Week After Thanksgiving...Who's Going? - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We went last year right after Thanksgiving and it was CROWDED... we asked when is better time now to come the CM said there is no REAL less crowded time to come anymore ... BUT with that being said it was CROWDED but it was still wonderful ! We had a blast ... Its all in ur attitude !
We were just in Disney and that was one of the least crowded times I've ever seen. The heat wasn't so great, but it was the best trip we ever had. November may be more crowded, but the weather will be cooler and the Christmas decorations will be up. I'm looking forward to November as well.
my plan so far is to be there dec. 2-5. i can't get a room anywhere...everything is booked solid at this point, so it is very up in the air. unless something i want is opened up, forget it.
This is the weekend that they are filming the WDW Christmas Parade.....That might be why.
We will be there from 11/27 - 12/3! We plan to head out to the coast for the weekend to avoid the crowds. I hope the rest of the week isn't too crowded.
i will be avoiding MK during the filming...last year, we were given tickets to a "pre-dawn" filming of some of the parade/ celebrities. too early in the morning and way too crowded.....last year's filming did not go smoothly because of weather and parts were dragged out into sunday as well and some of the kids planning on being in the parade did not get to do it as they could not change their plane tickets.(ie they had sunday departures...poor things) yep, i agree...there are no uncrowded times of the year where the weather is pleasant...our mid-september trip found very few crowds anywhere. (oh, except for toy story...ha ha ha) it is still THE most magical place to be during the xmas season. we can all just smile and make the very merry best of it!
We will be there 11/26 (woohoo, two months from today ) through 12/3. We actually moved our trip up a week to avoid PW and the crowds that come with it. I hope that was a good choice.
I am now having to rethink what we are packing. I was planning for cool weather (I am VERY cold blooded) but it sounds like I may have to pack some shorts and tee shirts too.
Good thing we are driving this time instead of flying and don't have to worry about the weight limit on the suitcases!!!
We were just in Disney and that was one of the least crowded times I've ever seen. The heat wasn't so great, but it was the best trip we ever had. November may be more crowded, but the weather will be cooler and the Christmas decorations will be up. I'm looking forward to November as well.
I was comparing to our Oct trip in 2008 so to me it was crowded .. nothing like summer or AT Christmas I am sure. But it was still so wonderful I didnt care hehe. Christmas time is SOOO great ! Decorated and so festive ! WONDERFUL ! And even tho it was hot we still had hot cocoa and such hehe... Did I mention it was wonderful hehe !
We will be there 11/26 (woohoo, two months from today ) through 12/3. We actually moved our trip up a week to avoid PW and the crowds that come with it. I hope that was a good choice.
I am now having to rethink what we are packing. I was planning for cool weather (I am VERY cold blooded) but it sounds like I may have to pack some shorts and tee shirts too.
Good thing we are driving this time instead of flying and don't have to worry about the weight limit on the suitcases!!!
Hi and hope me and molly could catch up and say Hi we arrive on the 1st
i will be avoiding MK during the filming...last year, we were given tickets to a "pre-dawn" filming of some of the parade/ celebrities. too early in the morning and way too crowded.....last year's filming did not go smoothly because of weather and parts were dragged out into sunday as well and some of the kids planning on being in the parade did not get to do it as they could not change their plane tickets.(ie they had sunday departures...poor things) yep, i agree...there are no uncrowded times of the year where the weather is pleasant...our mid-september trip found very few crowds anywhere. (oh, except for toy story...ha ha ha) it is still THE most magical place to be during the xmas season. we can all just smile and make the very merry best of it!
I just booked Swan hotel for 12/3, 12/4, and 12/5 and we had no problems getting three rooms on a FL discount. Good luck.
wow, something really IS going on with reservations. i called a week ago for swan/dolphin and not a thing was available. by the way, how did you get a fla. discount if you live in new jersey????? assuming perhaps one of your family member must live in fla. i think it is all in the timing this year and they are holding on to rooms longer for a variety of reasons already listed....staffing, holds on rooms for conventions, etc. It is going to be such a great time...hoping to set up a pp meet during this time...
I have to admit -- when I started reading this thread I thought "It can't be THAT bad"
Then last night I went on to look for hotels to upgrade (DH's company will be paying for our room and his allowance is more than the Value we have booked). You folks are right -- there's nothing!
it has become a mild source of amusement for me. it seems no one believes me until they actually go look themselves. i even have dvc member friends offering to book for me and they can find nothing either. i have a room, not the one i was originally, way back in the spring hoping for, but i will be happy with it. it is not deterring me in the least, but more and more people are finding it is all but impossible at this point to find a room of any kind. will it impact the crowds...good question. there are so many variables that we have all talked about. don't forget the kids "marching" in the parade as well...that definitely adds to the mix, but not necessarily the park crowds. i am expecting crazy busy crowds so that way, i will be very happily surprised if it is less than imagined.
wow, something really IS going on with reservations. i called a week ago for swan/dolphin and not a thing was available. by the way, how did you get a fla. discount if you live in new jersey????? assuming perhaps one of your family member must live in fla. i think it is all in the timing this year and they are holding on to rooms longer for a variety of reasons already listed....staffing, holds on rooms for conventions, etc. It is going to be such a great time...hoping to set up a pp meet during this time...
Think about it this way, in the peak season, the parks are full to capacity, but the hotels are not necessarily full. During peak season, so many people come to the parks anyway that they don't offer up all the good discounts and free dining if you stay at a resort, so lots of people stay at off-property hotels. The hotels have lots of people during a timeframe that they have great offers going on. So the full hotels definitely don't always predict the crowd levels.
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) through 12/3. We actually moved our trip up a week to avoid PW and the crowds that come with it. I hope that was a good choice. 
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