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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
A wife of one of DH's co-workers called and asked the following: One of the benefits listed for staying at a Disney Resort is that you are still admitted to the parks even when they are turning away others (people not staying at a WDW hotel). How often does this happen? and Does this benefit include the waterparks?
We have never stayed anywhere but WDW resorts while there and I have never been aware of being at full park. I told her I would check with my knowledgeable Passporter friends...
Even if you are staying at a Disney resort, you can be turned away if the parks are full. I don't think that happens a lot, though. They close the parks in phases- at first they may only let onsite guests in, and turn away day guests, but if the park reaches maximum occupancy, they won't let anyone in. -Stephanie
I believe I remember reading here previously that the resort stay guarantees you admission to at least one of the parks, but not necessarily the one you wanted.
I'm sure I was told that one year, maybe 2000, they even turned resort guests away at Christmas and I know that certainly happened over the Millennium - I remember a CM telling us that. I don't think it happens often, but trust me, the Magic Kingdom is not a nice place to be once it's full and they're only admitting resort guests.
Typically, MK reaches capacity on July 4 and Christmas day around 10am or so, and they begin turning away off-site Guests. Sometimes it happens on New Years Eve, as well, though it might be later in the day as people come into the parks for the midnight countdown.
The other parks don't always reach capacity on those days, though they are always extremely full, since July 4 and Christmas are the most crowded days of the year.
Epcot sometimes reaches capacity on New Years Eve, too, which is hard since Epcot's capacity is so much higher than the other parks.
I've heard that plenty of people get turned away from the water parks in the summer hot season; not much you can do about it except try the other water park or go back to your hotel pool for a while.
People (even resort guests) have been turned away from Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon this week. I know, because we get news flashes on our computer at work and MUST let the resort guests know. So, I guess it does happen.
As far as maximum capacity at the parks, it definately happens. News Years, Easter, July 4th and Christmas are the most likely times. July 4th of this year, they were letting NO ONE else into the Magic Kingdom, whether you were a resort guest or not. That was in the late afternoon. It happened as well at Epcot of this past New Year's Eve.
Parking lots usually reach capacity before the park does. So, access by car (to on- or off-property guests) may be closed off even though the park is still open to guests using Disney transportation.
Moral: Use Disney Transportation to visit waterparks on hot summer days.
As to on-property guest (and annual passholder) admission policies on the big holidays - the policies are not etched in stone. I recall they changed several times in the run-up to the Millennium, the last change occurring on December 31.
Generally, Disney will find a way to get an on-property guest and/or annual passholder into a park, although it may not be the guest's first choice.
We've found that full-to-capacity park closings can be short-lived. As soon as some guests leave (and they usually do), the gates may open again. If you were locked out of the (full) parking lot you'll probably miss the opportunity, but on-property guests using Disney Transportation will get a good crack at things. For instance, if MK is full, hop the monorail to one of the resorts, enjoy a drink or snack, and head back to MK.
Will the bus drivers know if they are taking you to a full park and warn you when you board? ("Sorry to tell you MK/EPCOT/TL... is closed?") When we went last August we went to the waterparks in the middle of the HOT days and never had a problem, I wonder if it was because we used Disney transportation? or maybe enough people had left? Thank you everyone for the infomation
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Hybrid Mode
