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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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For those of you who have used a GAC, I'd love to know how it went for you and any tips you may have. I will be getting one for my DS 5 when we go in 2 months b/c his autism makes it extremely difficult for him to wait in line for any length of time. How many people does it allow the user to accompany them on line? I'm assuming if I get it at any park it is good for his length of stay, right? I'm looking to make this as painless as possible for DS and those waiting in line. We had a similar pass at a small local park and only used it when we knew the lines were was too long for DS but tried to get him to wait on the shorter lines. I'm sure I'll hear some comments from people about 'cutting the line' but I can't be bothered with other people's ignorance. Anyway, if you have used a GAC I'd love to have some feedback. TIA
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My DS7 has a heart condition that required us to use GAC on our trip this past May, and it worked out VERY well. We went directly to guest services/information to the first park on our first day, for us that was Hollywood Studios, - keep in mind you have to go to the one inside the park, not the info office that is located outside the gates. You don't need a doctors note or any type of documents, you just need to walk in, as for a GAC, and they will ask you to explain your child's condition, what type of assitance you are asking for, how many people are in your party, what dates you are staying at WDW this trip, and your name, things like that, and then they will give you a card that you will present at every attraction. In our case, we needed to be out of the sun and not standing up for too long in high heat or humidity, so what they did was put us through the fast pass line or if there wasn't one the CM at the entrance of the ride would take us through a "back door" and jump us up to the ride, or they would put us up to the wheelchair access area. For parades and shows we had the option of being seated in a priority/ shaded/seated area, and they could take us up ahead of time for things like Fantasmic so that we weren't waiting in a crowd. All of the CM's were fantastic, they were very courteous, and they knew exactly what to do when I presented the GAC to them, and I even sent a very detailed thank you to guest services when we came home from our trip. It made a HUGE difference in our vacation, as I feel we got to see and do so much more than we would have been able if we didn't have the GAC, I think my DS7 probably would have tired out a lot more often, and could gave passed out or gotten very sick considering the weather we were in - 90 degrees and very sticky Also - if this helps, we frequently ran in to two families on our trip, one of which had a child with autism, and one with ADHD, so if you feel you need the GAC, then by all means, it is well worth it. It took us only 5 minutes to get it on our first day, and it was usable for our entire stay.
The GAC has a maximum of 6 people. The CMs will not ask you for details about the condition (it's illegal), only ask you what you NEED. It is good for the length of the stay. Amy described well how it works, BUT, it is important to note, it is NOT a "front of the line" pass. The last one I had, the CM even highlighted the fine print that says that. I have never, EVER gotten on immediately or even close to it. Most of the time is a FP queue, so you are still waiting just as long as the FP holders. Soarin' especially comes to mind as a place where even the FP line can be a long-ish wait (we've had 30 minute waits in FP there and it can be loud when the regular line is playing the games). Toy Story Mania was another long wait, although not as crowded as Soarin' and with plenty to look at. There are a few rides that you may have to board at the exit which means you are riding past crowds of people who may give you "looks" and make the comments you mentioned.
It's important for people to know it's a card for assistance, not a magic wand, so not to be upset when you can't just wave it and walk on a ride. I've seen many a fit thrown by people when they learn they still have to wait. I've seen many a fit thrown by people when they think folks w/ a GAC NEVER have to wait.
[QUOTE][It's important for people to know it's a card for assistance, not a magic wand, so not to be upset when you can't just wave it and walk on a ride./QUOTE]
Believe me, I'm well aware of that and not expecting to 'move to the front of the line'. I just want to limit DS anxieties about having to wait too long.
I traveled with a family that needed a GAC and they still had to wait for rides, usually in the FP line which was sometimes too long for their little one to handle. Hopefully, you're travelling during a slow time and are willing to avoid the big, long line attractions if DS can't handle a wait. They never moved them to the front of the line without some kind of wait, so you might want to prepare for that. Good luck.
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Thank you all very much for the info. We're going in early Nov so I'm hoping lines aren't too bad. We fully intended to get FP's when possible but know we'll probably avoid certain rides (TSMM) since the wait will be too much for DS. He tends to max out at about 15-20 minutes. I appreciate all of the helpful tips. thanks again!!
Thank you all very much for the info. We're going in early Nov so I'm hoping lines aren't too bad. We fully intended to get FP's when possible but know we'll probably avoid certain rides (TSMM) since the wait will be too much for DS. He tends to max out at about 15-20 minutes. I appreciate all of the helpful tips. thanks again!!
Does your son have an OT or can you put together a "survival kit" of sensory tools and fidgets to help in the lines? Keep what is in there a surprise, and that should help pass the time. I have an article posted in a thread someplace in the special needs forum with tips for visiting Disney with sensory sensitivities and attention/behavior issues. Maybe that could help.
