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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Ok, I'm pretty sure I'm going to Shanghai!!!! After my experience going with DS to HKDL last month with no boots on the ground experience, I'm now thinking of doing a solo day followed by a Mommy-son day, once I have my head around the park and how to tackle it.
Anyone reading tons about the park and want to advise me? I'm thinking day 1 (solo) will be headliners and touring shops. It looks like the shop theming is pretty awesome, and will be worth my time even though I don't usually but Disney souvenirs. Day 2 will be about characters, walk through so and other more tame attractions as DS(8) is NOT into anything thrilling or with dark overtones.
I downloaded the Shanghai app yesterday. Max ride time mid day Saturday was 150 min for Soarin '. It's listed at 20 min at 8 pm on Sunday night. WOW, can that even be right?
Dates are flexible but will be around the 3rd week of August.
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Can't really help with a touring plan, but I can't wait to hear how it goes! This is somewhat selfish as I hope to be able to get there next summer (fingers crossed!)
Fair enough, Holly! I've ben reading a few blogs as well as tracking wait times. Tonight the wait time app isn't working... but I think the most important things for me to figure out is affordable snacks, picnic items, shade umbrella? Rhythm for DS to support all- day park touring.
Holly, I hope you can make it happen next year. Aren't uou coming to China this month?
Fair enough, Holly! I've ben reading a few blogs as well as tracking wait times. Tonight the wait time app isn't working... but I think the most important things for me to figure out is affordable snacks, picnic items, shade umbrella? Rhythm for DS to support all- day park touring.
Holly, I hope you can make it happen next year. Aren't uou coming to China this month?
No, that trip was postponed until next summer because they didn't have the minimum number of participants.
Shame! Well , Shanghai def will have the kinks worked out by then. I'll share what I learn, for sure. You should definitely try to extend your trip, the park looks really awesome, rivaling Tokyo disnea sea in details in some areas. Can't wait!!!
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Found a very detailed review from a site called leparcorama.com. Had SE good tour planning tips in the comment section. Pretty much the same as any park strategy. Rope drop a headliner, make use of runners, get as much done early as you possibly can. Specific to Shanghai is "cue with your elbows" or don't leaveroom for folks to cut in line.
Characters don't seem to be a huge draw for the Chinese visitor. DSreally wants to prioritize face character meets. I'm going to try to bone up on each character's story so we are prepped for great interactions.
I need to work out my mid day sun avoidance strategy too. This is where things fell appart at DLHK. We just braved it through till 2:30 or so. After that it was hard to recover. Part of my strategy will be air con experiences(seems there are few. Frozen sing along is one). I also plan on carrying an umbrella for shade, a washcloth that we can wet down to cool our necks. Visiting the splash area in treasure cove is another option. Ice cream for a pick me up at 4 or so is essential.
Like any card-carrying DA, I want to get a sense of wait times, of course.
The Shanghai ap is down more often than it is up. This has been frustrating, but I've been on enough to get a rough idea. Wait times have gone down significantly in the past 2 weeks. Tron, Soarin, roaring Rapids and 7dmt were all 100+ 2 weeks ago. Today, a Sunday, at noon, they are all under 100 except roaring Rapids. Peter pan is 50. Everything else is 30 or less. What gives? Are grand opening crowds dissipating, or is this a reflection of the current Shanghai Heat wave, with temps over 100 f daily for the past many days? Both? I don't know but I hope it holds out. Still working on our mid- day beat the heat plan. Might consider a meal at one of the hotels on the DS and mommy day.
Whoa. Not sgure what's going on in Shanghai, but wait times are bigger and bigger as the days go by. Right now headliners are over 120, and 60-75 min for nearly everything else. A few days ago, Pirates went down for a couple days for "refurb" and when it came back up, wait times were running double! I'm guessing they decided they couldn't run it at the capacity they were running it at before.
We bought our plane tix last week, so the trip is definitely ON. Guess I better get really into queue design, cause that's going to be what I get to enjoy most of the time!
Whoa, those wait times are quite something! Maybe it's some form of holiday around there at the moment? I don't know, as I haven't done much research into China. I'm hoping to go in a couple of years' time and do a guided tour of a lot of the country, putting Shanghai Disney on the front end and a return trip to Hong Kong Disneyland on the end, but I haven't looked at when are good times of the year to visit yet.
The wait times are just high high high because it's still a new park AND the school have summer holiday till the end of August. Those are my theories. I'm working on a high crowds touring plan, focussing on must-do's and spending time in shows and shopping during the hottest part of the day.
The wait times are just high high high because it's still a new park AND the school have summer holiday till the end of August. Those are my theories. I'm working on a high crowds touring plan, focussing on must-do's and spending time in shows and shopping during the hottest part of the day.
We arrive in Shanghai on Saturday!!!
with the touring plan and I can't wait to hear all about it!
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but I think the most important things for me to figure out is affordable snacks, picnic items, shade umbrella? Rhythm for DS to support all- day park touring. 
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Maybe it's some form of holiday around there at the moment? I don't know, as I haven't done much research into China. I'm hoping to go in a couple of years' time and do a guided tour of a lot of the country, putting Shanghai Disney on the front end and a return trip to Hong Kong Disneyland on the end, but I haven't looked at when are good times of the year to visit yet.
with the touring plan and I can't wait to hear all about it! 
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