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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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OK, I must ask if any of you have run into this problem. I really find myself bothered by this & feel alittle silly at the same time. My son (17)who has always loved going to Disney, yesterday ask how long we were staying at WDW? When I said 7 days, his response was (hold on to your seats) "do we have to stay that long?" This to a mother that would love a 15-20 day trip to the "Magical World"
On our last trip (Christmas) we stayed 10 days & he missed his friends near the end & later said he had a good time BUT it was alittle long. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? I think I blocked it out not wanting to believe my ears & realizing he did miss his friends home from college & not wanting to think I had the wrong child all these years. I've been thinking about this & decided to do things a bit different than the usual. I am a GIJoe kind of Disney girl. We hit the parks early & go, go, go. I it, see all our old favorites, check out the new things, eat, shop & start all over again. This trip I'm going to slow down & let him take the lead. Do Disney HIS way & see how it goes. Knowing teens I bet he'll want to late (THIS will Kill me) eat then go to the park. After seeing you do less by going later & have more crowds to deal with I hope he'll change, but we'll see.
Anyway, thanks for listening & if you have ANY suggestions please let me know. I hope to raise a good Disney going Hubby for your daughters so we must change him now!
Don't feel bad. Many years ago my parents took my brother (who was 17 at the time) and me to Disney and we stayed at the GF. We were all excited to go except DB. I think at 17 boys don't really want to be around the family, would rather hang out with their friends and want to sleep late everyday. About mid-way through our trip we decided to let DB do whatever he wanted and Mom, Dad and I just went our own way and had a great time. We weren't going to let a grumpy teenager spoil our time in Disney. DB then slept late everyday and then hung by the pool. Finally on our last full day there he met some other teens who were in the same boat as he was so they had a blast just hanging by the pool together....and probably complaning about their Disney crazy families.
My advise to you would to not let it upset you. He's just "at that age". I'm sure someday he'll come back over to the Disney side! Maybe if he wants to sleep late you can go out and do some exploring on your own and then meet up with him later.
You really have to accept that not everyone likes the same things as you do. He obviously doesn't have the same endless love or passion for WDW as you do. I would just accept it, and maybe let him create some of the itenerary for this vacation.
Especially being 17 - there are just other priorities on his mind right now. Would he like to go to Universal or IOA during the trip?
You can't force people to like what they don't. It sounds as if he doesn't mind going to WDW, just for not as long as you do.
Ooh, that does sound bad, but when I think about it, it does sound like a natural response from a 17 year old boy. I remember going on family vacations in the summer and wishing I was back home just kicking it with my friends. I wouldn't worry about it - when he has his own family, he will remember all the good times that he had as a kid at WDW and I bet he will be taking his kids! I would let him do what he wanted to do, even if that means that you split up some. Just go in with low expectations and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised!
I'd go with Cheryl's idea. Just do your thing and let your son sleep late and meet you later. With cell phones that so easy. That way you can suck up all the magic and he can laze around.
I agree with everyone else. I'd let him go at his own pace & you could meet up later in the day for some family time...of course he'll be ready to see you at "feeding time!" Another option is to allow him to invite a friend or cousin to go along with y'all, then he would probably have no problem with staying for ANY length of time. I remember when I got to that age, my mom let me bring a close friend & we had a blast. (Her parents paid for her park ticket & gave her spending money.) We even wound up (sorry for the southern lingo!) staying with my parents, grandmother & "annoying" little brother the entire time. It was fun to be able to ride the rides with my best friend & still be with my family. HTH!
I agree with everyone else. Let him do his own thing and y'all go have your fun. We took our 11yo DD's best friend with us in March and they had a blast together. Taking a friend for your son, if it's feasible is a great idea.
tenya
I'm hoping at 17 my kids will still want to come to WDW with me!!! I'd say give him a cell phone, let him know your basic plans, and he'll show up! Especially if you offer to pay for his food!
Dont give up hope...Two years ago when I went with my teens they had the same reaction. I wanted to stay longer but they didnt. This year, my DD planned a trip to WDW with her boyfriend and guess what? For mothers day, they invited me and his mother to come along with them! Teenagers will always surprise you.
