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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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OK, this is actually a Disneyland rumor, but since it also pertains to the beloved AC, I'm posting it here.
Did anyone see this week's episode of D23 Geek? There is a new bar being built at the Disneyland Hotel - Trader Sam's (named after the trader in the Jungle Cruise!). Supposedly, it is going to have some of the "interactive experiences from the Adventurer's Club"!!!
So excited to hear after someone has actually been what that means!!
Will I be able to get my AC canteen refilled? Sing my favorite song (dough, I use to buy my beer; Ray, the guy I buy it from......)? See my favorite club members?
So, anyone else have any scoop on this? (Or has it all been posted elsewhere but I missed it!?)
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I did notice that the building sketch for the new bar looks a lot like the Poly . . . it seems to be Jungle Cruise themed!
I think that's the tie-in to the name: Trader Sam's - the bar is to be named after the trader mentioned on the Jungle Cruise. I didn't see any estimates on when it may open - so I guess it's premature to book a ticket to LAX!
Again, I will rub my lamp, throw coins into a fountain, blow out some bday candles & wish upon a star that AC will reappear.
Perhaps, if this bar is a hit, the powers that be will listen to the 1,000's of us who want our AC back and open something similar at Hyperion Wharf?!?!? I won't even complain if it's not as good as the original, to share those memories and make new ones with friends would be enough.
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While I'd like nothing better than to have the old AC back, I consider the AC just one stop along Imagineering's path with a concept originated by Walt himself - the original Chinese restaurant idea that became the Tiki Room. I have little doubt this idea will re-emerge in an evolved form.
We're actually seeing an extension of the concept right now - Turtle Talk with Crush, Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, Animator's Palate on the Disney Dream... All involve guests interacting with animated characters. Backstage, they have the same kind of improv performers (sometimes, the very same performers) that brought the AC to life. And of course, we can interact with live characters anytime we walk down Main St. or Hollywood Blvd.
I think one of the operational downfalls of the AC was the number of guests served in an evening. While I have little doubt about its profitability, it definitely carried a high "overhead." When I look at Animator's Palate on the Dream, which serves over 1200 guests nightly, and where Crush table-hops by moving from one video screen to the next (the technology behind this is substantial, not that Disney's wanted to show it off), all with one "Crush" backstage... It suggests to me that we may never again see an entertainment venue where a cast and crew of 10 or 12 (not mentioning barkeeps and servers) are needed to entertain 300-400 guests at a time. I suspect we'll see more tech, and that tech is less likely to be Animatronic, and more likely to evolve from Crush and the Disney Dream's Enchanted Art - computer-generated graphics with, perhaps, some live support.
I guess we'll see what the future brings.
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Funny you say that, as I thought the sketch they showed of the new building they're doing at the Disneyland Hotel looked A LOT like the Poly!!
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