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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 did this in 2009 and I will admit it's pretty cool to be that close to the whales. However, if you're looking to see some neat tricks you won't get any. This is done "off the clock" for the whales so to speak. It is their playtime so they are allowed to do what they want. We saw them playing with a ball, but other than that they mostly just swam. We did get some great pictures. Some people right up against the tank got a little wet so that's something that could happen. The food wasn't that great, but I would probably do it again as I thought it was cool to watch them while we ate.
Did this in San Antonia in July 2011. There was no tank to stand right up against. It was a roped off seating area. The whales did get up on the edge of their swimming "hole" , but there were no jumps. The jumps are saved for the arena during the shows because backstage isn't deep enough.
The food was okay. Buffet style and if you have food allergies, probably not the best choice. It was hot and we they were delayed letting people in because the trainers weren't on time. People were thirsty, cranky, and just in a bad mood by the time we got to our seats.
It is a good time to get all your killer whale questions answered!
Now, that is an adult point of view. The kids that were with us would dine with Shamu over and over again!
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
I should add that my teenager got to "swim" with the beluga whales at Sea World in SA. Another behind the scenes moment. You don't really swim with them, but you do don a wetsuit and get into the water to feed and touch the whales and learn some hand signals for tricks. My teenager said it way better then Dining with Shamu.
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
We did this at SeaWorld in San Diego about 4 years ago. There it was a buffet and a naturalist talked about the animals. I think it is worth the extra price to get that backstage experience but parks do differ. Go to youtube and see videos of this program in the park of your choice.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
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i did it on my last trip over a year ago and IMO its defo worth it great shots of the wales chilling and playing in the water it was lovely and then you get good seating for the show after.
i did it on my last trip over a year ago and IMO its defo worth it great shots of the wales chilling and playing in the water it was lovely and then you get good seating for the show after.
Seating for a show was not offered to us in San Antonio. Best to check with the park you are going to. Perhaps the little extras will make it more worthwhile for you.
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~Joby/Lil~Me stealing Capt. Jack Sparrow's treasure!
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, but there were no jumps. The jumps are saved for the arena during the shows because backstage isn't deep enough.
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