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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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're not early morning people but we're going to try really hard to get to MK on-time to see the welcome. I heard that the characters are up on the train platform--which side would we see this from? Would it be from Main Street, or looking from the side by the turnstiles? Thanks for any tips!
You view it from just inside the turnstiles - the better spot to be is right in front of the train station - looking up at it! It is worth getting up early one am for! We love it!
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Another one of my most favorite things about Disney! I never miss the opening at MK. Usually I am the big dork standing there with tears of joy--it's like being a kid all over again. I'm not a morning person myself but when I am at Disney the home rules don't apply. I am often amazed at how early I can actually function!
You can see the show from just inside the turnstiles. We like to be in the center. Not too close that it hurts to look up but back just enough to see everything that is going on.
This is definitely worth getting up for--even if you aren't a morning person.
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I am a kid when it comes to seeing all things Disney and the opening ceremony at MK is our favorite.........my Dh who doesn't recognize that there are two 6 o'clocks in any one day........gets up with no problem at 6 am to get ready, have bfast in order to catch the opening at MK when it starts.........hahahaha
You could get a wake up call - if you stay in Disney, I have been told the wake up call is Mickey. Either way, allow the hotel staff to help!
Glad you asked the question. I never knew that this happened and it sounds so great!
Have fun!
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"Disneyland has that thing - the imagination and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid."
--Walt Disney
Yeah, what everyone else said. I love the MK opening and the walk down Main Street when the gates open...it does make you a child again. My DH and I were just at WDW on Friday, and we went to the MK just to enjoy the morning on Main Street. We talked about the fact that the MK is the "feel good" park. It's a whole different kind of magic. That welcoming ceremony and the park entrance make you believe in a good world; they make you a child in that you believe in hope, magic, and the fact that you really are welcome to a magical place.
It's worth getting up for...for you as much as for your kids.
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I believe that dreams come true...and that believing in them drives away the darkness.
Proud to write for YourHighwayInTheSky.com - enjoy Disney news and views from a diverse crew of Disney lovers!
Another one of my most favorite things about Disney! I never miss the opening at MK. Usually I am the big dork standing there with tears of joy--it's like being a kid all over again.
This is definitely worth getting up for--even if you aren't a morning person.
I'm the OTHER big dork crying my eyes out. We caught this accidentally last trip and it's going to be a MUST DO every time we go.
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When we went in the morning (and this was during a value season so it may be different when the park is very busy) there was only one side being opened so we didn't have an option!
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Boogie down!!! __________________________________________________ ______ "Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing. Keep pretending." from The Muppet Movie
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but we're going to try really hard to get to MK on-time to see the welcome. I heard that the characters are up on the train platform--which side would we see this from? Would it be from Main Street, or looking from the side by the turnstiles? Thanks for any tips!
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