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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hello all! New to posting to this forum............and new to the whole DISNEYLAND experience. I have just planned our very first family trip to DL. We're going on Valentine's weekend and will be staying in the Grand Californian. Taking advantage of the awesome military discounts Disney just announced!
Anyways, my first question to this forum is:
Has anyone seen/had their selected for the Jedi Training? If so, how cool was it? DS6 is a huge, gigantic, to the brim Star Wars fan. I haven't told him that this even exists. I probably won't until we actually get there.
I also see that participants are randomly selected from the crowd. Anyone know how they randomly select the participants? Anything you know that will improve my sons chances of being a participant?
Thanks! This is my first of MANY questions. LOL! I'm so lost and I still have 3 weeks until we go. I still need to find out how these fastpass things work that I've seen others post about.
Our son was selected for Pirate training with Jack Sparrow. We are going to go to the Jedi Training when we are at WDW next week. We went twice - he wasn't selected the first time to fight with Jack.
Arrive early so your son gets a front row seat. Encourage him to be enthusiastic but make sure that he understands that not everyone can get picked. Our DS was also willing to "play" with the CMs during the pre-show.
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1st Familiy Trip To WDW - 1/31/04; ASM
2nd Family Trip to WDW - 2/2-10/2007; ASM
3rd Family Trip to WDW - 1/21-31/2009; PQFQ
4th Family Trip to WDW - 1/22-30/2010; PQFQ
Thanks!
My son is VERY sociable and VERY outgoing.
I plan on getting a shirt made for him and bringing signs and his own lightsaber. Hopefully it works, but if now, he's such a good sport I don't think he will be TOO disappointed.
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1st Familiy Trip To WDW - 1/31/04; ASM
2nd Family Trip to WDW - 2/2-10/2007; ASM
3rd Family Trip to WDW - 1/21-31/2009; PQFQ
4th Family Trip to WDW - 1/22-30/2010; PQFQ
Our son got chosen first time we tried at Disney Hollywood - He is six and it was over the top for him!! He wore his obi wan costume and the jedi master commented on his "attire" as he was choosing him. We prepped him for the possibility of not getting picked, I'm not sure how he would have handled not being chosen. He jumped up and down a lot and we got there very early and we were in the front row. A little boy next to him told me that "IT is an opportunity of a lifetime!!" I felt bad for him when he was not chosen. I would start early in the day so you can try again - GOOD LUCK!!
Another suggestion that worked for us at DL is that my kids made a small sign. They wrote that they were visitors from one of the cold planets (I can't remember which one it was - but they say it is just like our home - cold and rainy - LOL). They went early, sat in the front row, held up the sign, and jumped and screamed and got the Jedi Master to look at them. They were so happy to be picked.
We have gone before a few times and have not had any success. The worst time was when one was picked and the other was not.... I felt so bad for him, but he tried to be happy for his brother.
So, after that sad trip, I asked a CM at the Grand during our next trip about being selected. She suggested that we make a sign. In fact, she got us paper and crayons. They had fun making the sign together and wanted to keep it after our trip.
It is the cutest show! The Jedi Master is a pretty funny guy. He makes lots of comments about each child as they approach Darth Vader and fight. I will always regret not having my video camera the time that they were FINALLY choosen.
It's a great show. We watched it on our last visit.... Darths Vader and Maul are there (he loves snarling for the pictures). They pick lots of kids, but it is important to remember that there will be kids that don't get picked. They provide a robe and light saber, so his will have to stay with you if he does bring it. I saw kids that just looked like they'd be able to do it getting picked. If the child was really quiet or shy, they didn't get picked, because each one of them faces one of the bad guys one on one during the show.
Even if you can't participate, it's a great show for any Star Wars fan.
Both my son and daughter were chosen. We think it's because they were right up front, very enthusiastic, and my son was wearing a bright orange shirt! We had a CM tell us to make a sign since there was another kid with us that wasn't chosen. We came to the next show with a sign, and he was chosen! Our sign said something like "It's my dream to be a Jedi."
The more enthusiastic your kid is, the more likely they are to be picked...noted while observing. My son wrote a small sign too that said, "I want to be a Jedi" and he got picked. He was taller than the other kids and the Jedi robe was quite short on him...but he still had fun...I have a video shot of him fighting Darth Maul. It was fun. You're kid(s) will enjoy it.
Thanks everyone!
I think we'll make a project out of making a sign before we leave!
Still haven't told him yet, but we went looking on Youtube for videos of the Star Tours ride. It started with C3PO and R2D2. His eyes got big and said in a high pitched voice "Mommy, are they really reall? For real?" I responded with "They are real robots!" He got all teary eyed, jumped up and down and screamed and gave me a big hug and said "I love you mommy! This is gonna be SO MUCH fun!"
It was so cute to see him that excited. Although, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches give him about that much excitement, so................. LOL!
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They were so happy to be picked. 
I felt so bad for him, but he tried to be happy for his brother. 
- Jan
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