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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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any advice for a sea world first timer?? We are going in august and are planning on 2 days. Do we need 2 full days? It will be DH and myself, DS 5, DD 5 and DS almost 3. (the rest of our vacation will be spent at WDW). Is it better to do 2 days in a row or split up the days? What about dining in the park...any recommendations? the dining with shamu seems so expensive. how is the restaurant with the shark tanks? do you need to make reservations far in advance like you do for disney? being that it seems like its a lot of shows at seaworld it doens't seem like we would need to take a break midday like at WDW and then go back at night, or do we? Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks a bunch!
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~Kelly
***August 2013 Kidani Village/ BC Club level***July 2012 BLT 1st stay as DVC members***January 2012 Poly Club level, grandparents first trip to WDW EVER! ***July 2011 BC DS 7th bday and our 15th anniversary celebration *** Aug 2010 bonus trip, we usually go every other year woohoo!!***July 2009 Beach Club *** August 2007 2nd family vacation Sheraton Vistana Resort for 7n & then 3n at POR!! *** June 2005 POFQ 1st Family trip
Having not done a restaurant meal at SW myself, not much help with that. WIth your kids ages, both dining experiences would be fun if they are into that type of thing. I would think that you should be able to get most of the park done in one day. If your kids love the animals, then by all means go for two days and break it up a bit. I think it depends on how many ride attractions vs shows you'll want to see and do. We are planning one day for SW on our trip and we'll have two small children with us.
Have fun!
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Denise
Counting down to....
May 2017 - Poly (Grandma's 1st Trip to WDW)
Sept 2017 - DH's bday celebration
Aug 2018 - DCL Family cruise on the Dream
I would probably only do one day (although we usually do 2), since you've got the 3 yo, and they'd probably would be bored day 2? The 5's might like a second half day to go do some things again (feed the rays, see Shamu, etc). So... 1-1/2 days would probably be perfect.
Dining -- I wouldn't pay for Shamu for so many of you... it is expensive, and not terribly interactive, and the little ones might be a bit disappointed at not being able to touch, even though they're that close.
As for meals at Sea World, I didn't really like Dine with Shamu. The food was good, but the interaction consisted of Shamu just doing some basic tricks. You can see the same tricks during the Believe show. Sharks Underwater Grill (the restaurant with sharks) is very good. Save room for the brownie desert because it is delicious! You can make reservations for Sharks, but I don't have the phone number.
If you want to do a dinner show, I'd recommend the Luau. It's fun and the food is good.
Sea World is a great park. We go every year. It's very different from Disney, a little more laid back. I never feel as though I have to have a touring plan. It is a bit much to try to see all the shows/exhibits in one day. If I could only see one show it would be Blue Horizons. Shamu though is the big draw, get there early to get seats. Right by Shamu Stadium is an area called Shamu's Happy Harbor and there's a wet play area (water fountains etc.) as well as arcade style games, a large climbing structure and now some smaller "kiddie rides". There's a shamu themed, very mild roller coaster and another ride which is Dumb meets the tea cups. It's mild or wild depending if your kids spin it or not. I also like that several of the walkways are shaded and there's nice music playing. My only complaint with Sea World is the dolphin feeding at Dolphin Cove. It's always packed and it's never been a good experience for my kids. We don't go there but do stop by the dolpin nursery. While there's no feeding involved there, they do get see the dolphins. My kids also like the Wild Artic. Once inside the exhibit you see Beluga whales, polar bears and walruses. It's all inside (a great place to cool off) and set up to look like the interior of an Artic base station. My kids play more in those areas than looking at the animals. You can choose the mild or wild ride in. It's set up that you're coming into an Artic base station via helicopter. You can chose to sit and watch the movie and proceed into the exhibit or do something that's more motion simulated (we've not chosen this one). This is a popular exhibit but most of the waiting areas are covered. don't forget the free beer at the A.B. Hositality Center. Refreshing on hot day. Enjoy your visit!
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