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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 are planning a trip to WDW and are checking in on the 13th of Dec and checking out on the 20th. We've never been to Sea World and can get in free since my DH is active duty. My DSs are 2, 5, and 7 and we will probably be joined by my DH's aunts.
I've got a couple questions....
How much time do we need to see all the major attractions that we can't see at a normal aquarium? and what are the "don't miss" attractions?
Do we stop there (we are driving down to FL) on the 13th (we'd stay in a nearby hotel the night of the 12th) and check-in to our WDW hotel later in the evening? or should we go the day we check out, the 20th? or stay a night near SW on the 20th and go on the 21st? Will one be busier than the other because of the day of the week or proximity to Xmas vacations?
I'd love any input! We went to WDW last year at the same time and loved that there were no crowds during the week, so we will be spending our 5 days at WDW Monday-Friday.
I don't know about crowds in Dec, but we need a full day at least to see SeaWorld. So depending on crowds, I'd stay somewhere near SeaWorld on the 20th, if you check in early you could go directly to SeaWorld, spend the day stay over night then drive home the 21st. Because would you really want to start the drive home after touring a park all day? I'd be too tired.
We have stayed at Hilton Garden Inn which is walking distance to SeaWorld, thru parking lot. We could watch the evening fireworks from our room.
We loved the shows, Seamore & Clyde (the sea lions) Shamu, Pets Ahoy, Shows - SeaWorld Orlando I esp. enjoyed the evening shows.
I'm guessing here, but I'd think 20th would be busier, as it's nearer to Christmas. We've been twice around Christmas - once on the 26th (never again - it was mobbed! ) and once on 17th, which was a Monday and it was lovely and quiet. I know at Disney, the crowds for Christmas start to build from the weekend before Christmas, which is why I think you'd be better off with the 13th.
We find we usually need a full day to see and do everything we want to at SeaWorld - to us, the must-do's are the shows, especially Shamu and Clyde and Seamore, although many people would add the dolphin show in too. The attractions we like to see are the dolphins, sealions and manatees. We aren't ride people, so we don't worry about doing those.
Going at that time of the year, you'll want to see the Polar Express too, which will no doubt have long queues - that was the only thing that did have long waits on the Monday we went, when the park was quiet everywhere else.
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) and once on 17th, which was a Monday and it was lovely and quiet. I know at Disney, the crowds for Christmas start to build from the weekend before Christmas, which is why I think you'd be better off with the 13th. 
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