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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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OK, don't flame me here, folks. I know some of you will feel that this is a negligent idea...BUT...
I'm considering 1 or 2 rides that DS 6 will not ride. Specifically Expedition Everest...When there are no lines...And I would take him in line with me and have him hang out...I know, I know, I'm sure there is no way a CM would let this fly....
He's a really responsible kid...At 5 at DLR he was fine to use the boys room while I used the girl's and he would meet me at a designated spot right outside the bathroom, such as a sign, a bench, or a flower pot. He was 100%. I was usually out before him, but I would duck around the corner and watch what he did and he was totally reliable and comfortable. I think he would be fine to wait for me while I was on a short ride where you get on and off in the same location so we wouldn't miss each other.
Anyone ever heard of such a radical, irresponsible thing going down with CM approval?
That seems too young to me. What if something happened to the ride while you were on it and you didn't get right back to him. While I am sure he would be able to ask a CM for help, it isn't a risk I would take, in order to ride something myself. Personally, I would only do things together with a child that age.
I think that's a good point. While you know your son best, with the rides, so many things could happen that are out of your control versus, say, a trip to the ladies' room. If the ride were to have a breakdown (highly unlikely but not unheard of), you could spend much longer away from him than you intended.
Otherwise, trusting his ability to handle smaller tasks, like heading to the restroom on his own, is obviously something you would be the best judge of; however, I, personally, would be hesitant with anything that could create circumstances that would leave too much "out of my own hands."
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I have to say I think 6 is way to young I'm not sure I would even do that with my 10 year old. 9 times out of 10 he would be ok but there would always be that one thing that caught his attention and he forgot the instructions. The thing is they are little for such a short time I would make the most of the things you can do together now and keep those you can't for when he is older trust me it will be here before you know it.
Is your DS sure he wouldn't ride EE? Is he too short?
There is a gift shop at the end of EE and if you are sure he would be okay for the length of the ride, I would do it! (No, I would never get parent of the year)! Chances of the attraction breaking down are slim but it could happen and if you're sure your child wouldn't panic - do it! ENJOY - I'm sure your ride pic will be priceless!
When my eldest DS was 10yrs he looked after his 7 month old brother (sleeping in his stroller) whilst I went on Test Track through the FP line (I was gone near 20 mins and we both had cell phones). I do feel a little guilty looking back now but I would do it again!
I would not be comfortable doing it. He might be fine but it only takes the one wrong person to come along a notice an unsupervised child and take advantage of the opportunity. It is a public place that anyone could visit.
We have the same problem at the public library I work at...parents always think it is a safe place because it is the library. We have security and guidelines in place to not have children unattended that are under age 8. Even so, we still have situations where we have to get the police involved, luckily the station is right across the street. One recent case, we had a grown man holding a book in front of himself and was exposing himself to a 12-13 year old girl while she was in the stacks looking for a book. You would really be surprised the types of people that may be around.
Is your DS sure he wouldn't ride EE? Is he too short?
There is a gift shop at the end of EE and if you are sure he would be okay for the length of the ride, I would do it! (No, I would never get parent of the year)! Chances of the attraction breaking down are slim but it could happen and if you're sure your child wouldn't panic - do it! ENJOY - I'm sure your ride pic will be priceless!
When my eldest DS was 10yrs he looked after his 7 month old brother (sleeping in his stroller) whilst I went on Test Track through the FP line (I was gone near 20 mins and we both had cell phones). I do feel a little guilty looking back now but I would do it again!
Thank you so much for posting this "alternative" view of what kids can handle!!! I feel so liberated reading your opinion. I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking this would be fine!!!
I'm actually thinking with my amazing people skills and resourcefulness, I might enlist another family to keep an eye on him. But, he is very well behaved in stores and play areas and I do believe he would do just fine. I would enjoy the ride more if I knew there was a back-up person that would support him in the very unlikely event that I would get stuck on the ride.
Scenario: 2 FP+ for E.E., I could offer one to a decent looking adult to ride with us doing "rider swap". Or just ask a family that's in line if they would be willing to do rider swap with us as if we were one big group.
Unless DS changes immensely in the next 2 months....at this point he won't even do POTC because of the skeletons. He's on the fence about the Barnstormer.
Angela, EWW! It's true there are some grody folks out there with weird sex problems...
The level of supervision we chose for our kids is a delicate subject, isn't it?
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We have the same problem at the public library I work at...parents always think it is a safe place because it is the library.
In our library also we have the unattended child problem. No public place is a safe place to leave a young child. In addition to creepy people who might take advantage of an unattended child, most states have laws pertaining to the ages at which children can be left alone. Disney security might also be interested in why that child is without a caregiver nearby. All kinds of emergencies can happen quickly and as others have said, a 5 minute ride could turn into quite a bit longer if there is a breakdown. I would want my child to be at least 8 or 9 before I left them alone in such a busy place, even for a few minutes (like waiting outside the ladies room for me). Then their brains and life experiences are sufficient in most cases to let them know when something is not right and how to get help.
As long as your son is tall enough to ride the ride, the CMs will let him go through the line with you and exit at the last possible minute. He can wait for you at the ride exit!
As long as your son is tall enough to ride the ride, the CMs will let him go through the line with you and exit at the last possible minute. He can wait for you at the ride exit!
OK, this is exactly what I want to do. I haven't looked at the height requirement, but I'm pretty sure he will be tall enough. I wouldn't feel comfortable, you know, leaving him down at the dig site or something...But this sounds like just what I want to do.
Obviously, if he were upset about it, I wouldn't force the issue. But I was wondering what CMs would do with a kid that didn't want to ride, with no second adult to wait with him. I've been doing lots of searches for "single parent disney world" but no one really addresses this issue.
It's about the kid, but it's not ALL about the kid!
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If the ride were to have a breakdown (highly unlikely but not unheard of), you could spend much longer away from him than you intended.
and resourcefulness, I might enlist another family to keep an eye on him. But, he is very well behaved in stores and play areas and I do believe he would do just fine. I would enjoy the ride more if I knew there was a back-up person that would support him in the very unlikely event that I would get stuck on the ride. 
and resourcefulness, I might enlist another family to keep an eye on him.
Jackie
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