Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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06-25-2006, 04:24 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 3,536
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\" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 7-17Completed w/ final thoughts
<font color="blue"> Before I begin my very first trip report [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img], yes I am slightly excited. I wanted to let any future readers know that we visited many sites in the Orlando area so this report will cover more than just Disney. In case you are not too interested in sites other than Disney. But if you are interested on with the show.
Cast of characters:
Me (Maria) 27 and Antonio (son) 7
Special apperances by my DF (darling father), DB (darling brother who is 10, DA (darling Aunt) and my grandma (who is suffering from Alzehemiers (sp) so that is a whole other story).
Dates: June 15-22
My DF and DA and grandmother drove up from Florida on Monday, the 12th. My DF stayed with me while the other 2 stayed with my sister. I had three more days of work before my summer vaction would offically start which left me very little time to focus on this trip and prepare for it. I managed to spend all of the 11th, once I was able to bail out of that school never to return again [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] thanks to finding a new school to teach at next year, going from store to store buying everything that I may need for the trip. My DB arrived from Raleig< that day as well since he would be traveling with us. I knew that going to Universal this trip was a must, Antonio has been bugging me for years to go back. So I ordered our 2 day passes online before leaving in order to get that free child's ticket which was a really great deal [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]. It was off to bed early as I knew that tommorrow would be a long day and did I mention a long drive ahead of us.
<u>Thursday, June 15th- the drive down</u>
This would be my first long distance drive but I really wasn't that worried about it. I knew as long as I had my music I would be okay [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/court.gif[/img]. After getting gas and ice we hit the road. My DB came with Antonio and I and I must say that over all their behavior was great and they remained pretty quiet throughout the ride [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]. As we are cruising along I notice my DF heading toward the shoulder of the road and stopping. Now I was not very fond of pulling over on I-95 to stop but figured something must be going on. Well there was something going on , they got thirsty [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] and decided to pull over to get some drinks (soda of course!!) from the trunk [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]. Are you kidding me rig<t now!!! I liked to have had a heart attack trying to merge back into the flowing mass of cars while dodgeing somewhat large shreds of tire. Thanks Dad!
We finally reached the half way mark, other wise known as Savannah, Georgia. My father took over the driving for me, I wonder if that had anything to do with the fact that my car has cruise control and my DA's does not [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img].
The only other interesting thing that happened was a tractor trailer blew out a tire and thankfully we were at a good spot where we were able to dodge flying bits of tire (althoug< there would be more to dodge on the way home).
Finally we arrive in Orlando and make our way to my family's house to settle in. This would begin my nig<tly ritual of three hours of Spanish soap operas. Did I mention that my family is from Puerto Rico and there was a lot of Spanish immersion in that house. Unfortunately I was not raised speaking Spanish so it is some what limited. But I was able to polish up quite a bit during this trip. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
The plans were laid out and it would be Antonio and I going solo to Universal Studios the next day. I could feel the excitment begin to mount at finally being able to enter a theme park after three years. It was time to finally get some shut eye so off to bed we go [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/snore.gif[/img].
Up next.... Cat in the Hat what? </font>
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06-25-2006, 04:30 PM
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#2
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" trip report
Great start!! Can't wait to read more!
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06-25-2006, 04:35 PM
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#3
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Southern Maine
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 1,552
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" trip report
Looking forward to hearing all about your trip! Hurry back!
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06-25-2006, 04:51 PM
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#4
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" trip report
Great start Maria [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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06-25-2006, 05:00 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: North Central Ohio
Posts: 21,629
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" trip report
Great start! Looking forward to more! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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06-26-2006, 08:44 AM
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#6
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 3,536
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" trip report
<font color="blue"> <u>Friday, June 16th- Cat in the Hat what??</u>
Today started bright and early around 7:00 and by 8:30 Antonio and I were out of the door. Thankfully my family lives only about 15 minutes from Universal so the drive was pretty short. Before we knew it we were in the parking garage and ready to storm through Universal. Of course the most important thing to note is where you park and I had no pen so was forced to rely on my memory [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img], not a good idea but Antonio would do fine. So as I now refer to Antonio we parked in Cat in the Hat 457, yes I just asked him and this kid still remembers where we parked. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/applause.gif[/img]
So we head to the electronic kiosk and within 5 minutes hold our tickets in our hands and away we go.
