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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We were standing in line for TSMWM and a family came in the entrance you would use with a little girl in a wheelchair. When they got up to the CM at the Fast Pass/Regular line junction, she got out of her chair and walked. My sister started to say something about "why does she only need a wheel chair to cut the line" when I pointed out that there was MORE to the picture than meets the eye! After a better look she understood. I knew from the second I first saw her entering that she was autistic, but then again, I deal with pediatrics all the time! But the sad part was that poor family chose the handicapped side to enter on (I really think the little girl had a very hard time with people too close to her!) and they were STILL WAITING after we boarded our car!
It makes me crazy when people make assumptions! My sister usually never does, so I was a bit shocked, but she "pulled back" immediately when she saw the full situation and was embarrassed by her outburst (a quiet one, but an outburst non the less!). Walk a mile in someone else's shoes...
I think others (not including your sister) would rather assume the worst than give a second look. I didn't notice any looks this year but I know last year we got a really dirty look from someone using a wheelchair in the standby queue at Buzz in the MK. She had a wheelchair but Lenny was on his scooter and we were in the FP line. And at the point she saw us, there was no way for her to know if we had a FP, if we were allowed there because of the scooter or what but she certainly was gesturing towards us and talking a lot with a nasty look on her face. Trust me, if Abby could wait - especially with that many people around - we would be but the more people there are, the quicker she loses it. And even without people, or very few, 30 minutes is pretty much her max time. She paces and self stimulates. A lot of times, I'll stand there and rub her shoulders and unless people know, they probably don't realize I'm doing it to help her remain calm. People will do what they will do and if they want to assume the worst, they're going to. Like you, I've noticed others from the standby lines getting on rides ahead of us (not TSM though, but that is probably the only consistent exception) but between Lenny and Abby, we go the way that works for us, even if it turns out to be a slightly longer wait.
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Originally Posted by saibot0001
I am glad you all get to use GAC card, Darlene! We have a lot of friends who have autistic children ( all varying in degrees) and I'm glad Disney has that available for families. My nephew was recently diagnosed and he can be fine one moment and then a sound or touch of something can cause a melt down. I actually was hoping that when you said that you were able to ride it 3 times that the ride has calmed down since we were there last year b/c it was a crazy mad house! . As for my hubby, I hope the Star Tours does not bother him. He will try it one time like you did and if it does bother him, he will sit it out in the future. He doesn't even bother watching 3 D movies at the theater anymore b/c they are just blurry and weird for him to watch. Hoping you post something soon as I'm anxious to read more!
Thanks but I'm sorry to disappoint you with TSM not calming down any but the GAC really is a huge help for us. If they didn't have some sort of accomodation, we wouldn't be where we are today as I would never have taken Abby. I grew up going to Disney so I already knew how bad it was crowd wise and from our experiences at much, much smaller parks with Abby, I knew she'd never be able to handle it at Disney - it would have been a huge disaster.
And just a question with your hubby (you don't have to answer) but is he colorblind at all? I ask only because Lenny is and depending upon what type of glasses get used, he can't see the 3D effects either - just all blurry lines and weird looking like you said. With Disney having the shades of brown with the glasses, he has no problems though and can enjoy watching 3D.
It's gotten late so I won't post anymore tonight but I promise I'll post something tomorrow.
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. As for my hubby, I hope the Star Tours does not bother him. He will try it one time like you did and if it does bother him, he will sit it out in the future. He doesn't even bother watching 3 D movies at the theater anymore b/c they are just blurry and weird for him to watch. Hoping you post something soon as I'm anxious to read more! 
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