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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've heard a lot about Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and am not sure how I feel about it. Its going to be my first trip going in YEARS but $40 a person is kind of expensive. Is it worth it? I've heard that you can get all this complimentary stuff, but other than that it sounds like just another holiday day at Magic Kingdom. If anyone can offer some advice I would truly appreciate it!
I can't give you first hand experience. We will be attending our very first MVMCP in November and I can't wait. To me, it's one of those things that I want to atleast try...but knowing me I'll love it and want to go back again and again.
I'm looking forward to the holiday parade, the hot chocolate and cookies, the family photo...but especially snow on Main Street. I love snow and can't wait!
While I have not done MVMCP yet - I have done the halloween party twice and can say that it is a fabulous time and if the christmas party is anything like it I can not wait to attend my first one on Dec 17!!!
We did MVMCP last December and absolutely LOVED it!
There is something truly special and magical about seeing Main Street and the Magic Kingdom all decorated at night and having it SNOW!
It's like an E-ride night, only better. Special seasonal shows, cookies & hot chocolate throughout the MK and they take a family picture, too! The parade is shown twice so we planned accordingly and stayed to watch the second one and were able to get front row seats without waiting 2 hours ahead of time.
There are several shows that are only shown during the party, too.
I, too, was wondering if the cost was worth it and I can definitely say it was. The kids had a fantastic time and still talk about the snow on Main Street.
This was our first trip at Christmas time so figured we'd do all the holiday things - MVMCP and the Candlelight Processional. Both were money well spent!
I am going to the Dec 16th MVMCP, I've never done it before. I think it will be worth it mainly b/c of the photo, park being less crowded, and be able to stay in the MK until midnight (when it usually closes at 7pm). -Stephanie
We did our first MVMCP in 2002 and loved it. We're going back this year. I can't explain what was so good about it - I just loved the whole Christmas atmosphere at night and everything that was going on. It was also a night that was supposedly sold out - and we didn't notice the crowds at all, we didn't see any big waits for anything. I can thoroughly recommend it and I'm also of the opinion that you should try everything once at Disney to make a decision about it, so I say go for it!
We went last year...it was great!!!
They give you hot chocolate and cookies at a few locations in the park. The fireworks are an extra special show, you get the special Christmas parade, and there are other holiday themed shows. If I remember correctly, almost all of the attractions were open, and we had NO wait for the ones we went on!
I'd go again in a second!
We went last year and LOVED it. There were less crowds, the parade and shows were great, the snow on Main Street was magical (it even feels a bit like real snow), there were tons of characters out and about, and it is great to be in the Magic Kingdom at night. As magical as it is during the day, there's just something special about night time there.
We watched the later parade, rode as many rides as possible, and got our picture done and grabbed cookies and hot chocolate on our way out of the park VERY last thing. Like right at midnight! It was nice to sit outside the Magic Kingdom late at night, drinking the hot chocolate and waiting for the boat back to our resort. If we ever go again at Christmas time, I would even consider doing the party twice--we missed a few shows because we couldn't pass up the short lines for the rides!
It's definitely worth it, in my opinion! (So is MNSSHP--doing that for the 3rd time this year! )
We thought it was great. We stayed until midnight and after the second parade the park was deserted. We went on Splash and Thunder and walked right on. Plus our picture we got taken (go during a parade for sure) was great!!
This will (hopefully) be my first time going to it and I cannot wait. Question about the photos, where do you get them done? Is it like the others that you get at the parks where they tell you that they will be ready at a specific time??
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This will (hopefully) be my first time going to it and I cannot wait. Question about the photos, where do you get them done? Is it like the others that you get at the parks where they tell you that they will be ready at a specific time??
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Kim, there will be several photo stations set up around the park (they will be marked on your map). You will get your family photo taken and then Disney will mail you the photos after the party. We received our MNSSHP photos last year about 2 weeks after the party. Try to get your photo taken either right away after you arrive or during one of the parades - last year I remember the lines for photos could get very long at times and you don't want to waste your time at the party standing in line to have your picture taken.
I'm going this year for the first time as well. Does anyone have a schedule from last year they could e-mail me or at least give me an idea of times of any special shows or parades? I'm going with a large bunch of people and want to have an idea of what direction to go in. Thanks!!
ABSOLUTELY WORTH EVERY SINGLE DIME! And not for the comp items...the buttons were cute, the photo decent (it looks like a photo Christmas card, but we waited too long and both girls were sleeping in ours), and we didn't get our hot cocoa because it was too long a wait and we didn't want to miss the parade. We walked right on any ride we wanted, saw some great Christmas shows, and the most magical part was the incredible one-on-one time with characters in the Hall of Fame in Toon Town. We had probably 5 minutes apiece with Minnie and Mickey, Pluto, Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora. It was truly magical and THE way I recommend seeing Magic Kingdom for the first time at Christmas. It was the first thing we did (besides buying sweatshirts at DTD) and really got us in the Christmas spirit AND even got my DH, who was not terribly interested in Disney in the true Disney spirit. If you decide not to go, you MUST stay after the days that they start showing the Christmas parade because it was the highlight of our trip. In fact dd(4) is watching Sleeping Beauty right now and talking about the jingle bells on Sleeping Beauty's horse in the parade! ~Katie
Here's a link to last year's info and maps.... MVMCP 2003 Maps & Schedule. I bookmarked it earlier this year and have used the info several times in my planning. We're attending MVMCP on Dec 7. Can't wait! HTH.