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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Here are a couple of NSMCM that those of us traveling with Special Needs tend to encounter. (Or at least we notice them more.)
Center Stoppers will suddenly stop in the middle of wherever they are: walkways, gift shops, whatever. This usually causes the scooter use to attempt (a usually futile) sudden stop. (Contributed by CinderAbby)
Dashers are kids who run in front of you because Mom and Dad aren't watching again resulting in a usually futile attempt at a sudden stop (Contributed by CinderAbby and Eeyore Tattoo)
The Gazelles are those that will try to jump over the feet of a wheelchair in order to get to their destination faster in a crowd during a mad dash. (Usually experienced at rope drop for Toon Town or DHS when heading to TSMM) (Contributed by PamelaK)
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The Leaners - Who think that your wheelchair is their personal "lean rail"
The Player - Can be children or adults, people who think your chair is "just so cool" and want to touch it
The "Befrienders" - People who see you in line and feel the need to talk to you (even though they never talk to able bodied people in line). And of course what they want to ask you is about your illness/disability. Because what you want to talk about in Disney is being sick!
The "Befrienders" - People who see you in line and feel the need to talk to you (even though they never talk to able bodied people in line). And of course what they want to ask you is about your illness/disability. Because what you want to talk about in Disney is being sick!
Befrienders is certainly nicer than my name for them - the busybodies.
I'll go one better on the "befrienders"...we had a couple ask if they could be our "tagalongs" so they could go through the back entrance of Haunted Mansion-cause they were curious to see it.
Other guests. I'm pretty sure that the true CM of Disney have a lot more tact and observation skills
Well...most of them do....
I'll add this: The Power Rangers! CMs who don't know the difference between a personal power wheelchair and an ECV. Usually a new CM or a CP. As in the following example:
Pooh CM: You'll need to transfer from your ECV to a standard wheelchair, Ma'am.
Me: This is a standard sized wheelchair. It fits in the accessible car, no problem.
CM: ECVs don't fit in the accessible car, and can't navigate the queue.
Me: This is a wheelchair, not an ECV.
CM: But...but..it's powered.
Me: Could you please check with someone else, this has never been a problem before.
CM goes, comes back: go on ahead, Ma'am. Sorry about that.
Me: S'alright.
Pooh is thr most common place, but there are others. Very common when a new batch of CPs arrives. Clearly, they aren't as well trained on the differences.
Noted exceptions: At pirates, you must be able to put the chair in manual mode, or transfer, because of how they move the chair to unload.
At Aladdin's Carpets, the chair carpet has a wacky molded thing that doesn't fit under the motor undercarriage of most power chairs. You can double check though, using a model of the piece that they have.
I'll add this: The Power Rangers! CMs who don't know the difference between a personal power wheelchair and an ECV. Usually a new CM or a CP. As in the following example:
Pooh CM: You'll need to transfer from your ECV to a standard wheelchair, Ma'am.
Me: This is a standard sized wheelchair. It fits in the accessible car, no problem.
CM: ECVs don't fit in the accessible car, and can't navigate the queue.
Me: This is a wheelchair, not an ECV.
CM: But...but..it's powered.
Me: Could you please check with someone else, this has never been a problem before.
CM goes, comes back: go on ahead, Ma'am. Sorry about that.
Me: S'alright.
Pooh is thr most common place, but there are others. Very common when a new batch of CPs arrives. Clearly, they aren't as well trained on the differences.
Noted exceptions: At pirates, you must be able to put the chair in manual mode, or transfer, because of how they move the chair to unload.
At Aladdin's Carpets, the chair carpet has a wacky molded thing that doesn't fit under the motor undercarriage of most power chairs. You can double check though, using a model of the piece that they have.
OMG i get this too! I got it at Tower of Terror and RnR AND Peter Pan!
I never did get to ride Peter Pan - I was told to park the chair in the stroller parking and walk in, as if I had a huge ECV - i had a tiny powerchair that turns in a smaller radius than my manual chair!
I was with Mom in her wheelchair and Cindy from Spoons who uses an ECV. I was pushing Mom. The CM told Cindy that she could not take the ECV through the line. She walked and I pushed Mom. We get off then I have to leave the two of them at Pooh Corner to shop while I trudge back up the hill to get her ECV. I ended up talking to a trainer who is higher up than a lead.
