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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 know the feeling of not being able to get information at the airport, and it's a helpless feeling. It looks like everyone made the best of it though. Interested to see what upfolds once you get to Cairo.
My goodness! This is only the start and I am on edge about what is coming up. The tank in the street would have given me chills and want to get out of there fast. Thank you for sharing this with us, you are an amazing woman.
Frightening already, knowing what was going on all around you. I was in Athens during the military coup and subsequent demonstrations in the late '60's, so know the feeling of suddenly seeing tanks in the streets and men with guns everywhere. I was young (college), so didn't feel as afraid as I should have. The world felt safer then, also. We're all too aware now of what can happen anywhere, anytime.
I've also been in situations where you come across tanks in the street (Russia some years back - remember when there was a big stand-off when Yeltsin, I believe, was in power?; and the Republic of Georgia right after the war there), or where I was stopped by heavily armed guards (in various parts of Colombia), and know what that feels like - particularly as a visitor in the country, and not feeling familiar with the surroundings.
From what we know about your trip home, sounds like the Luxor leg was the easy one. I hope this is helping to write about it, and to know just how many people were worried about you and Mark, and sending lots of for your safew return!
I cannot even imagine, Cheryl. I thank you for sharing your experience with us even as difficult as it was for you and Mark to go through. I hope that by talking about it, it may help you feel better and do know that all of us here were thinking of you and Mark the whole time for your safety & well being. I was so relieved to hear the updates from Wendy that you both were ok. And I was so happy when you and Mark made it home safe & sound.
As many others have already said, I cannot imagine how you two were feeling through all of this. Your suspense of waiting at Luxor had me all excited too when I saw your picture of the plane and then I remembered that you were headed to Cairo, not London. So glad that I know ahead of time that this trip report is going to have a happy ending.
Now that I know you are home safe and sound, I'm really looking forward to reading a first-hand view of what it was really like there. It's one thing to see stuff on the news, but when it happens to a friend, that's a whole new ballgame. I just can't imagine the feeling of seeing that tank sitting in the street like that (visions of Tiananmen Square...). I know when we had the big flood in Winnipeg 14 years ago we had army checkpoints where you had to show your ID before you were allowed down a street, and even that scared the poo out of me. Being in the middle of what could be a coup d'etat must have been terrifying.
I was in West Berlin, East Germany when the nightclub was blown up with a bomb in 1986. That was pretty freaky and the next day, I was out in the Kaiser Wilhelm Church square and found myself, quite accidentally, in the middle of a powerful anti-USA demonstration.
I remember how scary and confusing that was for me at the time I was there. I am so glad you made it home safely and can now go back and examine the experience.
I hear you about not reliving it, but I think it is good for me as well. Once I've done it, then I can move on and (hopefully!) forget about it...
I hope so!
Thanks for another great update! I've been stuck in airports a few times due to rain/thunderstorms, so I know first-hand that people aren't always pleasant when they have to wait. It sounds like that wasn't the case for you, and most people were making the best of the situation. Looking forward to more!
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Deb
for your safew return!
So glad that I know ahead of time that this trip report is going to have a happy ending.
Once I've done it, then I can move on and (hopefully!) forget about it... 
It sounds like that wasn't the case for you, and most people were making the best of the situation. 
Looking forward to more!
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