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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Do any of you use any of the pills/ advice that's out there to avoid the worst effects of jet lag? I'm flying from Boston to Cape Town (South Africa) in March. I know I'll be exhausted when I arrive, but would like to ease the transition as much as possible so I can maximize my time while there. I'd love to be able to fly business or first class and be able to really lie down, but it would be around $8,000 one way!
I never take any pills. The advice I will give you, as it works for me, is to try and work on your new time zone as soon as possible. For example, on the way to Orlando, I try and get some sleep, as I know that (even though I'm not that tired), when we arrive (usually afternoon), we'll need to stay up for a few hours. Equally, on the way back, regardless of whether I'm tired or not, I try and sleep for as much of the flight as I can, knowing it will be morning when we get home.
Thanks, Cheryl. That's definitely what I'll try to do. I hope I'm able to sleep on the flight! I'll be changing planes at Heathrow and will wave to you and Mark!
Thanks, Cheryl. That's definitely what I'll try to do. I hope I'm able to sleep on the flight! I'll be changing planes at Heathrow and will wave to you and Mark!
Please do!
Just thought of another one - set your watch to the time zone you're flying to as early as possible. I usually do it as soon as I'm on board the plane (don't want to miss the flight by being on the wrong time zone! ) - that usually helps me to realise what I should be doing to adjust - i.e. sleeping etc.
Just thought of another one - set your watch to the time zone you're flying to as early as possible. I usually do it as soon as I'm on board the plane (don't want to miss the flight by being on the wrong time zone! ) - that usually helps me to realise what I should be doing to adjust - i.e. sleeping etc.
My layover at Heathrow is nearly 12 hours, so I guess I'll change my watch to London time when I leave Boston and then change it just one more hour for Cape Town on the next flight. It seems like it should be a bigger time difference, but the second flight is pretty much straight south. It'll be late summer in Cape Town.
My layover at Heathrow is nearly 12 hours, so I guess I'll change my watch to London time when I leave Boston and then change it just one more hour for Cape Town on the next flight. It seems like it should be a bigger time difference, but the second flight is pretty much straight south. It'll be late summer in Cape Town.
Seriously - 12 hours? My goodness! I don't suppose it's at a weekend, is it? If it is, we could come up and see you to help pass the time...
Laurie...if your schedule allows....try to adjust a bit here in the states before you fly over there. Start to get up a bit earlier and get to bed earlier and you may be able to better make the shift once you arrive in South Africa.
Danielle
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Drink lots of water on the flight! Sure you may need to use the bathroom more but not drinking will leave you shattered for days! During your stopover try to have a light meal of salad or veges no matter what the actual time is. This gives you something non greasy in your stomach and you can 'top up' on the current time zone meal on the plane. Be sure to have a supply of food available once you actually do go to bed at your destination. You are sure to wake up either really early (too early for breakfast room service-lol) or sleep through that meal and be too early for lunch.
Over the years I have changed from being ready to adapt to the destination time zone on the actual flight to just going with whatever my kid's bodies want to do. If we arrive and they want to nap - we do, if they want to go, go, go - we do! I just think having the food and water available upon waking is essential.
Have fun!
Laurie...if your schedule allows....try to adjust a bit here in the states before you fly over there. Start to get up a bit earlier and get to bed earlier and you may be able to better make the shift once you arrive in South Africa.
Danielle
My normal wake-up time is already 5 or 5:30-- guess I'll be back to my old night-shift days!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tigger71
Drink lots of water on the flight! Sure you may need to use the bathroom more but not drinking will leave you shattered for days! During your stopover try to have a light meal of salad or veges no matter what the actual time is. This gives you something non greasy in your stomach and you can 'top up' on the current time zone meal on the plane. Be sure to have a supply of food available once you actually do go to bed at your destination. You are sure to wake up either really early (too early for breakfast room service-lol) or sleep through that meal and be too early for lunch.
Over the years I have changed from being ready to adapt to the destination time zone on the actual flight to just going with whatever my kid's bodies want to do. If we arrive and they want to nap - we do, if they want to go, go, go - we do! I just think having the food and water available upon waking is essential.
