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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I wasn't sure where to put this, so feel free to move my post to wherever it's supposed to be if this isn't the right place!
We've been to the Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, but never the one in Tampa. Has anyone been there, and if so, is it any good? It looks like they have a lot of rollercoaters and thrill rides which is great since we LOVE them! I also like how the Tampa Busch Gardens has a lot of anmal attractions, the Williamsburg one didn't have many. So do you think it's worth a trip an hour and a half West on our vacation to Orlando next year?
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We've been a couple of times and enjoyed our time there. If you find the trip report I re-did recently from December 2002, we headed over there for a day on I think 28 December - that might give you some useful information. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]
yes, it's a very cool place. The newest coaster, Shreik-la is just nuts - only for the truly insane. The animal attractions are very nice also. Yo can even take a bus iright from your Disney hotel if you don't want to bother with a rental car!
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Busch Gardens in Tampa is fun. We go every time we go to disney. Mainly 'cause my cousins live not too far from the park and we meet up with them but also for the coasters 'cause i have loved them ever since i was young. Some i ride like 5x in a row. We plan to maybe go to the one in virginia one year just to check it out. Is it far from Washington D.C.? The new one Sheikra wasn't floorless when i went may '07 but it went floorless in june so i want to check that out next time we go. The only downer to our trip last yr was that it started raining while we were at the park and the park shut down.
definately go check it out. It worth the drive from disney.
Definately worth going. They have a lot of animals since it is a trip to "Africa" and also lots of roller coasters. Great park. Only been there once and cannot wait to go back. may father in law lives halfway between Disney and Tampa so we may go there when we go next May (Doing the Decade of Dreams park trip and then visit to father in law.)
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Love, April
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass;
it's about learning to dance in the rain.
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It is well worth the trip from Orlando to Busch Gardens. The park in general is fasinating and the rides intense. My husband and I have gone several times over the years. Be prepared for the drive time back and forth and plan your day accordingly. It is a different experience driving back to Orlando very late in the evening. We have done their Holloween it is fantastic, but for teens or adults it is too intense for small children.
Ah!
My school went to Busch Gardens this past December and it was amazing!
I had gone before, but I was very little and couldn't ride anything.
I personally think that The Montu and The Kumba are the best coasters.
Sheikra is fun, but after the one big drop there's not much to it.
I definitely recommend going.
We enjoyed Busch Gardens, it has something for everyone. If you don't do coasters ( one of my dd's doesn't) there are lots of other things to do as well. And a few shows too. We got the Busch Gardens/Sea World pass & they bus you from the Sea World lot to Busch Gardens free. I think there are other pick-up sites as well. The put in a movie on the bus & you're there.
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But I do remember enjoying the park quite well, at the time.
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