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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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It's not often that we make it over to Busch Gardens in Tampa to enjoy a taste of Africa. It's not that we don't like the park - far from it. It's the fact that it's located around an hour and a half's drive from Walt Disney World, so to go there really is a full day out of your vacation. So is it worth it? The answer is definitely yes. If you've got time, it's worth the drive.
The whole theming of the park is designed to transport you into Africa, with different lands that represent different countries and areas of that continent, such as Morocco, Egypt and Nairobi. There are also some lands that have nothing to do with Africa, such as Timbuktu and the Land of Dragons, but that's because these areas tend to be either packed with rides or aimed at younger members of the family.
Busch Gardens is very much a mix of two distinct theme park attractions - the big headliner rides, with lots of roller coasters for any fan of thrill rides, and animals. It's the latter that we go for, but it's worth knowing that if you are going for the rides, you're not going to be disappointed.
A quick look at the Busch Gardens web site will immediately tell you that many of their coasters are among the largest, the fastest, and generally the scariest that you'll find anywhere. For example, Gwazi is described as the "southeast's largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster," while SheiKra is the "nation's first dive coaster" with "first of a kind elements like a true 90 degree drop" and then there's Montu, described as "one of the tallest and longest inverted roller coasters in the world." You get the idea.
I'm the sort of person who feels sick just watching these rides, never mind going anywhere near them! The rides here are probably closest to Universal's Islands of Adventure in ride intensity, so the drive will be worthwhile for anyone who wants to experience some of the top coasters that Florida has to offer.
However, for us, there's much more to Busch Gardens that being flung upside down, around corners and having the life terrified out of you. On our first visit, we did wonder how much we would enjoy it, suspecting that it may just be a clone of Disney's Animal Kingdom. We were happy to learn it is not a clone.
The first difference you'll notice is that there are animals scattered almost throughout the park. Turn a corner and you could come across elephants or crocodiles. Yes, there are trails, as you find at Animal Kingdom and there's a huge savannah as well, but somehow the animals are more obvious here. You don't have to explore the park in the same way you do at Animal Kingdom to discover them. The main trails take you the Great Ape Domain, which is beautifully themed with waterfalls and of course features primates of all sizes, including gorillas and chimpanzees. You can also venture to the Edge of Africa, which features animals such as hippos and lions. This is such a pleasant change from Animal Kingdom -- instead of desperately trying to spot the lion on the rock in the safari, you can get close and personal with these beautiful creatures, with some wonderful glass viewing areas into their enclosures.
However, the trails are just a part of the story. The main attraction is the Serengeti Plain that you can view from a number of different angles. First, there's the Serengeti Express Railway that runs round the edge of it or you can soar over it on the Skyride, which is a great way to get from one part of the park to another.
Perhaps the most exciting way to get into the Serengeti Plain - and get up really close and personal with the animals - is to jump on the Rhino Rally. It's Busch Garden's first foray into mixing a ride with animals, and they didn't do this by halves. It starts off just as you do on Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom in a vehicle, albeit a lot more bumpy. It's worth knowing that they don't stop for photos and they don't encourage you to use a camera while you're on the ride, although we've managed to get some fine shots on each of our trips round the rally course.
It's halfway round that things suddenly change. This is no ordinary safari. There's a swollen river in front of you and no way of getting across it. Just when it seems you're in dire trouble, your vehicle miraculously changes into a floating off-road vehicle; and just at the point when you're facing more peril in the water, you end up back on land. It's a fascinating ride, the like of which you won't find at any of the other parks and it's definitely one to try out on any visit to Busch Gardens.
As if this isn't enough variety, one of the other areas of the park is the Clydesdale Hamlet that's home to these beautiful creatures and Sprint the donkey, made famous by the Super Bowl ads. This area of the park is very different, as you leave Africa behind to head firmly back into American theming.
Another part of the park that's very different is Land of the Dragons. If you have little ones in your party, this is the area to head to, as everything here is designed with them in mind. Our niece and nephew loved it. In fact, it was a struggle to drag them away from it!
There's so much to see and do here, it makes for a very packed day. In fact, if you are a die-hard coaster fan, it could be worth spending more than one day out of your vacation at Busch Gardens Africa to cram everything in. It's only possible to touch on some of the highlights here, but hopefully this is enough to make you think twice about adding in at least a day's excursion over to Tampa to enjoy one of the hidden gems of the Florida theme park world.
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