I knew that the Mummy was calling my name [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img], but I wanted to ease Antonio into the action so we started off slow. I was really surprised because the crowds were fairly small this day and waits were really small. Gotta love that!
First up Shrek 4-D with a 10 minute wait. I really liked the show, it was well done, but a little longer than I thought it would be. Was that water I felt during the show? Of course it was hince the (WET!!!) in my title. Water was everywhere this trip. So we couldn't just walk right by Jimmy Nuetron's Blast without going inside so off we go to blast around Nick Studios. This ride gets a [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] from Antonio, it is now his all time favorite. The chicken dance at the end was cute but really I could take it or leave it. And yes that was water I felt when we splashed down into Bikini Bottom. Who should we spy in the shop after the ride, none other than Spongebob Squarepants. Of course I have to get Antonio's picture. What should I discover [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/foreheadslap.gif[/img] I left the camera at the house. So we forget Spongebob for now because I have to decide if I want to spend Antonio's college fund on buying the expensive disposable cameras in the park. OK not really but they are really expensive. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]
At this point I think we are ready to hit the Mummy. I have been dying to try this since reading about it in so many others reports. So there we go and Antonio is such a champ he takes it all in stride. As we load I can't help but think of a person on here who just happens to [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] the Mummy and I hope it will live up to my expectations. We get the third row on the right and we are off. WOW!!!! Does that sum it up? I [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] this ride and it has easily become my favorite. We talk about seeing that one again but head off to see what else we can see while the waits are still short.
We end up in Amity, where a great white is waiting to take a chunk out of us. If you have done it once you have done it a thousand times but with no wait we went for it and were able to escape his mighty jaws (no pun intended). And [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] that was more water being sprayed at me. Antonio doesn't really care for this ride as he thinks the fire is too hot! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/noway.gif[/img]
We continue on and are able to ride Men in Black. This was my first time and I enjoyed the ride. I do believe I had the biggest total in my buggy [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] although that may not be saying too much as we didn't rank very high. Than it was time to go Back to the Future, this is an oldie but goodie and so we rode it for old time sakes.
All the rides are still pretty much walk ons and I can't imagine what it must be like to have to stand in those long lines that we are now breezing through. (I would find out later [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]).
Aound this time the hunger is setting in but Antonio wants to keep going. So we head to Kids Zone and rode ET, Antonio's first time and even though there was no one in front of us at the doors it still took alittle longer than I would have liked. From there we go to Fievel's Playland and Antonio goes down the water slide, which took FOREVER I thought he had disappeared. By this time hunger has set in and so I stop and spend the loot for the camera. We kept seeing characters and I couldn't take any pictures which was driving me insane and we had some pizza in the Kidzone.
Up next: Now that I have a camera will we see any characters?
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06-26-2006, 04:03 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Wonderful start to your trip report - more please!
Joy
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06-26-2006, 07:12 PM
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#8
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Great update Maria [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] We're going to US in August, so I love hearing about your adventures [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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06-27-2006, 12:28 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Just catching up here Maria!! It sounds like a wonderful trip so far!! I [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] USF!!
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06-27-2006, 05:00 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Illinois
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 9,564
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Lovin' this report! More please.
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06-27-2006, 05:27 PM
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#11
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Songtan, South Korea
Posts: 4,681
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Re: \" Visiting Mickey\'s (WET!!!) Neighborhood\" Update 6-26
Love your report thus far, Maria. We are a few hours North of you in VA, and we always feel like we are almost there when we hit Savannah. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] So, we [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] seeing Savannah, GA!
Glad you got a camera. I think I'd go insane without my camera. Can't wait for more!
Laura
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