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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 just came back from Disney 3 weeks ago and had a wonderful couple of days at the Poly! So, I decided to go back home for my birthday and I booked a couple of days at the Contemporary. Since this is my first time staying there, do y'all have any dining reccomendations or room requests? (I'm staying in the Garden Wing)
This is neither dining nor about rooms, but something I found just stunning was to get on the boat from the CR to either Wilderness Lodge or the MK while the Electrical Water Pageant is going past.
Riding the boat was so relaxing and enjoyable anyway we thought.
The fourth floor deck in the Tower is pretty good for watching the fireworks but get there at least a half hour or more beforehand. It's gotten to be much more popular than it once was.
We've never been as impressed by California Grill at the top of the CR as most people are. If you can afford it, it would have a fantastic view of Wishes so might be worth the cost to see Wishes from there.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
I stayed at the CR in a garden wing, first floor room many years ago. I was with mty DD and my nephew, both 10 at the time. Around two AM someone began to try to get in the slider. They were relentless and I was scared out of my mind. I called the front desk and was told it couldn't be happening. I was finally put through to security who sent someone out. I could hear them talking to someone who was under the influence and appeared to have been confused about what slider they wanted to get in. Security never got back to me.
It was not a good experience and I left a day early (got an earlier check in at Universal) My room was pretty far from the tower and about everything else. AS a female, I would not stay alone in a first floor garden wing room again.
I would also ask to be somewhat close to the tower.
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I've stayed in Garden Wing rooms a few times, twice in the North Wing, now gone, and once in the South Wing, which is the only one now there.
We were also on the first floor, right near the exit to the main Tower. I liked our room location - it was right near the main pool and the hot tub, and a short walk to the Main Tower. We never had any trouble with noise or neighbors any time.
I do miss the North Wing - I liked the first floor rooms there - just a quick skip over to what was then the food court on the first floor, and the arcade - all of this has now been moved, and the Wave is located in that space.
Speaking of restaurants - I enjoyed the Wave for both breakfast and dinner. I used to enjoy the Concourse Steakhouse, which it replaced. I do enjoy California Grill - and Chef Mickey's is a classic - but I've been there and done that - at least until I have grandchildren.
We used to love that arcade & movie theatre. And my mouth waters at the mere thought of many a yummy face lickin' meal at the Concourse Steakhouse. I miss some of the boutiques from the CR which are also long gone.
I agree that the steakhouse is a sad loss all these years later.
We had a great meal there about ten years ago. Much more enjoyable location for us, bright and open though noisy, than the claustrophobic Wave which has no windows.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh