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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 was just wondering if there are any character meet and greets or places where they usually hang out at either park. Also, what characters are there (if any)? How about parades? Sorry for being so universal ignorant! Thanks!
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Jen
Mom to 4 Disney Lovin' Kids: Kyleigh, Connor, Caden & Kellan
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normally there aren't parades except for certain times of the year (the macy's holiday parade, mardi gras, etc).
characters out and about include barney, scooby doo & shaggy, curious george & the man in the yellow hat, woody & winnie woodpecker, shrek & donkey (and sometimes fiona), spongebob squarepants (and patrick star but evidently he's not out much anymore), dora the explorer, various rugrats, jimmy neutron, lucy & ricky ricardo, popeye, olive oyl & bluto, spiderman, captain america, wolverine, storm, various seuss characters.
and i'm sure there are more that fail to come to mind. in the past, the flintstones, doc brown, marilyn monroe and some others used to come out on a bus as well.
Marilyn Monroe still makes appearances. There's also Zorro, the cast of Madagascar, and Doc Brown. I could be wrong, but I think Popeys and his group got the axe.
I started going to USF/IOA in Dec. 2004. We've seen Woody Woodpecker somewhere, but I can't remember which park even - probably US. Doc from Back to the Future was wandering around US. Bill (LizardCop) said he saw the penguins from Madagascar near The Revenge of the Mummy, and I was really disappointed to miss them. There are 'Egyptian' guys on stilts walking around the Mummy and they can be a lot of fun to pose with. The Blues Brothers (who perform a street dance kind of thing) were across the street from RotM. Shaggy, Scooby Do and the Mystery Machine, and Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat were near the ET attraction. We've posed with Crash Bandikoot, Bullwinkle, and Shaggy & ScoobyDo at the gates to Universal Studios before you even get inside the park.
I saw Shrek and Fiona in the Christmas parade - never been lucky enough to catch them at their regular meet & greet spot near the Shrek 4D attraction.
At IOA I've seen: The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, Thing 1 and Thing 2, some yellow Seuss characters that I can't think of what they were called (Sneetch??) were in Seussland. Betty Boop, Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto were near the entrance to Toon Lagoon. Spiderman, Captain America, and a super hero female I didn't know were in Superhero Island.
Bring an autograph book with you, because the characters are everywhere and they will sign autographs, even in Disney autograph books.
The only daily parade is the Marvel Super Hero Island meet and greet. Marvel super heroes ride ATVs in and do a meet and greet. You can see Spider-Man, Captain America, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, and Cyclops. They used to have the bad guys, but they were dropped a few years ago. Sad, since they were so much fun to interact with.
There are parades during Mardi Gras and the Macy's Day parade. Halloween Horror Nights used to have a small parade, but it was discounted last year.
You can do meet and greets after the Beetlejuice show. If you wait a few minutes after the show, the performers will come out and do a short meet and greet. Sinbad has one too after the show, I believe. Barney has a meet and greet after his show.
Alex the lion and the pengiuns have a meet and greet in the New York area in between Twister and the Revenge of the Mummy. There are other meet and greets around the park, as noted previously. Check your park map for times and places.
i believe spiderman is out all day inside the store as well. although back in 05, i managed to get this shot i'm awfully fond of (the TM helped himself)
If Marilyn Monroe is out , does anyone know where I can find her. Does she perform or is she with other characters. I am so hoping to see her and get my picture with her.
Marilyn is usually found in the doorway of 6646 Hollywood Blvd. It's on the left hand side if your coming from the park entrance, a couple of doors before Mel's Drive-In.
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