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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
We are limited to vacationing during school breaks. From first hand experience, we know we prefer to go during the cooler months- the summer is just too hot.... We went last year over Thanksgiving break and had a wonderful time. We will not be going back this year, but will likely take a trip next year (2011). I've been planning we would do Thanksgiving again since it was perfect for us last year- perfect weather and very managable crowds- my only hang up is I would like to stay longer. So, I've considered Christmas break- but I know the crowds are suppose to be the busiest of the year. But, then I think how we were warned the crowds could be miserable over Thanksgiving and we found the crowd level to be very managable.
So my two options are: Thanksgiving break: Fri 18th- Sun 27th/ Fri and Sun would be travel days, so we would have 8 park days. OR Christmas break: Fri 16th- Jan 3rd/ Fri and Tues would be travel days, so we would have 17 park days, maybe 16 if we come back on the 2nd to allow a day for recovery. Either way- that is literally double the park days and I think that would be a great amount of time to stay.......
I'm just wondering if it is SO much more crowded at Christmas that we would still get more done and have a better time staying half the time at Thanksgiving. I would love to hear from someone that has been at both Thanksgiving and Christmas for comparison.... I have a while to decide, but would love some feedback. TIA!
I've gone for Xmas just last December and I found the crowds tolerable. If you have it in the back of your mind that it will be busier, taking advantage of those fastpasses were a must for us. Also eating the meals during "off hours" then reg eating times. We go to the most popular rides during the parades... but worth it! I would do Xmas again in a heartbeat (trying halloween in Oct).
I am Canadian so my thanksgiving is different so sorry I can't compare!
But I will keep my eye on your responses so I can learn the difference in the future!
I would go for the longer time. The crowds during both weeks will have good and bad days as far as the levels go, but with a longer trip you won't feel guilty about leaving a park for a bit if it does get to be too much.
I go last 2 weeks of Aug, and brave the heat, lol! Also crowds are low. And rooms cheaper!
Touringplans.com has a crowd calendar you could look at to see what the projected numbers are. Good luck!
I have never been at Christmas time, but my best friend and her family ALWAYS go at Christmas (only for a week though) and they LOVE it. She said the crowds are not that bad and the parks stay open past midnight some nights. She has 5 children too. We are going at Thanksgiving time this year for the first time (we have always been able to go on off times befoere) b/c of dd's school, and I was so glad to see that you thought it wasn't that bad for your family. Good luck on your decision. (BTW, if I could go to Disney World for 16/17 days....I would GO FOR IT! )
About This Page: 
. TIA!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
