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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I was speaking to a CM from MK who told me that WDW is thinking of instituting a "you must be less than this tall to ride" policy and weight limit on the strollers that the have for rental. I told her that the current tan strollers look like they're smaller than the old blue ones, but she wouldn't comment on that. Maybe they're trying to encourage people to bring their own strollers? I would think that this is a source of revenue for them, but maybe not if oversize tots are killing the rental strollers.
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I agree with you. I think sometimes people abuse the strollers when they're kids can easily walk. And what if it's an over crowded day and they run out of strollers and there's a 6 year old in one when a 2 year old needs one?
I have a six year old that rides in a stoller. Yes, he can technically walk, but I don't feel its safe. He has problems staying focused and wanders easily. He's really tall for his age, so he looks even older. I know that putting him in a stoller is the only way we can do Disney. I am considering taking a sit and stand for our upcoming trip so that the two year old can ride in the front and the six year old can ride in the back.
While they do make money renting the strollers, my guess is that they'd rather have guests bring their own -- probably less hassle, less maintenance, less staffing, etc.
They also sell very nice umbrella strollers for a decent price.
Eileen
I was speaking to a CM from MK who told me that WDW is thinking of instituting a "you must be less than this tall to ride" policy and weight limit on the strollers that the have for rental.
Just to clarify - the "you must be less than this tall to ride" policy is only intended for the strollers and not any of the the rides correct?
Yes -- the rides have a "you must be TALLER than this mark to ride" limit. There are no rides that I can think of where there's a *maximum* height and weight limit.
There were signs like that already at the DHS stroller rental area when we were there in September but it was obvious they were not enforcing it at all.
I agree with you. I think sometimes people abuse the strollers when they're kids can easily walk. And what if it's an over crowded day and they run out of strollers and there's a 6 year old in one when a 2 year old needs one?
There are older children with disabilities (visible and not) that need strollers so I don't think a child's age should have anything to do with it.
I have a six year old that rides in a stoller. Yes, he can technically walk, but I don't feel its safe. He has problems staying focused and wanders easily. He's really tall for his age, so he looks even older. I know that putting him in a stoller is the only way we can do Disney. I am considering taking a sit and stand for our upcoming trip so that the two year old can ride in the front and the six year old can ride in the back.
I agree! I think we take for granted the amount of walking that is done at WDW in a day. Their little legs tire much faster than an adult's legs and getting a stroller sometimes prevents meltdowns due to exhaustion and the heat. It is nice to be able to have the child right there in the stroller and know he/she is safe. My children were 5 and 6 this past trip and although we didn't rent one every day, we did on the days we went to the larger parks and spent more time in the parks. On a day when we didn't rent a stroller my DD was plowed down by a person not even watching where he was going, and never even stopped to help or apologize. She was holding DH's hand and he tried to pull her out of the way by the guy was in such a hurry he never slowed down We ended up needing to take her to the first aid station to be checked because she hit the pavement so hard.
Just to play the devil's advocate for a minute - if a stroller that you buy at the store has weight restrictions, then maybe the ones at Disney do as well. Perhaps they are finding that bigger kids are putting a strain on the stroller and they need replacing/fixing more often.
Just a thought.
Just to play the devil's advocate for a minute - if a stroller that you buy at the store has weight restrictions, then maybe the ones at Disney do as well. Perhaps they are finding that bigger kids are putting a strain on the stroller and they need replacing/fixing more often.
Just a thought.
It may be a way to try to keep some of the teens that I always seem to see playing bumper cars with the strollers out of them too. Come to think of it, I see adults riding in the strollers with the kids walking a lot too. I'm sure the maintainance/repairs are staggering.
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All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. 2010 - Polynesian ~ We're going back!