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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Is there a guide anywhere that discusses which Fast Passes get booked up first? Getting ready to use the FP+ system for the first time and wondering which attractions I should try first to make sure we get them.
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Best Disney moment: Stitch proposed to me, recognized me years later, and tried to end a Meet & Greet by waving bye to the line & leading me away!
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There's all kinds of scientific formulas applied to this question!
Our strategy is to book our Animal Kingdom day first and make sure we get Flight of Passage--which seems to be the hardest FP to get right now. So, for example, if we are traveling for 5 days and our Animal Kingdom day is day 3, then when making our FP selections, I start with that day. I'd do Studios next, especially if you want Slinky Dog, which is in its own Tier with the rest of the Toy Story Land attractions. EPCOT, FROZEN seems to be the most popular. At Magic Kingdom, Peter Pan and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster are the hardest to get FP followed closely by the rest of the "mountains."
Know that FP times can be modified after initial selections are made. I spend time getting the initial FP selections. THEN go back and modify at my leisure.
Yes to all of the above, and I’ll throw in Soarin’ and Test Track at Epcot.
Of course, it depends upon the makeup of your party. Younger people...you might tend to go more for Frozen at Epcot, instead of Test Track. Older crowd...maybe Soarin’.
MK - Mine Train has appeal for all ages.
DHS - Rock n Roller Coaster might win out for older crowd. Toy Story Land naturally appeals to the younger folks.
AK - Flight of Passage is intense. Navi River Journey is much milder, a boat ride.
Flight of Passage was the toughest of all the ones we tried to get for our January trip. However, since then, Toy Story Land has opened and I don't know how popular the Fastpasses are for those attractions.
Slinky dog goes first for sure. I was trying to get one for midweek in late Sept earlier this week (at my 60 day mark) and no luck, even though I got on the second my phone turned to 7am. I am going to keep trying for a cancellation. I have been able in late spring this yr to get Flight of Passage at the 30 day mark a couple times.
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
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I agree with Slinky Dog going first. I went on at my 60 day mark and while I could have gotten a FP for it on one of our DHS, it was later in the day and didn't work well with my plans.
I was able to get a FoP FP for our AK day but again, the first one offered was mid day.
I think as long as you don't expect to get them early in the day, you may luck out and be able to get them. You may not but no one ever said once you have a FP, you can't change it later on.
Well, the FP system was chaos this morning, but I managed to get good selections (I think/I hope) and our major "must do" experiences. Thanks for all your advice!
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Best Disney moment: Stitch proposed to me, recognized me years later, and tried to end a Meet & Greet by waving bye to the line & leading me away!
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