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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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As we have returned from our 2016 WDW trip, 2018 is our next target. I have decided I don't want to just do WDW or DL again as I never manage to reduce the places on my list.
We have enough DVC points for 6 nights at VGF so that is included. Other WDW nights depends on where else we go. We will need to use some more points so either we need to find concierge collection hotels or extend our WDw stay. I'm thinking if we can't find a concierge collection that fits we will do 2 nights in a Poly Bungalow as a special treat.
So I have two trains of thought. I love reading about Colonial times and I'd love to visit some native american heritage. I also love the idea of visiting the deep South.
Plan A was fly to Charleston and visit Wilmington Beach (one tree hill was shot here don't laugh), Charleston and Savannah before driving to Disney.
Plan B was fly to Logan airport and visit Boston then take a train to New york and then Washington DC before flying down to Disney.
I liked plan A but I got more interest in Plan B from my boys especially Rory when I added in DC. I definitely was to do Sc sometime but maybe not this trip.
So it looks like plan B it is. I am thinking we might skip New york and visit Philidelphia instead.
As a New Englander, I can recommend plan B . How long will you have? You could easily spend a week in Boston, or New York City, or Washington D.C. If you are interested in Colonial times, the Boston area will be for you! A big bonus to a D.C. visit is that many of the attractions (Smithsonians, National Zoo, monuments, etc) are free to visit.
Another New Englander voting for plan B. Not only is new England a wonderful place to spend time (or live for that matter), but my kids always loved going to DC. There is so much to see and do and my kids could have always spent more time in the Smithsonian no matter how many trips they took (probably averaged once a year because we had family there and Southwest had really inexpensive tickets to BWI). Add to that that most attractions are free or at least pretty low cost and to me it is a winner vacation.
I recommend plan B as well - we love Boston and DC and, if I had to choose out of the two, I'd go with Philly over New York. However, as Holly has said, be warned - you could so easily spend a week in a lot of those places!
Thanks Guys. Last night i worked out a big driving tour leaving WDW and over about 15 nights taking in SC and the rest. Then i decided I was mad.
Funnily enough reading all your comments just doing Boston was where my head went next or Boston and Buffalo to see the Niagara Falls.
There is a Hotel on the concierge Collection in Boston so I'm thinking 8 days WDW 8 Days Boston at the moment. However I spoke to Rory last night and he got excited about Washington DC so I'll need to see if I can fit that in too.
Thanks Guys. Last night i worked out a big driving tour leaving WDW and over about 15 nights taking in SC and the rest. Then i decided I was mad.
Funnily enough reading all your comments just doing Boston was where my head went next or Boston and Buffalo to see the Niagara Falls.
There is a Hotel on the concierge Collection in Boston so I'm thinking 8 days WDW 8 Days Boston at the moment. However I spoke to Rory last night and he got excited about Washington DC so I'll need to see if I can fit that in too.
Well eight days in Boston would give you plenty of time to explore the city and do some day trips outside as well, as there's lots within a couple of hours of the place, as we discovered on our New England trip. I think DC is a great idea, with some wonderful museums, so if you can fit that in, that would be good.
We'll be able to tell you all about Niagara Falls after September!
Just FYI. My middle guy went to school in Rochester (on the way to Buffalo from Boston). It is a long and boring drive.
To me a good side trip from Boston is any where in New England or Atlantic Canada. I am a huge New Brunswick fan for lovely uncrowded beaches and lots to see as well as really lovely people-polite, friendly, welcoming. Just talking about it makes me want to go back. I think a little closer to Boston then Buffalo.
Yes, Niagara Falls would be a long ride from Boston and there isn't much of anything along the way (once you cross into New York State at least). Haven't priced it out myself but if you were just wanting to spend a day or two to see the Falls, flying there and then on to your next destination could be a better option than driving.
I vote for DC!! And the Mandarin Oriental is definitely on the concierge list. And it's a lovely hotel - I just finished a conference there. The other place close to DC (well, about 3 hours) is Williamsburg. LOTS of Colonial history, plus a theme park - Busch Gardens. We didn't love BG, but I know lots who do.
And I'd love to meet up with you!!
Whenever you get to SC you can always us Disney Hilton Head Island resort as "home base" for day trips to Charleston and Savanna. Go to Fort Sumter for some Civil War history. Charleston has the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier in the harbor. And it's full of Revolutionary and Civil War history. Savanna is the place to see southern charm. You can take a hop on/hop off bus all around the city.
Whenever you get to SC you can always us Disney Hilton Head Island resort as "home base" for day trips to Charleston and Savanna. Go to Fort Sumter for some Civil War history. Charleston has the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier in the harbor. And it's full of Revolutionary and Civil War history. Savanna is the place to see southern charm. You can take a hop on/hop off bus all around the city.
Have fun planning!
Thanks, unfortunelty we are limited o July or August so HH availability is an issue but if available I want to stay there sometime. In fact HH availability might be the one thing that swings the balance back to SC from Boston.
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I vote for DC!! And the Mandarin Oriental is definitely on the concierge list. And it's a lovely hotel - I just finished a conference there. The other place close to DC (well, about 3 hours) is Williamsburg. LOTS of Colonial history, plus a theme park - Busch Gardens. We didn't love BG, but I know lots who do.
And I'd love to meet up with you!!
I have been looking at the Mandarin Oriental and all I have gotten out of Rory is he wants to see the White House and the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the chair where he looks like an Ape. He doesn't mean to insult Abe he is thinking of the final scene from Planet of the Apes. I think if I can figure out transportation we will do WDC and Boston.
Thanks, unfortunelty we are limited o July or August so HH availability is an issue but if available I want to stay there sometime. In fact HH availability might be the one thing that swings the balance back to SC from Boston.
It is hard to book anytime that is peak beach time at HHI if it isn't your home resort. We do have points there, and we've not always got our first choices of summer weeks if I didn't book right at 11 months. HHI used to be kind of a DVC secret, but it has become much more crowded in the 11 or 12 years we've been staying there. I'd try for last half of August if you can, as some American schools are already back in session and it might be easier.
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. How long will you have? You could easily spend a week in Boston, or New York City, or Washington D.C. If you are interested in Colonial times, the Boston area will be for you! A big bonus to a D.C. visit is that many of the attractions (Smithsonians, National Zoo, monuments, etc) are free to visit. 
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