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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sorry for so many questions today but I am working on finalizing these plans, and I have run into a confusing situation.
We have reservations for CRT at 8:00am. We are staying at POP and from what I understand that since the official opening time of MK is 9 buses will run at 8. Does this mean the morning of our CRT reservations we will need to drive ourselves to the park? How to people get to these early ressies if they don't have a vehicle?
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"A good teacher is like a candle: it consumes itself to light the way for others." -Anonymous
There are always buses running very early for just that reason. We have been to many early ADRs, prior to park opening, and never had a problem using Disney transportation.
We have had early ADRs before - at AK, MK, and EPCOT - and have always taken the buses. I recall being at the bus stops shortly after 7 for an 8:15 ADR, and never had a problem catching a bus to where we were going.
The will run early buses to the parks for just this reason -- the character breakfasts. I usually count on them coming to the resorts by about 7 AM.
Just stop at your resort's front desk the night before to confirm, but you should just be able to go to your regular bus depot to pick it up.
When you get to the park, look for a Cast Member standing next to a sign that says something about "early reservations." They will check your name against their official list and let you into the park with enough time to get to the restaurant to check in. (It helps to bring your confirmation number, just in case your name isn't on the list for some reason.)
You can also take a cab and not worry about the buses. It will run you between $15-17 plus tip. (For me, that extra bit is usually factored into my budget because I hate having to get up extra early just to catch a bus.)
I had a similar question as we had an early breakfast ressie prior to park opening. As others have said, busses will run specifically to get guests to these early morning reservations. If I remember correctly, when the bus got to the stop, it was clearly designated or the sign was illuminated for Breakfast ADRs or something to that affect. We got to both MK and Epcot from POFQ in plenty of time for our ressies.
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Word of advice - we asked at the hotel and they told us to be there at 6:40 for the bus. We were and were the only people waiting outside. finally, around 6:55 - 7 some other families showed up to wait for the bus and 5-10 minutes past 7 the bus showed up. We could have slept 20 more minutes!
I was on the Disney World Facebook and asked how early a bus comes for CRT, as we have a reservation in Oct for 8:05am, They said normally the character breakfast bus starts at 6:30am for MK, and 7am for the other parks. They also recommended check with the front desk as, that is time they start running, not when they will get to your resort.