Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios closing permanently on September 27th 2014 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios closing permanently on September 27th 2014
I first read about this a few minutes ago on WDWNT but sometimes what they report doesn't actually happen. However, when I went to WDWmagic they too are reporting it so it looks like the Back lot tour is soon to go away. Studio Backlot Tour to permanently close later this month
IMO, it's really no big loss. It use to be fun but then it was reduced to next to nothing. Even last month when we went, there was no line to speak of, the water effects area had no volunteers whatsoever and the boneyard was even more empty than it has been in the past. It's definitely time for something new but what that will be only time will tell. Will it be Pixar, will it be Star Wars, will it be something around Frozen? We'll just have to wait and see. All I know is as much as I dislike this ride now, with this recent news, I'm glad we were able to go on it for Abby during our trip. She liked it so at least she was able to get on it one last time.
I was just talking to my DF the other night about rumors that the Backlot Tour and LMA show would go to make way for Carsland. Maybe this is the first step.
I don't think it's that much of a loss either. I think maybe the last time I did this was in 2009. I'm intrigued to know what will go into its place, given all the rumours about how much is likely to change at the Studios in the next few years.
I'll miss it. It was fun being part of the special effects show, and I always liked seeing the costumes and memorabilia. I am a theatre geek, after all. But it'll be good to see some change there. Very exciting, if Disney uses the opportunity to add Cars Land in there.
__________________
"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." -Walt Disney-
I won't really miss it either. I rode the other version years ago when you went past all the houses, etc. Now everytime I ride it all I can think of is how much better it used to be. If it wasn't for DH and DS, I wouldn't ride it anymore. They like it but they never saw the old one either.
I was already missing it... considering it wasn't a fraction of the fun it used to be. The last time I went, they didn't use volunteers, nor did they drive us past the houses/facades.
We rode this on its final day and they did the Effects show with members of the audience. There was no mention by anyone that this was the rides last day in operation, and when we went back to the studios a few days later it was indead, closed.
That's been gone even longer than the backlot tour. Somewhere between 1997 (last trip with parents) and 2006 (first trip with hubby and daughter) Resdential Street was removed
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
But it'll be good to see some change there. Very exciting, if Disney uses the opportunity to add Cars Land in there.
Hybrid Mode
