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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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View Poll Results: Which do you do?
Stay in the parks (either one or park hopping) all day
Growing up, mom and dad felt they paid enough to take us to Disney so whenever we went, we were literally in the parks from opening to closing - no breaks, no leaving the parks, etc. Not that I'm complaining as I did do a lot in the parks. Now, I'm taking Abby for the second time. Last time - we'll do the same this year - I did the same thing, kinda. We weren't in the parks at opening, we usually got there 30 minutes to one hour later, then we stayed until at least 8:30ish or closing. I don't do commando though like my parents. We take breaks to sit and people watch or drink our sodas. We stroll through the park instead of rushing from ride to ride. Does anyone else who stays on property do this or do the majority of you take breaks?
I just wanted to add that we always go in the heat of the summer - either July or August. We still don't leave the park, including the year it was 105 in the shade.
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We tend to stay in the parks, but my ADRs are in the park of the day, we take advantage of the benches in the shade from time to time, we walk and not speed walk to the next attraction that we want to do. Of course, I have never taken a small child, if I did I would think that a scheduled nap time would be good. Will probably change our way of doing things when/if I ever get to take my granddaughter.
We used to go commando when I was a child and it is hard for me not to now. My DH refuses to go commando anymore and I respect his decision and we always have a great time. But, on our last trip I had a day's ticket left over for two of the four of us and it KILLED me emotionally. I kept that to myself so he wouldn't think I was crazy.
We only stop because the kids are too small to go all day long. I think when they are a little older, we'll be staying in the parks all day long. But the little ones have a difficult time stroller-napping in that kind of constant stimulated environment so we take them back to the room for a proper nap.
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I do both...there are days that we do spend the whole day in the park...but others we do break up and spend some time at the park, maybe go back to the resort and relax and do the pool.
Sometimes we head back to the park in the evening, other times we do other things, maybe DTD or the Boardwalk....
I think just going with the flow of your traveling party works the best...if you are all having fun then go for the full day but keep a couple of back-up ideas around in case you might just want to take a break and get out of the parks for awhile...
I am sure either way you will have a great time...
Last January our extended family of ten visited WDW for five days. My husband and I were the only ones who had been there before. We had our sons, their wives, and four granddaughters (ages 9, 8, 6 & 5). Before we left, we decided we would not try to rush and see and do everything and it worked out perfectly.
The crowds were small (even though the marathon was going on), and since we stayed at the Grand Floridian, it was easy to return to the resort using the monorail and ferries. We took time to enjoy the pools at the resort also. None of us were ever exhausted, and there was no fussing from the girls.
We thought this would probably be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but since we all had such a wonderful time, we are saving for our next trip. It truly is a magical experience.
We take a break now for our DD, but once she's older I could see us having a full day in the parks sometimes. For the most part though, we like naptime too.
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We usually stay all day till closing, we would leave if we had DTD ressies
or boardwalk then head back to the nearest park.
If I get sleepy, which has happened when I got a cold, I would duck into a 3-d attraction and take a nap.
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We take it day by day. If we are at the park and doing fine then we hang out for most of the day. But there are days that we have went to the parks and then back to the resort for some afternoon pool time. My kids would be happy with swimming all day! So we just do what we want to have a great vacation!!
My DS9 and I are the commando type. On our last trip, he literally rode every ride in MK except for the Hall of Presidents (it sounded boring to him) and Space Mountain (too scary). We saw the parade and the fireworks, visited the BBB, shared a dole whip, and ate at the castle. We got there at 8:30am and left at midnight. Not that I recommend this, but he's a little energizer bunny, that boy. I think next time, I'd rather take a more laid back approach to touring!
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I'm with Ginger - we play it by ear. If we are getting tired/crabby/bored (god forbid)! we head back to the hotel for a break. If everyone is happy and having fun, we stick it out. It's vacation - we do what we want, when we want.
we do a little of each, though mainly we stay in the parks for the full day... and then there are some days we do the commando trip and others we just wander... it really depends on crowds/how much energy we have...
we've always been really lucky as to how we make the most of the trip...
We usually take breaks. We return to our resort, or go "resort-hopping" for a change of scenery. Our twins are probably old enough to stay in the parks for much of the day (they are nearly 9), but we like the break also.
Besides, now we have a newborn, so it will start all over again
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