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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm not sure I totally agree with the courts on this and not just because it is Disney. If I knew I had a medical condition such as high blood pressure and rode a ride that told me not to ride it, then how is it Disney's fault? I think that Disney makes a big effort to accommodate everyone on there rides. I don't see an intentional disregard to anyone's safety. They can't cover all possible scenarios, sometimes people need to take responsibility for their on actions.
I'm really confused on some of the pay outs on these lawsuits.
Any thoughts from anyone else? I'm not trying to start an argument, I just want to hear others opinion.
Things go wrong everyday, some are minor like getting stuck on a ride for an hour and some are major. Not everything has to be a lawsuit, sometimes you just have to say, "this is part of life" and move on. Can you imagine if everyone sued for all of life's inconveniences. My hubby and daughter got stuck(along with everyone else) on splash mountain for almost an hour once sitting in the hot sun. There was no compensation nor did we ask for any. The courts should not allow these type of frivolous lawsuits, IMO. The reality is things can go wrong at any time and it is not Disney's (or anyone else fault) if a person has issues and can not deal with it.
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I don't think this law suit should have been heard.
I think the fact that all the other riders could get off and he couldn't might be the reason that the court heard the case.
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If I knew I had a medical condition such as high blood pressure and rode a ride that told me not to ride it, then how is it Disney's fault?
I'm not aware of IASW having any restrictions on it. I'm confused though because it said that he was stranded because he couldn't access his wheelchair, but according to my PassPorter book as well as a park map I have, IASW is wheelchair accessible in WDW. Is is not the same at DL?
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Good point, Karen. They do have wheelchair boats at WDW. I don't know about Disneyland. Do you have to transfer there?
But, even if he was in a wheelchair boat like at WDW, if it was stuck somewhere inside the ride, it would be impossible for him to evacuate the boat, right?
When a handicapped person is stuck on a ride for more than 10-15 minutes, I think you need to call the fire department. Also, if you have a way to get able bodied people off the ride, you should have a way to get wheelchair people off of the ride or you shouldn't let them ride it. My DMom was wheelchair bound, and if she had been stuck on that ride, I would be a basket case, too.
Personally, I think making anyone listen to "It's a Small World" over and over again for 30 minutes is enough to warrant a law suit. I think WDW got off easy.
According to the article, "He has panic disorder and that was really what started everything rolling," Geffen said. "What caused the court concern, as well, because Disney was alerted about his panic problem and didn't call for the fire department right away." I could see if this was the case and not just being stuck on a ride.
I have been stuck on both IASW and Winnie the Pooh and my question is when rides break down can't they shut off the music? I love Disney and IASW (and luckily I wasn't stuck for 1 1/2 hours) but after having been stuck on the rides the music drives you crazy. I got stuck with my dd when she was like 7 in the heffalump room at Disney and she wasn't happy as the creepy music and spinning things just kept going.
I think the fact that all the other riders could get off and he couldn't might be the reason that the court heard the case.
I think this is the major issue. Disney paid a fine and corrected some problem relating to disability access, so it is likely that they did not have a good way to get this man out, especially if he was riding one of the special boats that accepts wheelchairs. They say they have corrected it, which is good, since I travel with a son and a husband who both have disabilities that sometimes require assistance. Like to think they have a plan!
1. The article says he was disabled and needed a w/c.
2. He had to urinate and could not.
3. He has high blood pressure and panic disorder.
As the mother of a disabled, wheelchair bound adult woman, I can tell you some things some of you may not realize:
1. People in wheelchairs have already lost a lot of independence. Being stranded somewhere, unable to leave, is terrifying.
2. If he needs a w/c, he may be paralyzed. People with paralysis can have autonomic dysreflexia. It can be caused by anything out of the ordinary - a full bladder or bowel, a hangnail, shoes too tight, a sore, etc. It is life threatening and if you have had it happen once, you recognize the symptoms forevermore. Just knowing you're going into an autonomic dysrefexic episode can induce panic. Autonomic Dysreflexia - Spinal Cord Injury - Paralysis Research Center
3. Couple anxiety, a possible life threatening issue, and high b/p and panic, plus that blasted song playing into eternity, and you have a very distraught, very medically unstable man.