Have fun!
Very good tips. I'm writing all this down! Thank you.
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I use the Cheryl method -- I set my watch to the destination time as soon as the plane pushes back. Since the plane doesn't have a lot of visual cues as to real time, I can reset my mental clock. I try to nap on the flight, and will power through the arrival day to go to bed at the right time.
This was the advice given to my high school drama club when we went to London when I was a freshman, and I've used it on every long flight since. It always seems to work for me.
I would second the hydration and setting my watch/phone to the new time zone. I also try to sleep as much as i can on the plane regardless of the time. I never really sleep more than an hour or so at a time, so there's no danger of sleeping to much. I don't have much trouble. I have used a vitamin supplement called no jet lag that I found at REI. I'm not sure if it helps or not, but it sure didn't hurt. I also hit the ground running wherever I am. I've always arrived in the morning and spent a full day touring and then crash. Sort of shock myself into the new time zone. I generally don't have much issue when I return from Europe, but the return from Australia leaves me feeling a bit wonky for a few days. Have a great time! I'm looking forward to your trip report. I've always wanted to go to South Africa!
I would second the hydration and setting my watch/phone to the new time zone. I also try to sleep as much as i can on the plane regardless of the time. I never really sleep more than an hour or so at a time, so there's no danger of sleeping to much. I don't have much trouble. I have used a vitamin supplement called no jet lag that I found at REI. I'm not sure if it helps or not, but it sure didn't hurt. I also hit the ground running wherever I am. I've always arrived in the morning and spent a full day touring and then crash. Sort of shock myself into the new time zone. I generally don't have much issue when I return from Europe, but the return from Australia leaves me feeling a bit wonky for a few days. Have a great time! I'm looking forward to your trip report. I've always wanted to go to South Africa!
Thanks! My final flight gets into Cape Town in the morning, and I'm going to try for a full but relaxed day of touring after settling into the hotel. Maybe I should make dinner reservations somewhere so I'll have to stay up!
Avoid caffeine for at least 24 hours before and during the flight, too, as well as drinking lots of water. That really seemed to help on the 9-hour flight from Hawaii we had at Easter time.
As others have suggested, have a light meal or snack if you're really hungry upon arrival but it's not a regular mealtime. Try to hold off eating a full meal until mealtime there so as to jolt your biological clock into awareness that it's on a different schedule.
If you're really sleepy upon arrival, try to make it a short nap unless local time then is close to your usual bedtime.
Our TA once suggested adding an extra week to your vacation if you can for recovery time after your return home when you have such a long flight. That gives your body more time to adjust since it generally takes two weeks to do so.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Avoid caffeine for at least 24 hours before and during the flight, too, as well as drinking lots of water. That really seemed to help on the 9-hour flight from Hawaii we had at Easter time.
As others have suggested, have a light meal or snack if you're really hungry upon arrival but it's not a regular mealtime. Try to hold off eating a full meal until mealtime there so as to jolt your biological clock into awareness that it's on a different schedule.
If you're really sleepy upon arrival, try to make it a short nap unless local time then is close to your usual bedtime.
Our TA once suggested adding an extra week to your vacation if you can for recovery time after your return home when you have such a long flight. That gives your body more time to adjust since it generally takes two weeks to do so.
More great advice. Thank you! I'm fortunate in that I'm retired, so there's no need to take an extra week off when I return, but will make sure I don't have a slew of appointments scheduled for that first week home.
More great advice. Thank you! I'm fortunate in that I'm retired, so there's no need to take an extra week off when I return, but will make sure I don't have a slew of appointments scheduled for that first week home.
Glad you thought my add-on advice helpful.
You may find that the flight home doesn't drain you nearly as much as the outbound one did, but it is fortunate that you don't have to rush right back to work and can be sure not to schedule anything much for the week after you return home.
Biologically speaking, I read somewhere, your body adjusts more readily to going west than east. Somehow, that several hours later messes up your internal clock more than going earlier does.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
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you have my sympathies with that one... 
My goodness! I don't suppose it's at a weekend, is it? If it is, we could come up and see you to help pass the time... 
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