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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 just booked SeaWorld. We booked the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld that has the free meal plan at the parks, and we can visit SeaWorld and Aquatica multiple days, although we will only have 1.5 days to spend at the parks. Our primary reason for the trip is to scout out areas that we may move to next year.
I know absolutely nothing about SeaWorld, so if anyone can tell me the best plan of attack for getting as much done as possible, I would be forever grateful. We are going towards the end of Easter week, so I anticipate very busy parks. Hopefully we can get the quick queue thing when we check in at our hotel.
Also, if there are must dos, or things that should be skipped, please share! Also, where are your favorite places to eat?
TIA!
Ha! I just realized that my Mac autocorrected my title! Silly computer! I can't correct it....:P
Ok, I'm going to be absolutely no help when it comes to coasters and thrill rides there, as we just don't do those.
The must-dos for us are the animals - the dolphins, the sharks and the sea lions immediately spring to mind. Don't miss the rays in the aquarium next to Manta - that's been very well done. There are now some animal exhibits that involve a ride/film to get to, so you may need to plan those into your day, as waits can build for those and there's no way round them. They are Wild Arctic, Antarctica (both rides and you can take an easier version for both - we do) and Turtle Trek (film). We were there a week ago Monday and walked on to Antarctica, but we hit it as soon as we got there, as it's still their newest offering. We had very little wait for Wild Arctic, but had to give up on Turtle Trek, as it was a 20 minute wait and we just didn't have time for it.
There are also the shows - One Ocean, the Shamu show is excellent, but we'd seen it on its opening day, so skipped it on this visit and Blue Horizons, the dolphin show, is well worth seeing too. They're introducing a new Clyde and Seamore show (sea lions), which is due to debut soon. They were rehearsing when we were there, but sadly only I guess to an invited audience, as we could hear it, but couldn't see it. Their last show was a lot of fun though.
As far as eating goes, I can thoroughly recommend Shark's Underwater Grill - we had lunch there and absolutely loved it. It was one of our favourites of our entire vacation and you eat with a wonderful view into the shark tank - a bit like the Coral Reef, but higher quality food.
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I can help with the thrill rides. Personally I dont waste time with Atlantis. Just dont feel that it is worth the wait. Now if you can walk on fine do it, but I would not wait. My favorite coster is Mana sp? I would wait for that. It is really as close to flying that you could ever be.
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I can help with the thrill rides. Personally I dont waste time with Atlantis. Just dont feel that it is worth the wait. Now if you can walk on fine do it, but I would not wait. My favorite coster is Mana sp? I would wait for that. It is really as close to flying that you could ever be.
It's Manta....and it is completely AWESOME!!!! Flying is the perfect description! I don't really remember Atlantis, but the Kraken was a disappointment - especially after the Manta. We rode that multiple times and loved it everytime!!!!
The shows were entertaining. The food was edible...that's about it (we did counter service...maybe the table service places were better). I wasn't impressed. Overall the park was nice, but a little worn around the edges, however, it has been almost five years since we went there so they have hopefully done some upgrades/refurbs.
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Out of curiosity, I looked at the SW website to see what rides you could actually use the quick queue for and this is what was listed:
Manta® - we don't do this kind of coaster Kraken® - same as Manta Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin® - when we went it was new and had one hour waits. We skipped it because I watched it online and it looked really lame. Unless things have changed, it's the only way to see the penguins but we didn't miss them. Journey to Atlantis® Abby and I waited only about 5 minutes thanks to a very helpful CM and for us, it was not worth even that short of a wait. TurtleTrek® - This was literally a walk in attraction for us. I couldn't watch the movie though, it made me nauseous Sky Tower - It's so slow moving, we never did it Wild Arctic® - You have two versions you could do - one that moves, one that doesn't (it's a simulator like Star Tours). The non moving one that we did was pretty much walk in (and completely through if you really wanted). I know one time the moving line was long but I think the next time we went back, it was really short. This is the only way to get into the Polar exhibits with the Polar bears, walrus, beluga whales, etc.
When we went in 2013, it was something like 30 per person. For us, it was not worth it but if these are rides you'd want to do multiple times (keeping in mind two send you through exhibits at the end) then it could be. If by staying at the hotel you get it for free then definitely do it.
And if you're up for some reading, in my 2013 TR, I have our experiences with the park. We went for 2 days, back to back, at the beginning of our trip. We did the animals and shows and just that one ride but it might give you a good idea of timing for things.
I noticed for the seal/sea lion feeding they mention on the website a bucket you can buy and you reserve the time. Is that the only way you can feed them or are they still doing the regular where you buy a small cardboard thing of fish?
I noticed for the seal/sea lion feeding they mention on the website a bucket you can buy and you reserve the time. Is that the only way you can feed them or are they still doing the regular where you buy a small cardboard thing of fish?
I know recently they stopped doing the dolphin feeding so it's possible this has changed too.
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Funny how different perspectives can be. I personally *Love* Journey to Atlantis and plan my attire for Sea World around that. (you may get drenched). But hands down Manta is the most exciting thing I have ever done. I cannot usually handle Manta more than once but Atlantis I can and will do over and over
Bottom line advice: Have your quick queue in hand, get to the park at rope drop. Walk on to whatever you can, enjoy the indoor animal exhibits in the middle of the day to cool off then use the quick queue lines later when crowds are greater.
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