Does Disney Endurance Sports make anyone else want to tear their hair out? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Does Disney Endurance Sports make anyone else want to tear their hair out?
We have participated in marathon weekend several times, with seemingly increasing levels of frustration each time.
This time, DH is running the Goofy Challenge again, and we are both signed up for the family 5k on Friday 1/8. We plan to arrive in Orlando late on Thursday evening (1/7), after the marathon expo is closed. BEFORE we signed up for the 5k, we called Disney Sports and asked if there was race day packet pickup for the 5K because we were getting in late the night before. They assured us that there would be race day packet pick up. Relying on that, we registered for the 5K (non-refundable) and bought our airplane tickets, which have us arriving at 10:30 p.m. on 1/7.
We got an email from Disney Endurance Sports yesterday saying, among other things, that race packets had to be picked up at the Expo because there is no race day packet pickup.
I don't know what we're supposed to do now. I can't get through on the phone. I've submitted an inquiry via the "Contact Us" link on their website, but haven't received an answer yet. Frankly, I'm not overly optimistic. Every other time I've contacted them through the website, the answers I've gotten in return have been useless.
I can't imagine that they didn't think about the fact that lots of people are probably arriving on Thursday evening for marathon weekend and going to miss the expo. I'm so frustrated!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Let me preface this by saying I have never been to the marathon and may not have a clue here.....BUT , I wonder if there is some confusion in what they are calling "the Expo". According to their website, the Expo has hours on Thurs, Fri, and Sat. So, couldn't you pick up your race packet at the Fri expo hours, instead of Thurs? Does this make any sense besides in my head? Here is exactly what it says on the website I read: PACKET PICK-UP
All runners must attend the Expo for race number and packet pick-up. If you are planning to arrive at Walt Disney World® Resort before Thursday evening, we highly recommend that you attend packet pick-up on Thursday to avoid expected long lines on Friday and Saturday. You will need to download your personalized race number pick-up card/waiver form online and bring it with you to packet pick-up at the Expo when it becomes available online in December.
If you cannot attend the race packet pick-up, then shirts, race packets and goody bags will not be mailed. EXPO
Thursday, January 7, 2010 from 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Friday, January 8, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 9, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex
Oops, now I think I may see the problem. If you are doing the Family 5K that starts at 7 am on Friday, the expo wouldn't be open yet that day for you to get your race packet. That is probably why they are telling you you have to pick it up Thurs. I bet the CM that told you you could pick packets up on Friday didn't pay any attention to what race you were in. I hope you are able to work something out with them to get your packet!
__________________
MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
There happened to be a live chat with the Endurance Sports team today. I submitted my question about this and they said that there would be late packet pickup before the 5K, but not for any of the other marathon weekend races. The problem was that they had sent the email saying "no race day packet pickup" to everyone who was participating in ANY marathon weekend event, so their communication was not a model of clarity.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
, I wonder if there is some confusion in what they are calling "the Expo". According to their website, the Expo has hours on Thurs, Fri, and Sat. So, couldn't you pick up your race packet at the Fri expo hours, instead of Thurs? Does this make any sense besides in my head? Here is exactly what it says on the website I read:
I hope you are able to work something out with them to get your packet! 
Linear Mode