I have a question on the GAC also. My friend, who has MS, will be with us on our December trip and she is fighting me on getting one. She hates to make a big deal about her illness. She thinks she can just stay in her wheelchair and then join the rest of her party after they wait in the line queue just before they get on the ride. I told her that's not realistic because a. other people in line will get angry and b. you can't always see your party in line from outside the attraction. If my friend was to get a GAC card would she be able to wait at the front of the line until her family (or mine) could join her. Believe me, she is like you gals, doesn't want any freebies but then again she isn't physically able to keep up with everyone else.
She is also worried about the dirty looks. Such a shame people have such low tolerances.
I have a question on the GAC also. My friend, who has MS, will be with us on our December trip and she is fighting me on getting one. She hates to make a big deal about her illness. She thinks she can just stay in her wheelchair and then join the rest of her party after they wait in the line queue just before they get on the ride. I told her that's not realistic because a. other people in line will get angry and b. you can't always see your party in line from outside the attraction. If my friend was to get a GAC card would she be able to wait at the front of the line until her family (or mine) could join her. Believe me, she is like you gals, doesn't want any freebies but then again she isn't physically able to keep up with everyone else.
She is also worried about the dirty looks. Such a shame people have such low tolerances.
No, she won't be able to "cut" through the line to meet her party. There are many lines that are wheelchair accessible, so she can just wait with them in the queue. For the ones that are not, she will be directed to special entrances (Spaceship Earth, Space Mtn, Splash, and BTMRR leap to mind, but there are others). The entire party needs to stay together (6 or fewer) and you board those at the exit. It is too difficult for CMs to keep up with split parties and cannot make the extra effort to reunite people in order to go together.
As far as the looks go, she's just going to have to not worry about it, easier said than done. I have found that I remind myself of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent". Have your friend wear a tiara and remind herself that, as a princess, she deserves to take her throne with her!
Sigh, I have a feeling my friend does feel inferior and that's why people's comments upset her.
Have you asked her about it? I know in my case I didn't tell very many people about my DS when he was first diagnosed. Not because of feeling inferior but more so b/c I'm a private person and I didn't think it was anyone's business. Only recently (3 yrs later) have I really begun to be open about my DS's dx. Comments are hurtful even though most times it comes from a place of ignorance. I hear comments a lot b/c DS's disability isn't visible. It seems like your friend just wants to fit in like we all do. Give her a hug and ask what you can do to help make her feel more comfortable. I hope you and your friend have a great trip!
Have you asked her about it? I know in my case I didn't tell very many people about my DS when he was first diagnosed. Not because of feeling inferior but more so b/c I'm a private person and I didn't think it was anyone's business. Only recently (3 yrs later) have I really begun to be open about my DS's dx. Comments are hurtful even though most times it comes from a place of ignorance. I hear comments a lot b/c DS's disability isn't visible. It seems like your friend just wants to fit in like we all do. Give her a hug and ask what you can do to help make her feel more comfortable. I hope you and your friend have a great trip!
Thanks for the concern. You are so sweet. I think when my friend realizes that once she is in WDW everyone is going to be having too good of a time to care why she looks "normal" but can't walk around like the rest of us.
Only recently (3 yrs later) have I really begun to be open about my DS's dx. Comments are hurtful even though most times it comes from a place of ignorance. I hear comments a lot b/c DS's disability isn't visible.
With three sons on the spectrum I've learned to be very outspoken about autism for a couple of reasons. A. I'm hoping that a few people along the way will remember us and be educated about what autism really is.
And B. because I'm constantly advocating for them. I've heard so many rude comments and I try to politely inform them of what the situation is. There have been a few times (and at WDW) where the person was just a complete idiot and I've told them off. I've also made comments to people about standing in line very similar to what your friend said. There are some people we'll never get through to but we can try!
Incidentally, with the GAC the only incidents that have been difficult for rides have been at Dumbo and the Teacups where you have to get the attention of a CM so he can let you in but it hasn't been a really big deal. You might get a dirty look from someone who doesn't realize what you're doing but you'll never see them again. We're going for Christmas this year so I'm concerned myself! Have a great trip!
i have also heard of people writing a short letter themselves clarifying their own needs, if they are uncomfortable speaking about them. I knew a woman who needed to cath her bladder every 30-45 minutes, and was unable to wait much longer than that in lines. however, she didnt want to discuss all of this with a CM with a line of people behind her. basically her urinary habits were not something she wished every other guest in City Hall to know.
this was NOT a letter from her dr and did NOT contain any medical information other than "i need to access a restroom every 45 minutes, please help."
this may also come in handy with teenagers with Austism/Aspergers, who are embarrassed by having to use a GAC. most 16 year old boys do not want to be in same state as their mother, much less have their mother tell what may be perceived as embarassing stories about them.
just a thought, if you/your kids are embarassed to have their medical needs talked about aloud...
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Also - if this helps, we frequently ran in to two families on our trip, one of which had a child with autism, and one with ADHD, so if you feel you need the GAC, then by all means, it is well worth it. It took us only 5 minutes to get it on our first day, and it was usable for our entire stay. 
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