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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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O.K. so I'm "friends" with our local DJ on facebook. Him and his family are in Orlando right now. It's not an all Disney vacation, they've done lots of stuff. Day before yesterday they went to MK and yesterday went to US. He stated how much he LOVED US sooo much better than Disney World?????? He is just plane coo coo!!! I know it's silly, but it really bothered me, LOL They are at Disney again today and said that it was lame and over rated. It just sort of bummed me out. I hate when others can't see or feel the magic that we all know is there. Just had to vent...I knew you guys would understand Oh well, that 4 less people that will take up unwanted space at the parks!
My guess is, he arrived an hour after opening, without having a clue where stuff was, or what rides his family wanted to go on....
I see people get ticked off at WDW, when it's really their own poor planning that caused the sanfu. With a place that's twice the size of San Francisco, you have to do a LITTLE planning to get the most out of it!
My guess is, he arrived an hour after opening, without having a clue where stuff was, or what rides his family wanted to go on....
I see people get ticked off at WDW, when it's really their own poor planning that caused the sanfu. With a place that's twice the size of San Francisco, you have to do a LITTLE planning to get the most out of it!
Agreed.
Some people do not allow themselves to feel the magic. I feel sorry for them...
My guess is, he arrived an hour after opening, without having a clue where stuff was, or what rides his family wanted to go on....
I see people get ticked off at WDW, when it's really their own poor planning that caused the sanfu. With a place that's twice the size of San Francisco, you have to do a LITTLE planning to get the most out of it!
That's been the situation with everyone I've ever heard say they disliked WDW. Well, except for a friend of ours who didn't realize that there are actually four parks, and asked us why we kept going back when he did everything at MK in one day, lol.
Passporter do not leave home without it.
There are other sites out there as well. Even for a trip to San Antonio or San Diego there is much planning that I do. I planned for our last trip to disneyland even though it is a few minutes drive. I bet he buys his tires from the first shop he finds and gets donuts from any corner shop.
That or he is desperate for attention.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
My guess is, he arrived an hour after opening, without having a clue where stuff was, or what rides his family wanted to go on....
I see people get ticked off at WDW, when it's really their own poor planning that caused the sanfu. With a place that's twice the size of San Francisco, you have to do a LITTLE planning to get the most out of it!
I agree. This is most likely what he did.
Another possibility is that he's intentionally making comments that he knows will get people a little riled up and want to call/contact him. (You know, "shock jock" sort of thing).
I see people get ticked off at WDW, when it's really their own poor planning that caused the sanfu. With a place that's twice the size of San Francisco, you have to do a LITTLE planning to get the most out of it!
People just don't get it. My co-worker tells me all the time that we shouldn't have to do that much planning for a vacation. She doesn't get that that is part of the fun!! Plan now and it not only gets you excited, but it makes things go smoothly when you arrive. I've seen way too many people get turned away at the a restaurant b/c they wre too stubborn to make an ADR.
My uncle and his partner live in FL and have never been to WDW. Every time we see them, some crack is made about why do we keep returning to WDW and that they have never been... and never will. I've given up trying to convert them. My answer now is "Your loss!!!!"
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Get ready.....they'll probably do a trip give-away contest when they get back! We won a trip to WDW from one of those contests. Try to enter, the odds will never be better. Sorry the DJ is down on it though.
Oh well, that 4 less people that will take up unwanted space at the parks!
That's kind of the way I look at it! If you just show up, during one of the busiest times of year, with no idea of what you're getting into and expect that everything is just going to be easy-peasy . . . think again!
Didn't "like" it the first time? Please try it again during a slower time of year and look into everything there is to see and do before you go.
Already decided you "hate" it? There's probably no mind changing that can happen there, so . . . Don't go back, DJ! More space for me and my family!
I appreciate this discussion a lot -- because what bugs me about the DJ story is that he's basically trying to make YOU feel like you're an idiot for loving WDW. And of course that makes you feel bad. But don't let it!
I almost quoted so many of the posts here, but basically I think we're all in agreement.
I was at WDW during spring break this March (for a conference) and had a really enjoyable 2-hour "journey" to get from the parks to the GF (long story -- see http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ridian-tr.html if you're interested in more). The weather was delightful, and I was happy soaking up the ambiance -- but of course, I was surrounded by disgruntled people (several with small children who were clearly exhausted), and while I listened to their stories of woe at the delays, the crowds, etc., I and pointed out the nice breeze, the beautiful views from the monorail and the boat (like I said, long story), and when everybody realized my journey had taken longer than all of theirs, one mother said, "How can you be so ?"
To which I replied, "I'm at Disney World! It's all part of the experience -- what happens, happens."
There was no point in telling them any of these things:
They'd come at the wrong time of year to "do it all."
They shouldn't have held CRT for the last night of their trip -- their exhausted daughter kept murmuring, "But I don't WANT to see Cinderella" as she tried to on her mother's lap.
They shouldn't take WDW's planning DVD to mean there won't be any crowds. (I kid you not -- one woman was complaining about that. )I mean, do they seriously think Disney is going to show people waiting in lines, or crying babies, in their promotional materials?
Have they heard of the Internet? Books? Talking to friends who have been to WDW before? Utilizing any of those things would have encouraged them to put a little thought into planning before leaving home. (And yes, I did recommend PassPorter and the Unofficial Guide in case they ever decide to come back -- I couldn't help myself. )
WDW is so vast and so popular that you can NEVER "do it all." So set aside a few attractions/meals that are important to your family, and don't worry about cramming it "all" in. Can't be done. Ever. Which is one reason why the rest of us go back again and again. . . and again.
And when our little group finally arrived at the Grand Floridian, I and wished them happy journeys. And at CRT that night.
And thought to myself, "Well, if they never come back, that will be eight fewer people in line ahead of me."
Even under the best of crowd and weather conditions, a lot of people view WDW as simply an "amusement park." And yep, they think I'm when I tell them I respect that opinion but for me WDW makes me feel like my heart has arrived at home and I can be happy just people-watching and enjoying little magical moments -- because WDW is my "bliss."
Yeah, I know I want to soo bad convince him that he's wrong, but then why??? LOL. He is a pretty stubborn person, so I doubt he'll change his mind. Just had to vent a little. I'm pretty sure he did it allllllll wrong anyway, hahahaha!!! I mean who goes to Disney first, then US hahaha, JK.
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He is just plane coo coo!!! I know it's silly, but it really bothered me, LOL They are at Disney again today and said that it was lame and over rated. It just sort of bummed me out. I hate when others can't see or feel the magic that we all know is there. Just had to vent...I knew you guys would understand 
Oh well, that 4 less people that will take up unwanted space at the parks!
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I agree. This is most likely what he did.
Karen
on her mother's lap. 
I mean, do they seriously think Disney is going to show people waiting in lines, or crying babies, in their promotional materials? 
and wished them happy journeys. And 
at CRT that night.
and I can be happy just people-watching and enjoying little magical moments -- because WDW is my "bliss." 
Hybrid Mode
