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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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For those wondering how the crowd levels are over Labor Day weekend, I am happy to report that they were very managable!
On Friday, we arrived at Universal at about 8:50 am. We could see that the Hulk was already running. We got to IOA when it opened, around 9:00. We walked on the Hulk the first time, and rode 2 more times with 5 minute wait. We did Storm Force, Dr. Doom, then headed to Spiderman, which had about a 10 minute wait. Walked on Dudley Do Right and Jurassic Park (twice). Waited for Dueling Dragons about 15 minutes because they shut down the coasters to add in more trains. The next ride was about a 10 minute wait. We took a short break and walked into the Sinbad stunt show. Walked on the Suess High In the Sky Trolley Ride - what a yawner!!! Even the 7 yr. old in our group was bored.
The only problem we encountered was at the Pteranadon Flyers, it was a 60 minute wait! So we skipped it.
Having done most of IOA, we ventured over to US. We walked back towards Jaws and had Nathan's hot dogs for lunch. During this time it came a huge thunderstorm and we were stuck there at the midway games for about 45 minutes. It finally slowed down enough for us to walk over to the Mummy. Very short wait times in the regular line, about 10 minutes. We used the singler rider line for a few more rides. After the Mummy we walked all the way back to MIB. We waited in the regular line for about 15 minutes. The rest of the time we used the single rider line. In about 90 minutes we probably rode 10 times!! We left there and went to ET which was about a 10 minute wait. After ET we walked into the Horror Makeup Show.
After doing both parks, we left Universal about 6 pm. Not bad to hit most of the major attractions of both parks in one day during Labor Day weekend!
We went back to IOA on Saturday. Arrived at park opening. Went to Spiderman first which was a walk-on. Hulk was about a 5-10 minute wait after that. We walked on Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish and left for Universal Studios.
We hopped over to Universal Studios and got in line for Shrek. We waited for 20 minutes. When we first got in line they only had one theater open, but they opened the second theater while we were in line. Next we went to the Mummy which was a walkon. We did Mummy several more times in single rider which is no wait whatsoever. In fact, we all rode together because there were so few people in the regular line. The main reason I did the single rider line is that it was shorter and less walking for me and my broken toe! Caught the Blues Brothers show in front of the Mummy. We walked back to Jaws and rode it with no wait time. By the time we got to MIB there were a good many people in the regular line so we utilized the single rider line for about 6 rides in a row! After MIB we walked back towards the front of the park to Terminator 2:3D.
We finished on Saturday in time to be back at PO-R by 3:30 kickoff for the GA Tech game!
On Monday (Labor Day), we decided to go over to Universal at about 1:30 pm. We walked on the Mummy again for a couple of times - single rider but the regular line was so empty. MIB was fairly busy but we used the single rider line for non stop riding. Then we left and walked over to IOA to see how the crowds were there. I kind of though IOA would be busier than US on Labor Day. We were shocked to walk on the Hulk! This was about 5:00 pm, and the lines at the Hulk were the shortest we encountered over the weekend.
In comparison, there were more people at WDW parks over this weekend than Disney. I think the free dining had drawn more people to the Disney parks.
Characters we saw: Spiderman at IOA
Zorro, Shrek, Donkey, Madagascar characters, and the Egyptians on stilts in front of the Mummy at US
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Michelle - with my step sisters!
Last edited by Shell_of_the_South; 09-06-2007 at 11:10 AM..
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That's great! We'll be there Sunday September 30th and Monday October 1st. We haven't been there since 1993 and the parks close at 6pm so I'm hoping we have enough time to experience everything, or at the very least all the major stuff.
It's nice to hear that you had a great time. We didn't go to Universal last year (we went to MGM instead) and are managing to spend a day there this year. It's been years since I've been there and I'm looking foward to going again!
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1991 - Disney vacation with family
1994 - Honeymoon WDW... the works
1997 - Disney with hubby
1999 - Son's first Disney vacation!
2006 - Daughter's first Disney vacation with hubbys family, all 14 of us!
2007 - Disney vacation with the family and friends!
Thanks for the updates on Universal, Im glad that you had a great weekend there and great no wait times! My Father in Law is a MAJOR FAN of Universal...we have season passes and we often go every holiday...and I do mean EVERY one He had NEVER been out to any theme parks before we introduced him to Universal (he was a hermit and would stay at home after working all day) but now he LOVES universal, especially the front of the line pass you get when staying on site He is a major fan of the MIB ride and will go on that (single rider) all day long if he could He also loves the coasters but most of all he likes the idea of not having to wait in HUGE lines full of crowded people cause just like me...He is very shy and even though if you saw him...he would terrify you because he is a BIG guy..Not heavy but TALL and he looks like Herman Munster he is terrified of people
PS..I love your dachshund puppy. I have two myself. Reeses my girl looks just like yours and Copper my male is the red/tan color. But mine are both 7 years old They are a blast those little clowns!
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Universal was great last weekend!
Michelle - with my step sisters!
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Pixie Dust
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He is a major fan of the MIB ride and will go on that (single rider) all day long if he could 
He also loves the coasters but most of all he likes the idea of not having to wait in HUGE lines full of crowded people cause just like me...He is very shy and even though if you saw him...he would terrify you because he is a BIG guy..Not heavy but TALL and he looks like Herman Munster he is terrified of people 
They are a blast those little clowns! 
Michelle
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