Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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04-11-2007, 03:35 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Virginia
Posts: 547
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Trip Report - Disneyland Paris **Update 4/13
Trip Report - Disneyland Paris, Paris, Venice, Pisa and Rome: March 17-31, 2007
I took my 13 year old daughter to Disneyland Paris for 3 days and then 3 days sightseeing in Paris. We then met up my husband (who had been in Turkey on business) in Venice for 3 days, traveled to Pisa for the day, and then on to Rome for 4 days.
Looks like I'll have to do this in two parts:
PART 1 - Disneyland Paris: We arrived at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris at 6:30 am. We went in search of the shuttle to Disneyland Paris and found out that it doesn’t start running until 8:30 am.  We decided to get something to drink and found a little café not too far from where we were to catch the shuttle. We ordered two Cokes and at that moment I realized just how expensive the trip was really going to be.  The Cokes were 4 euros each for a total of $10.80. Anyway, the shuttle finally arrived and we were on our way to DISNEYLAND PARIS!! 
On the shuttle ride I was very surprised and saddened to see garbage all along the highway. It was in fields and stuck on fences pretty much the entire 40 minute ride to our hotel. But I was also surprised to see so many farm houses and grassy fields. We finally arrived at Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe. 
I tried to check in (along with a hundred other people) and was told the room would not be ready until 3:00 pm. At this point it was about 10:00 am, the temperature outside was in the 30's, and it was raining.  We of course, were still on Virginia time so it felt like 4 am to us. We just wanted to take a nap in a warm bed, but it was not to be.  We received our tickets to the parks and decided to make the most of it and catch the shuttle to Disneyland. The shuttle was packed, and I mean packed!! We were compacted in a double length bus pushed up against whoever was standing closest to us. People were NOT nice about it either, they just pushed us out of the way.  I was thinking...okay things are going to get better. Luckily the bus ride was short, but to my surprise again the park was packed, rain and all!  We decided to find something to eat. Well, one thing I didn’t research was that the restaurants in Paris close between certain hours. There was no food to be found (that’s one thing I love about the US - you can almost always find an open restaurant). My poor daughter was cold, wet, and hungry and there was nothing I could do about it.  We decided to go on Phantom Manor, which is pretty much the Haunted Mansion in French. This put us in a better mood and it was now almost 12:00 pm. The restaurants were just starting to open up again for lunch. We left the park and went to Disney Village (which is very small) and ate at Planet Hollywood.  The food was REALLY GOOD  (I’m usually not a big fan of Planet Hollywood), and we were now definitely ready for a warm bed.
My daughter wore canvas shoes (no socks) and sweat pants which by this time were completely soaked. So we caught the shuttle back to the hotel and waited for 2 hours for our room assignment.  The lobby was full of people in the same situation, but most of them had several children most of whom were under the age of 7. The Santa Fe is really designed for families with young children. It was very chaotic with poor customer service, and the restaurant was really not like a restaurant at all. It was more like a food for all with croissants, fruit, cheese, jam and orange juice. And the cleanliness left something to be desired! If I ever go again, I will definitely pay for a moderate or deluxe. The next few days the weather stayed the same. We tried not to let it get us down. We went to the parks and rode all the rides at least once.. Most of the rides were not as good as the ones in DL or WDW, except for Space Mountain and Buzz Light Year. I like the French versions of those rides better. The only ride we went on in Disney Studios was Rockin’ Roller Coaster...which didn’t have the L.A. Signs, it was just some kind of lights. The parks were smaller than I expected, but overall pretty cool. I wish the weather had been better. At one point we were on the roller coaster Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril and it was snowing. Almost everyone spoke English and the CM’s were friendly and helpful.
One thing I noticed was that the weather didn't affect the rides at all. They just kept on going during rain, hail, and even snow. 
Part II coming soon. 
Last edited by BeachBabyBongo; 04-13-2007 at 01:14 PM..
Reason: Update
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