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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am having a little trouble making the lead up to our trip exciting this time around. When my kids were 4 and 2 we made it a big deal that Cinderella invited them down, but this time at 9 and 6 they are aware we are going and it seems like it isn't a big deal. I want to get the magic going even though we don't need to do a "reveal". We will do housekeeping envelops, countdown chains, watch movies etc as we get closer but what could I do at 200 days, 180 w/ ADR, 100, 90, 60 and 30? Ideas?
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Mine are almost 11 and 12 and I am having the same issue! It used to be so much fun when they were younger!
What we have been doing is, I have been playing park music and even if they are not right there, they will walk by and say "is that Disney music?" Also my DD will help me bake so I am getting all things Disney to make, even if I bake and she helps me decorate it Disney style. I have been looking on pinterest and asking them if they would like this or that, I feel at this point they can really be more involved in the planning than me just doing it and surprising them. Takes the fun a little out of it for me but they are a little more interested. Also, I am going to do a scavenger hunt when it gets a little closer with Disney Dollars (if they are still available) or dollars and put it right away for Disney.
The other thing we do is we have a Disney box and I always ask "Do you think this would be good for our Disney box?" I find that they have asked me a little more now if they see something the same thing. Also, we watch you tube videos of some of the rides and decide if they would like those or not. My DH (somehow) puts it on our TV and it is a lot of fun to have the visual.
The planning has changed since they are getting older but I'm trying to be creative. I look forward to more ideas from fellow PP!
We are going to do weekly Disney dinners! Watch a movie, eat foods that center around the movie, talk about our trip. I think this will help time pass as well!
For us we had "dream" dinners where we talked about the possibilities of what we could do at disney. I took notes!!! I would make disney inspired food and we would talk. I was able to figure out that a fireworks cruise was a big wish but doing the pirates league was not such big deal. The boys don't know which surprises I have planned so that is what makes them special. And now we are 73 days out so we are talking about fast passes and our dream dinners are now discussing what is a must and what is a bust. At the 51 day mark I plan on starting a scavenger hunt where they will find $1 a day which they can spend any way they want when they get to Disney, no questions asked. But when it is gone it is gone.
Have you asked anyone on the boards if they are willing to send a post card to your family to help build anticipation?
And i had the boys make the mousekeeping envelopes one night while it was storming which really brightened our evening.