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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So I'm planning on taking my family (Me, my wife and our two boys 2&9) to Hershey Park this June. I have seen that they have a special deal that allows kids to stay and enter the park for free, so we will be taking advantage of that option.
Now, what I'm looking for is any tips, pointers, hints...you know the good stuff for the Park, and surrounding area. I've never been to this area, and would like to take full advantage of all the options we'd have.
We are planning on going for a three day trip, and we will be driving.
One fun option is the Preview Plan. Go the night before your first day for the last 2 1/2 hours for free. For the preview plan, when you pay to park you'll also get free parking the next day.
The weekends are wicked! If it's possible, go mid-week Tues to Thurs.
If you buy souveniers and don't want to carry them, just ask about the package pick-up service. Your purchases will be waiting for you outside the park entrance at the Chocolate House.
There is a small outlet center with 2 of my favorite things: The Disney Store and Starbucks!
Lancaster PA isn't too far away. It's a favorite destination of ours! For your young family, there is Dutch Wonderland: Dutch Wonderland A Kingdom for Kids
Plus, there are a lot of Amish things to do and mega outlets.
I was going to mention Indian Echo Caverns to. We keep wanting to get to Dutch Wonderland but haven't made it yet. Looks like fun. Hershey Park is a lot of fun and it always smells so good. Have a great trip
If you want a little "me" time - get yourself a spa appt at the Hotel Hershey! It's a beautiful spa. If wanting to try it on a budget - I recommend the hot coco bath, just don't drink the water because it's really tempting.
Lancaster is a beautiful area - lots Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch places to check out. Plus, 2 nice outlet centers. They have a lovely park called Long's Park.
Harrisburg is close by - there's a nice little area called City Island. It houses the Harrisburg Senators baseball team.
I definitely agree with the others - Lancaster is a nice trip from Hershey. So many things to do there and (among my faves), great outlet shopping, as others have mentioned, including a Coach outlet (love to browse there as I would never pay full price)
Dutch Wonderland is fun too! It is geared to younger kids, but my twins were there when they were 8 and also had a nice time. Now that we have DS2 (15 months), my twins will likely be going there again when DS2 gets a bit bigger
We took our kids in 2006, I believe (I had been many years before that). One thing I love about Hershey Park is that the "kiddie rides" are spaced out through the park, instead of in one area. So it was easy for everyone to have fun together, instead of splitting up.
Also, if you want to ride rides that your 2 year old can't do, they offer kid swap. You can all wait in line together, and then swap on the ride platform.
Remember to bring towels and swimsuits (stick them in a locker) because they have a huge water area in the back of the park. I understand they have doubled or tripled it in size since we went. Lots of fun stuff!
There is a small zoo that you can go to using your Hershey Park tickets (we never made it over there).
Also, make sure that you visit the Welcome Center. There is a ride about making candy, a 3D movie, an "assembly line" the kids like, and a ton of fun stuff to buy, including every candy Hershey makes.
Watch out for free candy - there are lots of chances to get fun sized bars in the park and at the Welcome Center.
Visit the main street in town - the lights are shaped like Hershey's Kisses (wrapped and unwrapped) and you can smell the chocolate from the factory. YUM!
If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me!
Hershey park is lots of fun. Just be prepared for lots of walking, including hills. That's one thing I was surprised about the first time we went. I was very glad for the stroller!
I just wanted to wish you luck on the trip--that sounds like fun. We got a DVD from Netflicks a little while back about the history of the founder and of the town. It looks quite good.
I'm a resident of Chocolatetown U.S.A. and I pretty much agree with the advice above. Hersheypark is geared more towards little kids, where Dutch Wonderland is for the little ones. Check out Hershey, Pennsylvania - The Sweetest Place on Earth and you can purchase combo tickets for both parks. I'm not sure that it will jive with the discount you are already looking for though. If you're just going to stick to the central pa area, there is a place called Adventure Sports Go-karts, mini golf, batting cages, driving range, family entertainment - Adventure Sports in Hershey nearby. They offer mini golf, bumper boats, go-carts, batting cages and ice cream. It's a cool place to hang out. Where are you staying? The Hotel is beautiful, even if you're not staying there, it's nice to check out. Also, on Rt 422, (the main road, also called Chocolate Ave) there is a museum called The Hershey Story The Hershey Story : Welcome to the Hershey Story It actually just opened and is a cool way to learn about this town's history. The story of Milton Hershey, is similar to Walt Disney. It's riddled with failure and then mega success!! It's very inspirational. The Welcome center mentioned above is actually Chocolate World. There is a free ride that shows you the process of making chocolate. It's a cute ride accompanied by singing cows. There is a free chocolate treat at the end and a company store which offers really fresh treats straight from the factory. It's the best bag of twizzlers you'll ever buy!! The outlets are nice, and there is a Disney store with lots of cool bargains. If you head west of Hersheypark Drive, you'll find an Applebees and Panara Bread. There's also a restaurant in the strip mall between Weis grocery and Kmart called the Tokyo Diner. It's a habachi style restaurant where they cook on your table. It's pretty cool and the sushi is good. If you turn west at the light by Sheetz on Hersheypark Drive into Hummelstown there is a cool diner with great burgers and milkshakes. If you have any other specific questions, let me know. It's my hometown, in fact I even worked at Hersheypark when I was in high school. Now I work on the ambulance in the area, so just don't get hurt!!
