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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The title of the PTR came about last week when my daughter and I were watching the TLC show Four Weddings. If you haven't see the show it's about four brides that go to each other's weddings and then rank them for Dress, Food, Venue etc.
In the end, one bride wins a Honeymoon trip. During the vow exchange at one of the brides wedding, they referred to each other as His Wife and Her Husband. I told Claire that when her father and I go to Disney we should call each other that. I then told my husband and suggested we customize our Magic Bands to say that and he loved the idea, and hence a trip report title was made!
So why the wedding reference and why the trip? Well, we will be celebrating our 30th Anniversary. Our actual anniversary isn't until Nov 12th, but we thought going during the F&WF would be ideal. My husband, Pat doesn't come on many Disney trips with us and this time our kids won't be coming with us It will just be the two of us.
A little background: We met in 1986 the year I graduated from college when my good friend from college and I decided to live at the beach for the summer after graduating. Yes, my parents must have been so proud, but ultimately thought it would be a good experience. My friend and I got a job waitressing and that's where I met my husband! I was actually walking to work and picking up some pictures I got developed and didn't have enough money. He had been walking with me and offered to pay for them. I guess then I knew that this man had potential. I know, I know, such high standards! My girlfriend and I ultimately stayed at the beach and worked. But by the end of the spring, I was ready to get a real job and convinced Pat to move back to my hometown in North Jersey. Anyway, 2 years later on Nov 12th, 1988 we got married. I think our wedding would have won the Honeymoon getaway on Four Weddings!
Here are some pics of the happy Bride and Groom.
Another milestone for this trip will be the 1st we are taking without the kids since they were born. We are just that kind of family. I think because we didn't have kids until many years into our marriage and we had had plenty of vacations without kids, we always wanted to spend our vacations with them. We'll see how it turns out in only
There have been so many changes to this trip, possibly more than Tara herself could make (but she's only brave enough to share.) I'm at the point now that besides driving Pat crazy with changes, I'm getting a little bonkers with it all. I think our plan is now perfect and coming up next I'll share them all with you!!
Sounds like an amazing trip is about to start!! I know you will have a most magical time! Love your wedding pictures and can't wait to hear all of your plans, (and yes, the changes too...after all, we all make changes!)
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Congrats on 30 years. You will enjoy being at WDW without the kids. My wife and I go that way most often. It is a lot easier planning for the two of us.
Congratulations on your anniversary. I love the story of how you met. Looking forward to hearing about your trip without children. ...we're similar to you with lots of traveling before kids.
Sounds like an amazing trip is about to start!! I know you will have a most magical time! Love your wedding pictures and can't wait to hear all of your plans, (and yes, the changes too...after all, we all make changes!)
Thanks for joining! I don't think you'll hear about the changes because there were just too many to remember but I guess it's really all part of the fun in the planning process.
Congrats on 30 years. You will enjoy being at WDW without the kids. My wife and I go that way most often. It is a lot easier planning for the two of us.
Thank you. It is easier when there's not a lot of people involved!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcmary
Congratulations on your anniversary. I love the story of how you met. Looking forward to hearing about your trip without children. ...we're similar to you with lots of traveling before kids.
Thank you, the trip should be interesting without our kids. I hope I don't miss them
I love going to WDW with my DD’s (both 9) but look forward to the day when it’ll be just me and DH!
Excited to follow along
Suzanne xx
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Disneyland Paris approx 2004, Caribbean Beach April 2013, Polynesian May 2014, Old Key West October 2015, Wilderness Lodge Oct 2017, Disneyland Paris October 2018 and looking forward to AKL Sept/Oct 2019 trip!
I realized in my first post that I didn't give any specifics of our trip and made you do the math to figure out when we were going.
Trip dates: Oct 21-27th
Staying at: Saratoga Springs and the Poly
Passes: 6-day hopper
Dining: Deluxe plan
How are we getting to Disney: Flying!!
As I'm typing this the only thing that has remained the same throughout the planning is the park tickets
Here are the changes:
Dates: We were originally going to go from the Oct 23rd to 30th, but then I shortened it since Pat got a new job and we didn't think he should be gone that long. Then we were going to arrive on the 22nd in the morning and then head over to Epcot. Then I thought that wasn't any good since we would be so tired, so we decided to arrive on the 21st.
Resort: We originally were booked at POR which is my favorite Moderate. But then we decided to buy into DVC We bought a small contract direct though DVC at CCV. There was no availability there, but they had the Polynesian Village Resort available so we gladly took that. We were given the 2017 points but still needed to borrow from 2018. We then decided to shorten the trip and banked the leftover points. After deciding to arrive on the 21st and making several flight changes (thank you South West). We booked Allstar Movies for the 21st since our flight would get in @5:30.
And this brings me to How are we getting to Disney:
The previous versions were staying overnight at the airport and taking a 6:00 am flight and taking a somewhat later flight with a layover. The plan now is on Sat, I will pick Pat up at work at 6 pm and we'll drive to the Clarion Inn Philadelphia Airport where we will leave our car for 7 days. We'll get up bright and early to get our 6:20 am direct flight to MCO.
Will we still be staying at Allstars Movies??? Nope! I had been stalking the DVC site to see if there was any availability for the 21st. I kept seeing days here and there but I wasn't sure I could use my points since I banked them. I decided to give it a chance and called member services. Major pixie dust ensued and we were able to get back enough point to book a studio at Saratoga Springs!