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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
I had a few days to catch up on...but I have. And Wow, those night time photos of the Miracosta and across the water to Disney Sea are just breathtaking! Great theming for the venice canal boat ride. I think you made the right choice...I would have gone back there too.
all caught up again. fantastic sshots. as Kenny said, the sepia tones of the shots of the ship really bring it into a 'period' feel. Kudos to your camera skills.
Great picture of you & Mark in front of the 25th anniversary display. I smiled all through the dwarf pictures. Mark looks like he’s having the time of his life!! I bet he had that smile for quite a while after that.
And I’d still like to see a pic of your fridge with all these magnets. Pretty please!
You're right - he was smiling for a long time afterwards! I could have sworn I'd taken photos of the fridge. OK, me bad - I will try and remember to do it...
all caught up again. fantastic sshots. as Kenny said, the sepia tones of the shots of the ship really bring it into a 'period' feel. Kudos to your camera skills.
I can't take credit for the sepia shots - those and any black and white ones are Mark's.
Friday 10 April – part two: a different perspective of Tokyo DisneySea
We headed for the DisneySea Steam Transit Liner at American Waterfront, as I had read that, out of all the stops around the park, this was the only one to do the whole circuit. This was a lot of fun and worth doing, as it gives you a different perspective of the park. It was very relaxing and a lovely way to travel.
The waiting area
When we had completed our circuit, we headed for the Fortress Exploration, seeing Dally the bear on the way. I don’t know much about Dally, except that he’s a big phenomenon out here. Everyone seems to have one and there are even points markers on the park maps, telling you where to take photos of your bear, as photographing your Dally bear at locations seems to be a huge thing here. It’s not something we understood, but was an interesting part of Japanese culture.
Location: A little over 1000 miles from my happy place!
Posts: 1,628
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 6
Likes (Received): 1
Thanks (Given): 7
Thanks (Received): 0
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 0
Another great update with beautiful pics! This park does indeed seem massive and the details are truly amazing. Anyone have an idea how many acres DisneySea covers as opposed to say, Epcot?
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Another great update with beautiful pics! This park does indeed seem massive and the details are truly amazing. Anyone have an idea how many acres DisneySea covers as opposed to say, Epcot?
I had no idea, but I did some digging and discovered from Wikipedia that it's 176 acres. By comparison, Wikipedia tells me that Epcot is 300 acres and Disney's Hollywood Studios is 136 acres.
Thanks for asking the question - it was neat to find out the answer and Tokyo DisneySea is actually smaller than I thought.
I was suprised that it is indeed smaller than Epcot just becuase it looks so big in the pictures, guess Disney created a great layout as I would not say any section looks like it is lacking.
Loved the pictures from the last post, you cannot get bored with seeing them as each one just has a different view or angle.
I am so enjoying this and I am trying to push it out of my mind that this is your last day of your trip I am so glad you are stretching it out (any possibility you can do that until your next trip )
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.