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Future Fairy Godmother-A girls gotta dream!
Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas!!
**do you know how long it took us to learn that?? and then they put it on a t-shirt!! **
BTW, they're having a Thomas event ith the Lancaster area mid-June. Day Out WIth Thomas™ - Strasburg Rail Road I'm heading down there myself with some friends and their boys. While they spend the day with Thomas we'll probably head over to Cherry Crest Farm. Cherry Crest Adventure Farm :: Fun, Amazing, Corn Maize Maze!! We didn't complete the corn maize but we still had fun. There are a bunch of outlets across from Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster and also outlets in Hershey too.
Also there a 2-day combo ticket for Hershey/Dutch Wonderland. Some hotels also offer packages which includes the tickets but price it out--it may/may not be a good deal.
We've gone the last few summers.. I agree about the weekends being crowded (really miss the fastpass there!).. we usually try and get there as early as possible.. do most of the rides first thing.. take a break in the afternoon.. go back to the hotel or just ride the chocolate tour.. get lunch.. maybe watch the 3D show.. and then do more rides...
they opened the Boardwalk (the water park area that's a part of Hershey) which is really alot of fun!! (and it's included in your admission so you don't have to pay extra).. you can rent a locker and I heard their opening a lazy river and stuff.. make sure you bring towels though if you don't want to buy them.. we thought you could rent some and as of last June 07 you couldn't.. more info: The Boardwalk at Hersheypark
if you're a member.. AAA offers a discount on tickets.. if you stay at the Hershey Lodge or Hershey Hotel they let you in for "Sweet Hours" (Hershey's idea of EMHs) where you can get into the parks early... those are quite expensive.. we're going in July and staying at the Hilton Garden Inn.. we've stayed there in the past and while it is small.. everything was clean, everyone was very friendly, and the breakfast was great
So I'm planning on taking my family (Me, my wife and our two boys 2&9) to Hershey Park this June. I have seen that they have a special deal that allows kids to stay and enter the park for free, so we will be taking advantage of that option.
Now, what I'm looking for is any tips, pointers, hints...you know the good stuff for the Park, and surrounding area. I've never been to this area, and would like to take full advantage of all the options we'd have.
We are planning on going for a three day trip, and we will be driving.
Anything would be very helpful.
Thanks
Andre
We went last summer. We were told that Tuesdays were the slowest day followed by Wednesday.
We went on a day when thunderstorms were predicted for the whole day. We got rain from 5-6, no thunder. We had the run of the place the whole day. The rode the rapid ride round and round without waiting for a single person from about 6-8PM. It was a blast.
All the staff were bored out of their minds and were very available. Everyone agreed that Tuesday was the day to go. Stay away from weekends if at all possible.
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Planning for summer of 2017. 3rd week in August. We will get blown away by the rides, or a hurricane. Either way it should be alot of fun
Hershey park is lots of fun. Just be prepared for lots of walking, including hills. That's one thing I was surprised about the first time we went. I was very glad for the stroller!
Debbie
I agree whole heartedly. The hills were very big and there were lots of them.
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Planning for summer of 2017. 3rd week in August. We will get blown away by the rides, or a hurricane. Either way it should be alot of fun
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So many things to do there and (among my faves), great outlet shopping, as others have mentioned, including a Coach outlet (love to browse there as I would never pay full price)
There is a free chocolate treat at the end and a company store which offers really fresh treats straight from the factory. It's the best bag of twizzlers you'll ever buy!! The outlets are nice, and there is a Disney store with lots of cool bargains. If you head west of Hersheypark Drive, you'll find an Applebees and Panara Bread. There's also a restaurant in the strip mall between Weis grocery and Kmart called the Tokyo Diner. It's a habachi style restaurant where they cook on your table. It's pretty cool and the sushi is good. If you turn west at the light by Sheetz on Hersheypark Drive into Hummelstown there is a cool diner with great burgers and milkshakes. If you have any other specific questions, let me know. It's my hometown, in fact I even worked at Hersheypark when I was in high school. 
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