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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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're planning to go DLR this year (2007) for five days (Monday-Friday) in the weeks following Thanksgiving. The possible weeks are:
November 26 - 30
December 3 - 7
December 10 - 14
Until I saw the park schedules (thanks to someone else who posted on Passporter - yeah, Forums!), I was pretty convinced I wanted to go Dec 3-7. Then I realized that the days are shorter (esp. for DL) by a couple of hours each week (Monday - Thursday... the Fridays are all 8 am - midnite):
The last time we went (2003), we went the last week... and the crowds were starting to get a bit more serious by Thursday evening.
So, this time around we'll have an adventurous 2 1/2 year old & a 6 1/2 year old Disney Fan-in-Training, along with my wife & I.
Here's the plan... we'll leave Fresno on Sunday afternoon, drive the 4 hours (during nap time!) and spend the night near the park on Sunday. (Maybe even catch the Dancing Waters... is it going during the winter?)
We plan to enter the parks each day RIGHT at opening (the boys' normal wake-up time is 7 am) with Mom & younger dude going back to the hotel in the afternoon for nap time, while Dad (that's me!) and older dude ride "sedate" rides to get some rest. Then Mom & younger dude return to the parks around 4-5 pm to hook up for more Disney fun.
OK, I know this post is droning on... but... sigh...
...anyway, with shorter days (10 am - 6 pm), it feels like it would be really difficult to pull off the "go back to the hotel" portion of the day:
10 am - arrive at park
Noon - eat lunch
1 pm - Mom & younger dude go to hotel
4 pm - Mom & younger dude return
6 pm - day in park ends
Any thoughts or comments or just pleasantly snide remarks?
I'm also interested in input about Fantasmic during December, as well as any info on parades/snow/fireworks during those weeks.
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The closer you get to Christmas the more crowds you will encounter but, your dates look pretty good. I think you will be fine, I wouldn't worry to much about the park hours, you said you will be there for 5 days so you will be able to take your time and soak everything in. I don't think going back to your hotel for a rest will be a problem. Friday will be the day to cram the fireworks and Fantasmic in but it is duable. Do the fireworks first and then as soon as they are over head over to do Fantasmic second showing. If you are staying on property there should be a couple of early entry days also.
I would opt for the Dec. 3-7 alternative as lower crowd volumes should more than compensate for shortened park hours. As for the dancing waters show, if you're referring to the one that they used to have at the Disneyland Hotel, I believe it has been discontinued.
Joy
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1968 - Disneyland
1976 - Offsite
1984 - Offsite
February, 2003 - All Star Music
August, 2003 - Animal Kingdom Lodge & Wilderness Lodge
December,2003 - Wilderness Lodge
December, 2004 - Beach Club Villas
August, 2005 - Port Orleans, French Quarter
November/December, 2005 - Old Key West
July/August, 2006 - Disneyland Hotel
January, 2007 - Boardwalk Villas
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