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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My family will be traveling to WDW in October . This will be our 6th trip since 2004. Our last trip was October 2014. I know that there are a few new things to see, but what can we do to recapture the magic when we feel like we have seen it all? I know it will still be magical because it always is, but any tips for overlooked places or things would be welcome.
Have you done the Halloween parties? Or the Food and Wine Festival? What are the ages in your party? I think what gets recommended is going to depend on what kind of other details you can give us regarding your party, where you could be staying, what you've done already, etc.
This trip will be myself, my husband and my 13 year old daughter. We have done both the Halloween party and the Food and Wine Festival before (since most of our trips are in October during the school's fall break). We will be staying at the All Star Music Resort this time. We have done both Water parks but have never done miniature golf before, so we may try that this time. I'm just looking for any tips about things to do that maybe we have overlooked before. How do those of you who visit the parks over and over keep things new and exciting?
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We pick splurge items as a family that we really would like to try. Last December it was Victoria & Alberts, our DD12 did not want to go since she is a very picky eater so to make it special for her we ordered her room service. She had pizza but the fancy touches made it an experience for her and she loved it and hopes to repeat the experience. Our elder DD turned 17 while on the trip and she did attend dinner with us, her highlight is that she ate edible gold that was topping her dessert. For this coming trip we will be doing the Pirates & Pals Fireworks Cruise on the 4th of July.
Other ways we make it special is to go at different times of the year so that we can experience different themes the world offers, like Flower & Garden Festival, Christmas, our next "to-do" is to target Food & Wine and the Halloween Party. There are always new restaurants we want to experience too, we are doing Cinderella's Royal Table next. If you cannot change the time of year, changing resorts to experience something new can also help. Also, look for activities around other resorts that you are not necessarily staying at: Horseback riding , Luau dinner show, spend time at Animal Kingdom Lodge looking at the savannah. Mini Golf is something on our list down the road as is bowling at Splitsville and La Nouba.
The mini golf is definitely fun. We're doing the Pirates and Pals Fireworks cruise as it's much less costly than the private fireworks cruises. We hunt for the pressed pennies and have visited all the resorts in looking for them. If you're planning on going to DTD, instead of taking the bus there, you could always go to POR or POFQ and take the "river taxi" instead. We enjoyed that last year. We also do pin trading and although we haven't "gone out of our way" for it like the pennies, we do look for them at whatever resorts we're planning on going to. If you haven't spent any time at the resort pool, there are games and activities all afternoon long and then a movie by the pool later.. Here's what's on the calendar for this month at AS Music (and you can always hop to the other AS as well to take part in their activities instead)
We were going about twice a year for a while and never felt like we had seen enough. The biggest perk to being a frequent visitor is that you really can take in the little things and not feel rushed to do it all every trip. We love going to grab lunch at different resorts, taking the time to watch performances many would overlook in the interest of getting in all the rides. We took the time to watch the balancing act in France at Epcot and loved it! Minor attractions My teen/tween girls really enjoyed were Sum of All Thrills in Epcot, the headphones at Conservation Station in AK, eating giant cupcakes for breakfast at Starring Rolls in HS, and the Sorcerer game in MK.
I have a feeling once you get there the excitement will come back no matter what you do! It's like visiting a friend you only get to see once in a while, you don't see them often enough for drama so you always have a good time
I sure wish I had your problem! But I totally get where you're coming from, because for a while, that is exactly how we felt, but for DLR instead. We went multiple times in several years, with one year going twice (once with my older DD's high school band that performed at DLR and the Rose Parade). As much as we love Disney, it seemed to get "old", and it was difficult to find ways to keep the magic alive.
With WDW, though, I feel like there is so much more to do and see. I can't imagine having to find ways to recapture the magic. Others have given some great suggestions. I won't add anything, since we are WDW novices, only having been there twice in 5 years. Miniature golf is something we wanted to do on both of our trips, but never had the time, so that will be on our schedule for sure the next time around!
Fortunately, so much changes every time you go back to WDW, there's usually enough to keep you entertained, even if you just check out the new stuff!
I'll second the mini golf thing - that is the very first thing we do when we go to WDW, and it's now a tradition. We get off the plane, we go to our resort, we go to mini golf. In that order. Mind you, we NEVER play miniature golf any other time either. For us, going to either Winter Summerland or to Fantasia Gardens is a psychological message that "We are really here, and it's vacation time!"
We also try to do something special each time, whether that's a carriage ride, or Cirque de Soleil (really lovely, but something we are happy to have done just once), Dine with an Imagineer, spending a day to visit different resorts, trying out a restaurant you never thought you would, or Disney Quest when it was still there. It doesn't have to be expensive either - our Resort Tour in 2014 was awesome and cost us nothing!
I have to say, my best inspiration has come via looking through my PassPorter!
I wish you tons of fun and enjoyment. I'm sure no matter what you and your family choose to do, you're going to have a great time!
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I would say try to take in some of the little nuances and just Disney touches - small impromptu performances, topiaries, serch for hidden Mickey's, create a scavenger hunt - all of these can make a trip much more unique than any other.
I used to live in Orlando about 10 minutes from WDW. I had an annual pass and generally went around once a week. So, I feel you!
The biggest thing, I think, is allow yourself time to explore at a leisurely pace. I recommend using a touring plan in the morning to see your favorites. In the afternoon, though, let yourself meander and discover hidden gems.
If you want a little more structure to this, consider getting the Hidden Mickeys book and do a Hidden Mickey scavenger hunt. You could also do Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom or the similar pirate themed game in Adventureland, at MK. The Explorer's League at AK works well, if not better. In general, taking time to check out the animals at AK is fun and relaxing- and not something most people take time to do. You'd be surprised how many exhibits get totally overlooked, especially in the Oasis and Discovery Island.
I just got a book from The Disney Food Blog called "Dining Adventures" (A.J. Wolfe). It has a number of one day, two day, and longer themed dining...well, adventures. You're told where to go for each meal/snack and what parks to tour in between. The book is cute, but you could easily come up with your own.
I know this isn't a suggestion for in the parks, but I love resort hopping. There are some truly amazing hotels on property that are a lot of fun to explore. Not to mention the best restaurants on property are located at the resorts. The deluxes are, of course, amazing, but (as people above have mentioned) the Port Orleans resorts are awesome, too. Not only can you can have a carriage ride and beignets in French Quarter, you can also take the boat over to Riverside. The landscaping at Riverside is truly beautiful. And, of course, you can continue your boat journey down to Disney Springs, if you wish.
Hope it helps!
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"Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life...They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures..." --Walt Disney
What about one of the Behind the Scenes tours? Some have age restrictions, as to not spoil the magic for kids but I am sure your daughter would be old enough for others. We did the Keys to the Kingdom and really liked learning about the small details!
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