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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Has anyone ever been to Dollywood in Tenn? If you have can you tell me a little. We are thinking of taking 2 trips this year one to Disney and one to Tenn.
It's been about 8 years since we've been, but I think it's a really good park and I know they've added a bunch of fun things since we went.
We stayed overnight as a stop on the way north to visit family. We arrived after 3pm on a Friday and bought tickets that were then good for that night and the next day (I think they still do this). We found the park emptied out around dinner, as many people seemed to be headed for dinner shows nearby. So we were able to do many of our favorites (log flume) several times in a row. When the park closed we went to our hotel. The next morning we arrived at park opening, did a few more things before lunch and then were back on the road again. We had a great time.
i haven't been there in almost 5 years, but it's a very quaint little park. It's quiet, with some smaller attractions, but I believe there are still some big coasters. I liked it, especially all the interesting demonstrations, like glass blowing. My favorite part was the bald eagles. It's a nice little park, but don't expect it to be like Disney. There's a lot in the area to do too. I think Ripley's aquarium is still near by, and don't forget the Dixie Stampede. I haven't been in 5 years, and the time I went was for my senior trip in high school, so I didn't get to do as much as I wanted to do there. Enjoy!
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I grew up about 30 mins from there. I have been about 100 times. So if you want you can PM me and i will answer any specific questions. I love Gatlinburg/dollywood. Its a bunch of fun...but i'm biased since its my hometown
Yes...dollywood has added a bunch of stuff over the years. Last year they added a ride called mystery mine and it was voted top new attraction of the year at themeparks. They have a large wooden rollercoaster which was voted best wooden rollercoaster when it first debuted(very smooth ride for a wooden coaster) and they have the tennessee tornado with a large loop and a butterfly loop. There's a bunch of shows and water rides, etc. Its not like disney but i love it. I love the food in park and the atmosphere. Its expensive though...we get free passes because our family still lives there with season passes. They have a water park too. Its a nice water park. It all depends on the time of year you go Hope this can answer a few questions
We last went in 2004 - took my oldest dd to the VeggieTales events they have in the summers. (Not sure if they still do those, but it used to be a yearly thing) It's a very family-friendly place, and we had a great time. It rained very hard the day we went, and we were very impressed that they gave everyone free passes to return another day! Very generous.
Like pp said, there are a lot of other fun things to do in the area as well. We LOVE the Dixie Stampede!
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Heather R, DVC Member and Disney Mom's Panelist, loving loyal wife to Chris & stay-at-home mom to Annie - 5, Catie - 3, and Lilly - 1
you might want to repost this in the globetrotting forum and see if you get more info. I"ve never been there so can't help you -- but I am sure lots of PP'ers can!
I have been several times, as well. There is tons to do in the area. You can get a 3 day admission to Dollywood and Splash Country water park for around $100 per person - a great deal, IMHO. The lines never seem long - last time we were there in July and barely waited for anything. You have to go on the Mountain Slidewinder - it's a hoot! Any more questions, please PM me!
We've been to Dollywood twice. The last time was with my husband's family. We ranged in ages from 60 to 7 and everyone had a great time. We didn't do the water park. There was an indoor coaster that was good for everyone as well as some more daring coasters for the teens. We saw a show about Dolly Parton's life that was great. It was really a nice family park. No, it isn't Disney but it did exceed our expectations. There was one ride that was a BIG slide almost like a luge. It was very cool. We like theme parks and we hadn't seen anything like it before or since. It might be the Sidewinder mentioned in the other post. Hope you have a great time.
Joy
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We've been to Dollywood twice. The last time was with my husband's family. We ranged in ages from 60 to 7 and everyone had a great time. We didn't do the water park. There was an indoor coaster that was good for everyone as well as some more daring coasters for the teens. We saw a show about Dolly Parton's life that was great. It was really a nice family park. No, it isn't Disney but it did exceed our expectations. There was one ride that was a BIG slide almost like a luge. It was very cool. We like theme parks and we hadn't seen anything like it before or since. It might be the Sidewinder mentioned in the other post. Hope you have a great time.
Joy
Yes this is the Mountain Sidewinder. Been there for years and such a blast to ride. Its like a canoe made of rubber and you slide down a water slide. Lots of fun.....there's also a really cool log flume called Daredevil Falls (like splash mountain). the indoor roller coaster is called the Blazing Fury. Thats really cool too! Lots of family oriented stuff. Lots of local foods, arts and crafts. There's a portion to dollywood which is called the town fair where there's a lot of fair oriented stuff to do like swings and a ferris wheel and two or three new rides. Just go to the dollywood website it will tell all I really think its worth it. There's so much to do in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg all around dollywood. It usually takes us a few days to do everything.