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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm stuck between researching and planning too much and then feeling like I'm missing out or forgetting something important. Any advice/suggestions on what you feel is key to know/research/plan?
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I usually pull up the park hours for the week that we're going. Then I make our ADRs for the restaurants we want ~ which means dinner at the park that has the evening Magic Hours. If you have children, consider their ages and interests and let that be you guide. Just don't stress yourself over it. Have fun with it instead. Enjoy your trip!
personally, i wouldn't plan a trip without looking at some of the crowd calendar predictions. there are paid and free sites--choose the one you feel is best.
i also wouldn't go without at least one dining reservation per day. it can often be impossible to get a walk up, and i don't love counter service restaurants (and i get cranky when i get hungry!)
i'd also read at least one entire WDW guide book. obviously that book would be passporter! even after four visits, i still use mine for reference.
i have never done an actual plan--like 'ride this first and then see this show and then ride this and this'. that's way too rigid for me. plus, half the magic of your first visit is in discovering things. it's hard to discover when you have everything mapped out.
I (obviously) spend a lot of time on here. I know the facts - rides, hours, restaurants, etc. But it's the extras that I learn now. I scribble them down so I'm not in the World saying, "now where were those Mickey Waffles?" but remember bits and pieces. My notes are mostly things like "chocolate mousse at Cosmic Ray's."
You can't see everything on your trip, so just go with that notion! Stop and smell the roses along the way. The things you miss will most likely be there for a return trip!
I think people plan too much. I remember our first trip and how we tried to stick to our busy plan. It was more like work than a vacation. I have seen people where they plan right down to the minute where they plan to be. In my opinion that is a hugh mistake. I recommend a general plan of some favorites that you want to hit. We usually plan our park days around parks with EMH hours and where we plan to eat. Most of the time we eat at resturants in DTD or resorts so we can be more flexible on which park we visit. Remember that its ok to miss a few things so you have reason to return.
I usually plan 1 TS ADR per day. Our routine includes a quick breakfast at the resort before going to the park. Some days I book a later lunch TS at one park, others an early dinner TS meal in the resort we stay (or one that would be easy to go).
We plan the parks accordingly, and unless we stay in Epcot area resort, we did not usually park hoper. As I travel with a child we usually return to the resort after lunch break for a swimming break and then back to the same park for fireworks if we decide to go. A must do to every trip is a night at MK for Wishes - usually this is a day off at the pool and DTD where we have lunch and visiting the park at early evening.
I am Type A, Red, OCD, whatever you want to call it and don't think you can every plan too much . Especially with kids We hit the parks with a full touring plan. For me the basics are crowd calendars, park hours, looking at where you want to eat, making ADR's, booking special experiences (private photopass and BBB) and what everyone wants to do. I sit down with those traveling and we discuss what everyone wants to do, that way we ensure no one is upset because we skipped something.
Those simple things can help you avoid a park on an extra busy day and not have to worry about where your going to eat, which for my family always seems to be the biggest fight if not planned in advance. Also depending on the time of year you visit, many of the popular dining locations can be full.
Just remember to have fun with it, your there for a vacation.
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Disney Vacation Specialist Magical Memories Travel Chelsey
I love planning!!! And my family needs a schedule to follow...I usually start with park hours, then ADRS (making sure they arent at parade times)..I usually do a breakfast and dinner ADR. We always get the Deluxe Dinning plan. I usually stick to the same park - I head there early and stay as late as we can. I also add on any extra things - I also like to order something from either Disney Florist or Memories by Betsy and have it sent to the room for the kids. I feel like I am always planning - but for me its part of the Magic!!
I'm kind of a middle of the road planner. I start by checking out the park hours, then I decide which parks we want to do each day and from there I decide on dining plans that fit with the park plans. I don't plan too much in terms of what order we hit things at the park - but I do like to keep a list of things we want to do so we make sure to hit new things we've been wanting to try etc.
I used to plan a lot, but that was when I wanted to cram a lot into our vacation because we didn't know how soon we'd be going back to Disney. Since buying into the DVC, we've gone every year and sometimes more than once a year so it doesn't matter so much to us. We tend to go more for the food and to see friends, so I tend to arrange ADRs and have a park in mind for each day, but that's about as far as it goes.
I too am an OCD planner. Our trip is in 3 weeks and I have been planning for the last 18 months!
We started with where we wanted to stay, (based on the PIN we got!), then where we wanted to eat, what were the main things we wanted to do, (Fantasmic!, Osborne lights, MVMCP), then planned our parks and ADRs around them. We have had to do major planning as we are taking our DM who has some major special needs.
We decided to use a TA to help us with traversing the
minefield that is traveling with our mother. We could not have done this without her.
I know that many just go by the seat of their pants and have a wonderful time, but I just have to have my lists.
There's a difference between being informed and over planning.
Knowing what your choices are will make for a better trip. Knowing that you don't (and shouldn't do all of them) is key.
Its like going to a restaurant and saying give me 'food' vs reading the menu and requesting what you feel like eating at that time. If they give you "food" no matter how well cooked it is, it may not be to your liking.
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Stop and smell the roses along the way. The things you miss will most likely be there for a return trip! 
. Especially with kids We hit the parks with a full touring plan. For me the basics are crowd calendars, park hours, looking at where you want to eat, making ADR's, booking special experiences (private photopass and BBB) and what everyone wants to do. I sit down with those traveling and we discuss what everyone wants to do, that way we ensure no one is upset because we skipped something. 
Disney Vacation Specialist Magical Memories Travel Chelsey
PassPorter Guide Author
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