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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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02-12-2015, 08:10 PM
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#1
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PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Feature Article: Top 10 Things I love About Disney's Magic Kingdom - A Walt Disney World Park Review
Top 10 Things I love About Disney's Magic Kingdom - A Walt Disney World Park Review
by Cheryl Pendry
In the third part of this series, looking at my top things in each park, I turn my attention to the Magic Kingdom.
I think before I start I need to just explain that neither my husband nor I are thrill riders, which is why you won't see any mention of mountains in here. Equally, the last time we visited the Magic Kingdom, new Fantasyland wasn't complete, so once we see it finished, that may make it on to my list, along with the new Seven Dwarves Mine Train and even the new afternoon parade. But for the moment, here's the list as it stands...</p> 10) Main Street Electrical Parade
There's something special to me about night-time parades, and I wish that Disney had more of them. Sadly, the Main Street Electrical Parade isn’t on every night, so we don’t always get to see it, but whenever we do, we really enjoy it. There’s just a charm to it to see the floats and your favourite characters sparkling away after dark.
9) Cinderella Castle
You couldn’t have a top ten without the castle, now could you? There’s something that still to this day makes my spine tingle when I see it. It’s just a beautiful fairy tale icon, although I must confess that I wish there was more to it, like at Disneyland Paris, where you have a dragon slumbering in the cave beneath, and a charming representation of the story of Sleeping Beauty above.
8) Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
I’ve loved this ride ever since it was first introduced in the Magic Kingdom, no doubt partially because of my love of a little grey donkey. I just find this so much fun, and to me, these are the rides that I love Disney for, when they take you through scenes from famous movies. And let’s face it, given the popularity of Pooh and his friends, a ride featuring them was long overdue.</p> 7) Wishes
We';re both huge fireworks fans, so Wishes had to be on the list somewhere. What I love about this is how many different places you can watch it from, and how different the show looks, depending on your viewing location. Most people crowd around the castle, but we’ve seen it from Liberty Square before, in front of the Crystal Palace, and even from outside the park, which provides a very different perspective.
<b>6) Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party<b>
This is one of the reasons we love to visit in the fall, along with the Food and Wine Festival over at Epcot. The parade is always stunning, from the pounding of the headless horseman to those gravediggers, who really make the sparks fly. I love the fact that this is a Halloween celebration that’s suitable for the family, and it’s also one of the rare opportunities to see characters like all seven dwarves out and about for meet and greets.
<b>5) Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party<b>
Following on from the Halloween Party, I had to include the Christmas Party. I know this seems to have a much more mixed reception from people than the Halloween Party, but we love it. To us, being able to see the Disney Christmas parade is pretty much worth the cost of admission alone, as the only other option to view it is if you’re at Disney World over Christmas and New Year, and that’s one of the busiest times of the year. We just find it’s a magical and fun party, and really helps to get us into the holiday spirit.
4) Be Our Guest
A couple of years ago, I’d never have thought that the newest addition to table service dining would make it into my top ten, but after one superb meal there, I couldn’t miss it out. My grandmother was French, so I know what good French cuisine tastes like, and my food was exactly like my grandmother’s, a real compliment to the chefs. Outside of the food, the setting is superb, and you really do feel like Belle entering the Beast’s castle for the first time. I’m not surprised this is still such a hot ticket, a couple of years after opening, and I can’t wait to return to hopefully enjoy just as good an experience second time around.
3) Haunted Mansion
We’re back to what I call the traditional Disney rides that the whole family can enjoy, although maybe in this case, perhaps not the very youngest members… What never ceases to amaze me about the Haunted Mansion is how wonderfully creative it is, given how old the attraction now is. I always wonder how the first people to ride this all those years ago reacted? I bet in complete and utter wonder, and I still have that wonder to that day, as we ride through our 999 ghostly companions.
2) Pirates of the Caribbean
And on to another typical Disney ride, and this one again really immerses you in the story of a pirate’s life, although I do like the way that you get to see both the good old days when pirates were at their height, and what happens as their way of life comes crashing down. The recent addition of characters from the new movies only enhances this ride even more.
1) Crystal Palace
When I think of the Magic Kingdom, there’s one place that holds so many magical memories from over the years, and that’s the Crystal Palace, home to my donkey friend Eeyore and his pals. This is somewhere we visit on every trip, and it’s not just for the characters, as we love the bright and airy setting, and are never disappointed by the food.
So that wraps up my top ten of things at the Magic Kingdom, which leaves only Epcot to explore in the final article in this series.</p>
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 02-10-2015 10:02 AM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
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