our server was wonderful. She was very attentive and friendly. The kids tried some new dishes and I'm happy to say that they enjoyed them. Dd is quite picky, and while her dinner wasn't too much of a stretch outside her comfort zone, she ate all of her chicken and broccoli. Yay! Dh and I enjoyed our meals and it was nice to sit in the cool air and visit with each other. By the time dinner was finished, we were ready to check out Mouse Gear and head back to the resort. Dd purchased a stuffed Stitch and we drove back to POR. After showers and Mickey cartoons, it was time for lights out.
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Oh well, they enjoyed it and it saved our feet from a little wear and tear. Next up, Figment! That is until we saw the wait listed at 35 minutes. What? They decided against that one. We walked to the Land for a restroom break and snack. I thought we might ride Livin' with the Land. After our potty break, the kids decided Agent P and food from WS would be more fun. So, we walked to WS after grabbing popcorn for dd. The kids signed up for Agent P and chose Japan as their first country for a mission. We took things at a slower pace than normal for us. As the kids played Agent P, we stopped for snacks as needed. I had pot stickers from China, DS had a pretzel from Germany and later dd had fries from America. They played games in Mexico, France and the UK. Dd always gets a chocolate crepe from France, so that is where we were when Dh texted that he was on his way to the parking lot. By the time he met us at the Rose and Crown pub for his beer, it was time for our first FP. All four of us made our way to Mission Space and, after some instruction from Gary Senise, practiced a bumpy landing on Mars. 
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Sounds like you all are making good use of your time, too. 
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