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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thursday 9 April – part six: saving the very best until last...
Then it was into Mysterious Island. I’m glad we went round the park this way and left this area until last, as this was the best part. I think if we had seen this first, then the other areas may have been a disappointment. Take a look at these photos and you’ll see what I mean:
Basically, it’s a Jules Verne style land and it’s literally out of this world!
It’s home to a couple of superb attractions too. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea was one that I knew we had to go on. Essentially, it’s a submarine voyage, but my goodness, it’s very different to anything you’ve ever seen before. They are vintage submarines and it’s very much like going back in time, once you’re on board them. Sadly the only downside is that the whole thing is in Japanese, but you can follow what’s happening fine. Again, this is another must-do at Tokyo DisneySea and I would love to see it exported to other Disney parks.
Something else that I would like to see exported is Journey To The Centre of the Earth. At first, I wasn’t going to go on this, as I had seen the one drop and it did look longer than I thought it would be. However, Mark talked me into it and I’m glad he did, otherwise I would have missed out on a real classic Disney ride. The guidebook said it used the same technology as Test Track and I can see that, as it’s very smooth and very fast. It’s a bit like Splash Mountain, in that you go past some great scenes, before getting fast and one drop and that’s it. It’s very exhilarating and Frank and I had no hesitation in recommending it to both Mark and Donna. While they were on it, we sat there, wondering if they would enjoy it as much as we had. As Frank said “either they’ll love it or they’ll be really ticked off with us.” Fortunately, it was the first reaction when they came out, as you can see here.
Sadly, by this time it was getting late and we had to head back to the room to change before seeing the Cirque du Soleil show Zed that opened here in October. We made our way back through Mediterranean Harbour and with the setting sun, it made for some superb photos.
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I've been away for a few days and just had the pleasure of getting all caught up. Great job Cheryl! The boys were so excited and told everyone "we're on-line!" I didn't realize until I started looking thru all the posts and pictures that Frank & I had the same color shirt on and looked like twins - that wasn't on purpose!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny
Donna, you have a lovely Family. The boys look like they were enjoying that Aquatopia ride! That looks like so much fun!
Thanks Kenny, that's very sweet of you to say They had a blast!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemap760
Does anyone else think it's weird to have Abu be nearly as tall as Aladin? He looks like a freakishly large monkey.
That is too funny! I hadn't noticed that before you said that - but you're right!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Thursday 9 April – part six: saving the very best until last..
Something else that I would like to see exported is Journey To The Centre of the Earth. At first, I wasn’t going to go on this, as I had seen the one drop and it did look longer than I thought it would be. However, Mark talked me into it and I’m glad he did, otherwise I would have missed out on a real classic Disney ride. The guidebook said it used the same technology as Test Track and I can see that, as it’s very smooth and very fast. It’s a bit like Splash Mountain, in that you go past some great scenes, before getting fast and one drop and that’s it. It’s very exhilarating and Frank and I had no hesitation in recommending it to both Mark and Donna. While they were on it, we sat there, wondering if they would enjoy it as much as we had. As Frank said “either they’ll love it or they’ll be really ticked off with us.” Fortunately, it was the first reaction when they came out, as you can see here.
That really was the best ride ever!!!
Looking forward to your final installment
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Enjoying Tokyo DisneySea with my Buzz & Woody...
I know'd I made a good choice! DVC - Saratoga Springs Resort
You definitely did save the best for last. What amazing theming and I think those rides would do great in the States - a lot of ideas there that would make great additions (or even an extra park) at WDW.
I love the pictures on the way back to the hotel - I still cannot get over the perfect detail, if someone showed those pictures and you did not know where they were I would definitely think it was a European Coastal Town....
Beautiful pictures! I, too, was going to say that your last set of pics really did NOT look like they were in a Disney park. Looking forward to reading more!
That would be so cool if you did - I'm seriously thinking maybe I should start a Tokyo Disney PP meet thread in the Backyard forum...
I'm ready to put a ticker in my siggy.
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Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
What a gorgeous other wordly part of the park. And I LOVED 20,000 leagues when I was younger at WDW. I was always totally convinced you went fathoms below the water. I do miss it
And you were right. Gorgeous sunset pictures of the park. I am really enjoying your photography.
You definitely did save the best for last. What amazing theming and I think those rides would do great in the States - a lot of ideas there that would make great additions (or even an extra park) at WDW.
That's how we felt. There were so many great, unique rides that you could easily create a whole DisneySea in Orlando.
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