They are to explain that guests must transfer to a wheelchair for the line and if necessary the ride. If a guest does not have someone to push them then they may use the exit. They were supposed to have our group use the exit because Cindy had nobody to push her in a wheelchair and her ECV would not have fit. ARGH. I knew what to do but the CM did not. Cindy was lucky to have me to walk back up the hill and get the scooter.
Panic Stop: A person who suddenly stops in traffic. They can be on foot or in a car. Last night I am getting on the freeway and I have my spot chosen,. Foot is to the metal, Eleanor is roaring, and I have my spot when the guy in front of me puts the brakes on and rapidly slows down for no reason. There was nothing for him to slow down for but he did. I see that in the parks where you will be walking along and BOOM you have just rear ended someone who just up and stops for no reason.
Does anyone know of a way to put power brakes on a wheelchair but not so strong as to have Mom go sliding out of the chair? Every trip ends up with one or both wrists hurting from trying to stop a heavy wheelchair on a down slope.
I love Jewelry Grabbers and when I wore my pins I would have people grab the lanyard. Imagine a person pulling on a lanyard attached to 300 pounds of quivering flesh that is leaning forward at a steep angle.
I react to people touching my back usually and have pulled rib area muscles. Last trip a CM was trying to guide me out of the Jungle Cruise boat. I could feel that hand on my back but it did not hit one of the touchy spots. People do not realize that some people have brittle bones, tender skin or like me over react to touch. There are ways to touch me in the back but it unnerves me when a hand is near my back as I might just over react and end up in pain.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
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I was with Mom in her wheelchair and Cindy from Spoons who uses an ECV. I was pushing Mom. The CM told Cindy that she could not take the ECV through the line. She walked and I pushed Mom. We get off then I have to leave the two of them at Pooh Corner to shop while I trudge back up the hill to get her ECV. I ended up talking to a trainer who is higher up than a lead.
This is exactly the reason I get a GAC !
The GAC states I can use an alternate entrance "exits" to get on rides that I can't get through the que on my ECV.. I find it deters a argument with a CM about where I can enter & get on a ride..
One argument was enough to convince me a GAC was the way to go..
OMG i get this too! I got it at Tower of Terror and RnR AND Peter Pan!
I never did get to ride Peter Pan - I was told to park the chair in the stroller parking and walk in, as if I had a huge ECV - i had a tiny powerchair that turns in a smaller radius than my manual chair!
Peter Pan has a bigger issue, anyway. They will not voluntarily stop the the moving platform. Something about concerns over starting it up again. Um, maintenance overhaul much? M'kay.
Other guests. I'm pretty sure that the true CM of Disney have a lot more tact and observation skills
While this may be true of MOST CMs, I had the unlucky opportunity to have a run in with a not so pleasant CM when we were there in Dec 09 and I was in an ECV. It was our first day at the World and we had spent it at MK, until party time and as we were not attending the party that night we were making our way out. Well we were trying to cut across Main Street down near the castle hub by the Plaza Restaurant. Well it was hard for me to get a straight on shot across the trolley tracks so the front wheel of the ECV got stuck in the tracks, RIGHT in front of a photopass CM. Now you would think that this CM being employed by Disney would come over and help me remove the ECV from the tracks and then go back to taking photos. NOPE, No way and no how. He was going to have none of it. He actually started yelling at me to move the ECV out of his camera shot. He didn't offer to help me at all, he just yelled and yelled and yelled. It didn't matter that I was now near tears and had a cast on my foot making mobility difficult, he didn't care one bit, he just wanted me out of his way. I couldn't lift the scooter and neither could my mom which was making him angrier and angrier and he just got louder the angrier he got. A nice couple who were near us actually stopped to help us get the ECV out of the tracks while the photographer never lifted a finger or even moved over to try to help us. I was so upset I couldn't think straight enough to go complain at Guest Services, but you can be assured that if that happens again on our trip this December (I have an ECV as I blew my knee out over the summer), you can be guaranteed that a trip to Guest Services WILL be happening.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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