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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 have two trips to Disneyland planned for Oct 2011 and Feb 2012. My 11yo DD has PDD-NOS (roughly borderline autism/aspergers) and my 8yo DS has high-functioning autism. Both have sensory processing issues and can become overstimulated and my son will have full meltdowns. My kids both have a hard time standing in crowded lines, my son can't handle loud talking and high pitch voices (think little girls when they see a princess) - we bring military grade ear protection for him, they don't like being touched or bumped into (even a gentle guiding touch or tap on my DD's shoulder can cause her to get very upset) and they don't read social cues.
Our trips to WDW have always included a 3rd adult and we would line up in a specific order (even with the GAC) - DH, DD, me, DS, Other adult. We would put about 2 feet between everyone and spread them out. This buffered the kids between us and gave them some space. Even doing this the short FP waits can seem long at times, since there are still kids on the other sides of the rails, often swinging on the rails or trying to talk to them.
In October I will be going to DLR with the two kids no 2nd adult. This may be the craziest thing I've done. I'm wondering how the GAC's work in DLR. Do you tend to enter through FP lines, handicapped lines, alternate areas? Specifically for rides that tend to have longer waits any information would be great. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to buffer the kids when I don't have extra adults. My sons former teacher may be there for a day or two in Oct. to help handle the busier rides. It's a quiet time of year so I'm hoping waits in general are not too bad. In Feb. my DH will be going so it will be a little easier.
The GAC works very similar and if you are
Going in non-busy times it should be easier a d quicker than at WDW. You need to tell them you need a GAC with Alternate entrance this will get you on the rides the fastest way possible, we have entered through the exit before and have completely bypassed the queue's. It of course depends on the cast member but with your situation I'm sure they would help you. If you are worried about the lack of adults maybe hire an equestrian to help you out for a day or so?
Thank you, I thought it would be similar and I was in Disneyland in 2006 with my mom (no kids) in June and it seemed fairly easy to navigate and I think will be a refreshing change from WDW. I still prefer WDW but for a trip with just me and the two kids I think Disneyland is the way to go.
Do you happen to know on the following rides how they are handled with the GAC? These are the most important to my DS or DD and that I think the lines have the most potential of causing problems.
Goofy's Sky School - Haunted Mansion - Indiana Jones Adventure - Little Mermaid - Space Mountain - Star Tours
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Get the GAC.
Talk to the CM and explain that your situation.
Space Mountain has a GAC waiting area that can on bad days hit 45 minutes.
Little Mermaid gave me a special thing that allowed me to come back later in the day instead of waiting. About 10 minute wait on that one maybe 15.
Haunted Mansion you walk up to the area with the hearst then the CM will talk with you. There is a line for a bit but not too bad.
Not done Goofy new coaster
Star Tours talk to CM and they should send you up the exit ramp and then wait a few minutes but no real line.
Cannot do Indy but they usually send you through line or exit depending on crowd, talk to CM.
Some disabled lines are longer than the regular but CMs try hard to help guests with special needs.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Thank you, I thought it would be similar and I was in Disneyland in 2006 with my mom (no kids) in June and it seemed fairly easy to navigate and I think will be a refreshing change from WDW. I still prefer WDW but for a trip with just me and the two kids I think Disneyland is the way to go.
Do you happen to know on the following rides how they are handled with the GAC? These are the most important to my DS or DD and that I think the lines have the most potential of causing problems.
Goofy's Sky School - Haunted Mansion - Indiana Jones Adventure - Little Mermaid - Space Mountain - Star Tours
The way unto Goofy's Sky School- uses FP line
Haunted Mansion-uses handicap line BUT once inside, you are crowded in with others in the elevator-could cause problems.
Indiana Jones-uses exit line, ride has violent movement.
Little Mermaid- now has handicap line.
Star Tours- exit line but once inside noisy and violent movement.
This is as of July 24th. Hope this information helps.
Thanks for the info on the noisy/jerky rides. My DD is a sensory seeker and loves roller coasters and jerky fast moving rides (she hates gentle touches ie. soft pat on the back or brushing across her arm). My DS is hit and miss depending on the day - one day he will sensory seek and the next avoid. He loves the Indiana Jones movies and Star Wars and will probably tolerate more because of the extreme interest in the films. I will definitely have him put on his headphones on both the rides though.
The kids have both done Haunted Mansion in WDW and have been okay and it sounds like the GAC procedure is similar. I have always asked the CM where the "exit" door is to the ride as I like to be on the other side near a wall and exit last. That way all the other people push and shove to get in the ride area and we wait while the elevator clears out. We usually buffer the kids in between the adults on this, but I will have to do my best on my own.
I don't mind if the line ends up slightly longer - not waiting around other people especially hyper children is the main concern. They can only handle so much. By waiting in other areas we can tour much longer and really enjoy ourselves.
Haunted Mansion has a roped off area once you exit the elevator. I have used that twice and there is no real line. If you must exit be very clear to the CM. there is a winding backstage exit that can be hard to navigate when you are dealing with kids. The disabled exit is to go up the roped off path, wait for the elevator then out the front door. Easier and faster.
Temple Grandin could not be touched but she loved her machine that squeezed her. She craved hugs but could not stand being touched. Two parts of her brain fighting each other, one saying NO and the other part saying YES MORE. She adapted. I love her very much for her teaching and how she has changed the life of people and cows.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Thank you for the additional information on the Haunted Mansion. Both kids have done the Mansion in WDW but this will be the first time we have only had me to manage both kids. I think we will figure it out. I actually just realized I am also going to have to have plans for seating on rides for two. My daughter is older and although she has some challenges I will have to talk to her in advance about riding by herself at times.
Wow! I'm always amazed at all the things we have to think of. But I would sure rather plan for the issues then have them become an issue.
My DD and DS both hate being touched but enjoy deep pressure. It's interesting having two children on the spectrum. They are both similar and very different at the same time.
One of my best friends (lives in your town and has a son just like yours) just got back from Disneyland. With the GAC card they were able to avoid the overload of sights and sounds.
October at Disney was VERY slow when we were there. max wait was like 10 minutes, and usually much shorter.
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I love this picture because my daughter's facial expression matches the Queen of Hearts exactly, and it was completely unintended!
I am counting on the slow parks in Oct., but it adds a wrinkle in that the parks close so early. It's harder to take time away for a break in the day. But if we are able to avoid crowds and lines the kids should be good to go for most of a day, maybe with a break for lunch and snacks in a quiet spot in the park.
Being in Colorado we are out and about a lot and this should help the stamina (especially at sea level). The kids usually only need a break from the crowds and noises.
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