Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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04-12-2003, 09:56 AM
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#1
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Yeti Chaser
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Way down south
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 20,411
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New experiences at Universal Orlando
Just wanted to share a few things we learned during our trip to Universal this week:
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast (Universal Studios) - This ride officially opened yesterday, but we were able to preview it Monday. It took the place of the Hanna Barbera attraction. It is a motion simulator movie. In my opinion it is exactly like the old Hanna Barbera ride with a different movie. Cute, but not worth a long wait in line.
Also, we found out how to maximize your front of the line passes for Universal resort guests. We stayed Sun. night at Sierra Suites. Monday morning we checked into the Hard Rock about 9:00. Our room wasn't ready, but we got our room keys for front of the line access in the parks. We stayed 2 nights at the Hard Rock. The morning we checked out, our front of the line passes were good until 4:00 that day. We stayed that night at the Sierra Suites again. It was some additional moving around, but it saved us $60 + for those 2 nights.
Universal Horror Make-Up Show (Universal Studios) - we passed this one up our last trip, but decided to give it a try. 5 thumbs up! This was a hilarious show that showed some of the special effects used in horror movies. The actors are great and really interact with the audience.
Posideon's Fury (Islands of Adventure) - another one we didn't try our first trip. You tour the ancient palace of Posideon when Posideon and his arch enemy battle for control of the sea. Very loud but some good effects.
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04-12-2003, 10:06 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,365
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Re: New experiences at Universal Orlando
Steve <===== JEALOUS! Thanks for the tips, Michelle. We have also passed on the Horror Makeup Show because we thought it would be to extreme for the kids - didn't know it was a funny show - we'll have to hit it next time.
How did you like the Hard Rock?!?!
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04-12-2003, 11:07 AM
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#3
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Yeti Chaser
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Way down south
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 20,411
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Re: New experiences at Universal Orlando
To be honest Steve, we got some bad service. Our room was not cleaned until 5:30 that afternoon - when we were trying to take showers to go out for dinner! Then they left us no extra towels, washcloths, or bath mat. I called housekeeping and they said they were out of washcloths!! The room they put us in first was at the end of the world with a view of the parking lot (I paid for a garden view), so I requested a different room which took a while. Then our luggage was lost for a while because no one knew if it was in the old room or in transit or whatever. Eventually all that was straightened out and they upgraded us to a pool view. Overall, the Hard Rock is a shorter walk to the parks and a great pool, but I liked the rooms at the Royal Pacific better.
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04-12-2003, 03:50 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Posts: 5,641
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Re: New experiences at Universal Orlando
<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Me too. Just 174 days away.
Since you both had passed on the Horror Make-up show in the past, it prompts a question. Are there any other shows or rides you haven't done at US (we'll be hitting IOA for the first time in our upcoming trip).
And Steve, we took our DS to T2 at age 5 a few years ago - major mistake. He will not return - it still terrifies him. The Horror Make-up show, however, was funny/interesting for both him and DH and I. The scare factor is all done with a wink and a laugh so as not to upset anyone, young and old alike. |
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04-12-2003, 05:17 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,365
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Re: New experiences at Universal Orlando
Other than the Horror Make Up show, we actually have done it all - or make that I have. We didn't let our middle child or youngest do T2 but my oldest son did (he was 8 at the time) and it scared the heck out of me! But what a great attraction! I've done everything at IOA and my kids have too on the attractions they were tall enough for (only my oldest could do the extreme thrill rides). You will [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] LOVE [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] LOVE [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] LOVE [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] Spiderman!
Michelle, I"m sick to hear that you had some lousy service at Hard Rock! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] That is so not how it was for us there - wondering if things have slipped since the grand opening. Hope it's better next time. How did you like the pool?
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04-13-2003, 01:42 AM
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#6
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: New experiences at Universal Orlando
Thanks for the information. We're planning on doing Universal for the first time during our next vacation.
Cheryl
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