I don't blame him for being upset. I don't even blame him for suing. They should have called emergency personnel as soon as they were told he suffers from panic disorder.
The article doesn't state if he went to hospital or not. But I can guarantee, his day at the park was ended with that ride. I think the $8,000. was fair. If it had been one of those "I was upset, so I sued for a million." lawsuits, then no.
1. The article says he was disabled and needed a w/c.
2. He had to urinate and could not.
3. He has high blood pressure and panic disorder.
As the mother of a disabled, wheelchair bound adult woman, I can tell you some things some of you may not realize:
1. People in wheelchairs have already lost a lot of independence. Being stranded somewhere, unable to leave, is terrifying.
2. If he needs a w/c, he may be paralyzed. People with paralysis can have autonomic dysreflexia. It can be caused by anything out of the ordinary - a full bladder or bowel, a hangnail, shoes too tight, a sore, etc. It is life threatening and if you have had it happen once, you recognize the symptoms forevermore. Just knowing you're going into an autonomic dysrefexic episode can induce panic. Autonomic Dysreflexia - Spinal Cord Injury - Paralysis Research Center
3. Couple anxiety, a possible life threatening issue, and high b/p and panic, plus that blasted song playing into eternity, and you have a very distraught, very medically unstable man.
I don't blame him for being upset. I don't even blame him for suing. They should have called emergency personnel as soon as they were told he suffers from panic disorder.
The article doesn't state if he went to hospital or not. But I can guarantee, his day at the park was ended with that ride. I think the $8,000. was fair. If it had been one of those "I was upset, so I sued for a million." lawsuits, then no.
Teresa,
Thanks for this! I think it helps me see it in a bit different light. I'm just tired of hearing about people stubbing their toes and suing for hangnails type lawsuits. Some people do look for "deep pockets" and will cry foul on anything. I do think they should be able to turn the music off. Unless the CM's feel like they listen to it all day, then it couldn't be all bad.
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Thanks for this! I think it helps me see it in a bit different light. I'm just tired of hearing about people stubbing their toes and suing for hangnails type lawsuits. Some people do look for "deep pockets" and will cry foul on anything. I do think they should be able to turn the music off. Unless the CM's feel like they listen to it all day, then it couldn't be all bad.
Michael
Are you saying I could have sued Disney for the day I stubbed (and broke) my toe at BWV's on the 2nd day of our 10 day trip, causing me to be pushed in a wheelchair by DH the remainder of the trip???? I'm sure the door frame was not wide enough. LOL - I am totally kidding.
In all seriousness, I can also understand this verdict. At first I thought it was another ridiculous lawsuit, but after reading it I can see some points that he had and think the judgement is somewhat fair. I actually think it may be a little too high, but at least it isn't in the millions. That would be crazy!
Frankly, I think they should have called the fire department to come get the poor man off the ride whether he had panic disorder or not. It's unconscionable for Disney to have removed everyone else from the ride and left him on it for what at the time was probably who knew how long.
I'd have expected the Disney I know to have sent a CM to him immediately to explain that they'd called the fire department, and while he was waiting, was there something they could do to enable him to wait more comfortably.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
I don't blame him for being upset. I don't even blame him for suing. They should have called emergency personnel as soon as they were told he suffers from panic disorder.
The article doesn't state if he went to hospital or not. But I can guarantee, his day at the park was ended with that ride. I think the $8,000. was fair. If it had been one of those "I was upset, so I sued for a million." lawsuits, then no.
Wow, I had no idea beign wheelchair bound carried those particular complications.
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I'm sure the door frame was not wide enough. 
LOL - I am totally kidding. 
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