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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are taking my 6 year old niece and my 8 year old nephew in June for 5 days. We have not told them yet, anyone have any good ideas for telling them about the trip? Disney stuffed animals??? videos?? These kids sadly aren't very well off and so I don't even know if they even know what Disney World is but I know they will love it. My wife and I can't wait to tell them but we are afraid to tell them so soon and make them wait 3 months would drive them crazy!
Part of the excitement of going to Disney is the anticipation! When you tell them is up to you , but I would give them a few weeks to get psyched. Get each their own calendar to count down the days. I always buy my granddaughter a Disney calendar and Disney stickers.
If you don't mind spending the bucks, sending them a DisneyGram to tell them about the trip would be a special treat! You can check them out at www.disney.com.
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Cruella šoš
"...where the young at heart, of all ages, can laugh and play and learn, together!"
With Easter coming up, how about making each one up a special Easter Basket filled with useful items that they can take along with them to the parks!
T-shirts, maybe a kids waist pack, autograph book with big(fat) pen for the characters to write with, Disney beanie or stuffed character, tapes with Disney music (maybe a little tape player), coloring books with crayons,....etc.....
A good many of the items(Disney related) above can be found in either a Walmart, Target, discount store at reasonable prices.
You could also pick up some Disney Dollars at a Disney Store for their spending money.
You could put the items in a Easter Basket and make pastal colored Mickey's šoš (or other characters)to put on the outside of the basket.
It they live close enough to you, you could have them over for Pizza and a Disney Movie. You cold have the pepperoni arranged into the shape of Mickey's head too!
Also I have been trying to locate the 1-800 number for the Disney Vacation Planning Video (but haven't caught it on the tv yet). Maybe someone here has the number handy!
I had made up travel bags for our neighbors kids and they loved it! Kept them busy in the airport and on the plane.
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Take Care & "Remember the Magic!"
debe-nj
Making the kids a part of the planning, I think, would be great for them. My sister (10) loves to look at pictures and hear all about what she's going to see. I also recommend Birbaum's WDW for Kids by Kids, 2000.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">quote:</font><HR>"I Only Hope That We Never Lose Sight Of One Thing - That It Was All Started By A Mouse."
--Walt Disney <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I would also suggest making them part of the planning. If they know what to expect it will be that much more fun beforehand. Tell them about all the rides and ask them what they may like the best. You especially should do this for the younger one, otherwise you may find out once you get there that she is afraid of something that you didn't think of. My son is 3 and has been to WDW once. We are planning another trip in May and I have included him in what attractions we will see. Now when he asks me to reed him the Disney book (and we have many), he means the Passporter pockets with what we are doing on them!
On the other hand, there is nothing more incredible than watching the looks on their faces when they arrive and had no idea they were going. One year, I planned a trip for my 12 year old. I made all of the reservations and had his sister pack the bag. The morning we got up (very early 4:15 am), he told his sister "We must be going to Hersheypark". Then he saw the packed bags and said, "We must be going to Kings Dominion". When the limo arrived to take us to the airport, he was really confused. He finally figured it out at the ticket counter because there is only one place Mom goes when she flies to Orlando.
I also did this once when my daughter was small, only instead of flying we drove. We didn't tell her from Baltimore to WDW where we were going. We just waited for her to figure it out when we drove up to the entrance.