My brother is 16 and a half (he'll be 17 in November) and he hasn't made planning this trip easy Whenever I mention anything to my parents all he says is "There's no way I'm doing that", "I'm not eating with the characters", or "I have to be back at the condo by a certain time to watch the shows I like at 11:00"... oh, and "I'm not getting up that earlyto go on rides" So I tell him "Fine, then you'll sit in the condo with the dog and we'll go without you." I have no problem going without him, haha! But I know my brother, he'll complain now but once we get there and I show him all the fun things there are to do he'll love it, he loves rides so I'm not too worried. I'm 18 and a lotof my friends think I'm crazy for being so excited over family vacations, but I LOVE to travel, more than anything. Sorry, guys, but I'd rather be exploring the world than sitting on the corner with my friends, asking each other "What do YOU want to do?" Lmao! So yea, it really just depends on each person, and ae has a big part in it. Maybe you and your husband can go off and do Disney your own way, and your son can go off and do it his? If he wants to sleep late you can still go out,and he can meet you at the parks or you can come back and get him? And maybe your husband and son can check out the water parks and DisneyQuest while you go shopping or explore the parks on your own or something? If there's something he REALLY doesn't want to do I owuldn't puch it... I know what it's like, and being a teenager I know he'll get really annoyed and just decide not to go anymore. I hope it all works out!
[ QUOTE ]
I'd go with Cheryl's idea. Just do your thing and let your son sleep late and meet you later. With cell phones that so easy. That way you can suck up all the magic and he can laze around.
[/ QUOTE ] I agree wholeheartedly with this suggestion. I feel your pain! My 20 year old DD who is just like me in many ways doesn't like WDW. We went down together last summer (at her request) and had a good time overall, but she got tired of it way before I did. I mentioned the possibility of a Christmas family trip this year (with 24 yr old DS also) and she vetoed it immediately. I was into 2 rooms with tickets to Universal for them as well, but she said no way!
I guess you just can't please them all the time.
I agree with everyone so far, that you should maybe meet up with him during the day. That way, he can move at his own pace, and you can get the stuff done that you want too!
Pris I see you have a trip planned with friends, good for
you. Yes, we love our kids & nothing is more fun than
enjoying something you love with them. Maybe next year
you all can do a family Christmas trip..don't you give up
either.
Thank you all & Cheryl I'll take your wise advice. I think
he'll be surprised & everyone will enjoy themselves. We
have the cell phones & I know everything will work out.It
also helped to hear this is normal teenage boy behavior.
Melissa your bother will have a great time, my son didn't
want the character meals last trip but after we got there
he really got into it & we have great pictures with him &
Cinderella, Minnie & Pooh! You guys are Fantastic!
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This to a mother that would love a 15-20 day trip to the "Magical World" 
I think I blocked it out not wanting to believe my ears & realizing he did miss his friends home from college & not wanting to think I had the wrong child all these years. 
I've been thinking about this & decided to do things a bit different than the usual. I am a GIJoe kind of Disney girl. We hit the parks early & go, go, go. I 
it, see all our old favorites, check out the new things, eat, shop & start all over again. This trip I'm going to slow down & let him take the lead. Do Disney HIS way & see how it goes. Knowing teens I bet he'll want to 
late (THIS will Kill me) eat then go to the park. After seeing you do less by going later & have more crowds to deal with I hope he'll change, but we'll see.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Maybe if he wants to sleep late you can go out and do some exploring on your own and then meet up with him later. 
Whenever I mention anything to my parents all he says is "There's no way I'm doing that", "I'm not eating with the characters", or "I have to be back at the condo by a certain time to watch the shows I like at 11:00"... oh, and "I'm not getting up that earlyto go on rides" 
I have no problem going without him, haha! But I know my brother, he'll complain now but once we get there and I show him all the fun things there are to do he'll love it, he loves rides so I'm not too worried. I'm 18 and a lotof my friends think I'm crazy for being so excited over family vacations, but I LOVE to travel, more than anything. Sorry, guys, but I'd rather be exploring the world than sitting on the corner with my friends, asking each other "What do YOU want to do?" Lmao! So yea, it really just depends on each person, and ae has a big part in it. Maybe you and your husband can go off and do Disney your own way, and your son can go off and do it his? If he wants to sleep late you can still go out,and he can meet you at the parks or you can come back and get him? And maybe your husband and son can check out the water parks and DisneyQuest while you go shopping or explore the parks on your own or something? If there's something he REALLY doesn't want to do I owuldn't puch it... I know what it's like, and being a teenager I know he'll get really annoyed and just decide not to go anymore. 
I agree wholeheartedly with this suggestion. I feel your pain! My 20 year old DD who is just like me in many ways doesn't like WDW. 
We went down together last summer (at her request) and had a good time overall, but she got tired of it way before I did. I mentioned the possibility of a Christmas family trip this year (with 24 yr old DS also) and she vetoed it immediately. I was into 2 rooms with tickets to Universal for them as well, but she said no way!
You guys are Fantastic!
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