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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Shamefully, i've never taken my 'baby' soon to be 16to SW, although he's a vet of the other parks & I haven't been to the park since late 70's
even though DS now thinks he's way too old for it, i know he'd appreciate the animals & the few rides, yet wondering whether it'd be better to:
* devote a whole day (weekend last week of June this year), maybe even do 1 day aquatica & then SW or the bounceback, next day deal (if still available then), bit worried about crowd factors then
or
* 1/2 day (probably arrive around 11 am) 1st Saturday on return trip in December; not sure how long the park stays open thou, know Universal tends to close early then
any thoughts?
I had priced out the Discovery Cove pkg last year & had sticker shock, upon reflection & after factoring in prices i've seen charged for dolphin encounters on cruise excursions ($150 & up) & the different park admission options it's looking to be a better deal, albiet still pricey...guess i could skip a day or more @ WDW during June week...any strong recommendations/suggestions?
If you do want to do Discovery Cove - and you're right, it's not badly priced, as you get your SeaWorld admission with that - then I'd definitely go for the June week, as the weather in December can be so variable.
I would say it's better to allow a day at SeaWorld and then leave early, rather than half a day and have to leave while you're still exploring the park.
I would do a whole day. If you finish early then maybe do a resort night that night where you just relax but I have a feeling you will find yourself spending the whole day there.
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With the addition of Aquatica, I've felt that it's a nice "trifecta" of parks. The three are so close together and all worthy of a full day. There's also the Radisson (I think) or whatever hotel right across from Sea World which would make getting to all 3 very easy. I wouldn't count on the "bounceback deal" as Busch Entertainment Corp., the parent corp. for these parks, is up for sale. I would imagine it's a popular deal and it would continued but again, I wouldn't count on it. If you go in December, I'd stick with just Sea World as the weather and water temperatures vary so much that time of year.
We were just there in August, and I LOVED it much more than our last visit in 2002. There's enough there to make a full day out of. If you're there when the Sea World After Dark program is running, DO NOT miss the "Sea Lions Tonite!" show. I think he'd have a pretty good time there, especially with the new roller coaster Manta opening soon.
With the different shows you could definitely spend an entire day!! Have fun! I went when I was a kid (a looonnngggg time ago too long ago to mention) and hadn't been back until 2007. WOW what a difference! My daughter was 17 then and she had a ball!
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will have to def try & work some (or all) of it in...did get a book written exclusively on SeaWorld, author classed aquatica a bit of a "kids" type WP, although gave it high marks especially as to landscaping & lazy river & one slide that goes thru dolphin tank (which i can't remember the name) He further stated if u want thrills to head for Typhoon Lagoon...which i didn't think was excessive(i did skip the speed slides though) hmmm
Southwest used to have a discounted tix, think i'll check there & AAA jik
One year we stayed at The Hilton Garden Inn which was walking distance to Sea World. Very convenient. I agree with Rob, Sea Lions Tonite is great. We were there around the same time, last August, with Fay! I liked the lazy river at Aquatica, there is one that goes faster, which is alot of fun. The other one is just a short loop. Overall I thought the WDW water parks were better. The Clear Dolphin slide, I couldn't see a thing, too much water spraying all over. We did enjoy it at Aquatica, if you go, get the eat all day at Banana Cabana, it's worth it.
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to SW, although he's a vet of the other parks & I haven't been to the park since late 70's
, bit worried about crowd factors then
, upon reflection & after factoring in prices i've seen charged for dolphin encounters on cruise excursions ($150 & up) & the different park admission options it's looking to be a better deal, albiet still pricey...guess i could skip a day or more @ WDW during June week...any strong recommendations/suggestions?
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