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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Well, we've got the trip booked and the deposits been made. We decided on Wilderness Lodge Dreammaker with the Silver Plan Add-On. My travel agent suggested that she may be able to upgrade to Grand Floridian when the discounts for next year come out. I suggested it to Sam (that's the fiance) and he was intrigued by being on the Monorail but decided that he'd like the Wilderness Lodge best because of the whole environment thing going on there.
I don't know if you remember me being hesitate to book because of him not being a Disney Fanatic as I am. Well, just the other day we were in the hair salon and I had my Passporter and a print out of the silver plan restaurants and my hair dresser noticed and asked about it and everyone started in on their favorite Disney experiences. It was GREAT for Sam to hear, then I KNEW he was getting excited to go when he said "And we even get Priority seating for some of the fireworks and parades" and he went on to explain to them how it all worked. LOL
He is having a hard time understanding how you can make Priority seating for meals and still remain spontaneous. So that's as far as I'm going to book, just food and which parks we'll be in on which days. Otherwise I think he'll feel like he's in too much of a box.
We are thinking of bringing my daughter's best friend with us. She's only been to Animal Kingdom. They would both be 14 (my daughter will have a birthday while we are there ).
I was wondering. Does anyone take their child out of school to go to WDW? I just couldn't take the heat or crowds during the summer and feel sort of like I'd be ripped to have to wait until she graduated from high school to go to WDW.
Have any of you had a friend come along? And how old would you allow your child (with a friend) to walk around the park alone and then meet at a designated time (remember mine will be turning 14 while there). I feel Disney of all places would be relatively safe. As a young girl (I'm thinking around 10-12) my parents sent me on a trip with the YMCA that took us to 4 Amusement parks, including Disneyland and we were left alone for 4 hr increments and then had to check in. I thought that would give Sam and I a few opportunities to do adult things (like take a few tours that you have to be 16 to take) and maybe take in Pleasure Island at least one night.
My 2nd question has to do with Disabilities. I did read an entire section on disabilities (using an ECV) at All Ears Net . I have Fibromyalgia and I can walk just fine. My problem is that I can not walk or stand for hours and hours. Since we are going at non-peak season, I could park the ECV (I'm going to rent one from a private company) in the stroller/wheelchair area and stand in line for rides/attractions. I just couldn't stand/walk all day long. Has anyone done anything similar and did you have problems?
Well, I think I loaded you with enough questions. I'm heading over to read trip reports. I've already read through "Planning Your Adventure" section!
Thanks for any tips and hints you can help out with!
Yvonne
Sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned. You will like the Wilderness Lodge. It is beautiful. In regards to your daughter and friend. I would not hesitate at all to let them tour alone in the parks for periods of time. My DD went to WDW a couple of times in middle school with the band. They did as you suggested-check in about every 4 hours. If they were late to check-in, they had to spend the next few hours in the company of a chaperone! It worked. In regards to taking them out of school, I have several comments. I am a high school teacher, and a very liberal one when it comes to trips, especially WDW! However, in my experience, even the best student usually has lower grades during the grading period of the missed days. They just can't get the material as well on their own. Many teachers are also not as easy to deal with as I am. Just be careful and don't expect the same grades as normal when the report cards come out.
Yvonne,
I take my boys out of school.I actually had a principal
tell me that I could not take them out, I did anyway. Now I tell them we have a family thing. My DH uses a wheelchair and has no problems. Have a great time.
My mom took us out of school to go to WDW world the week after Thanksgiving ...which i a beautiful tim to visit the world. I was a junior in High School my brother was in 8th grade and my little sister was in 1rst grade. My mom spoke with all of our teachers and thankfully they were understanding and we were sent to WDW with homework for each day ...my math teacher even made my word problem disney related...and my english teacher had me make a travel journal...we took 5 days off and i feel like we caught up rather fast.
Also i think wdw is a great place to have a freind especailly being 14...my mom always let us split up and meet back for lunch and then for the end of the day...the transpatation system in WDW to the resorts is top notch and very teen friendly.
You will love WL, you are definitely not making a wrong decision by not moving to GF. You can take the boat to the MK, which is a lovely ride.
We took my DS and my nephew at 17 and 13, and let them do DisneyQuest by themselves. They did fine. We met back at the hotel and they were already in the room when we arrived back!
As far as the school goes, my SIL took my nephew out for 3 days when we went, and he was OK. He is a very good student, so I think that helped.
We've stayed at both WL and GF and loved them both. If I had the choice and money weren't an issue I'd go with the GF just for the convenience and, with four people, the rooms are quite a bit larger. However, I would never hesitate to stay at WL again. It was wonderful.
We took our kids out of school for seven days, but they were only K and 1st grade, so it didn't really matter. If your DD is a good student and all the teachers are okay with it, it was very nice to go at a time of low crowds.
Good luck with your planning, and have a great trip!
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My 2nd question has to do with Disabilities. I did read an entire section on disabilities (using an ECV) at All Ears Net . I have Fibromyalgia and I can walk just fine. My problem is that I can not walk or stand for hours and hours. Since we are going at non-peak season, I could park the ECV (I'm going to rent one from a private company) in the stroller/wheelchair area and stand in line for rides/attractions. I just couldn't stand/walk all day long. Has anyone done anything similar and did you have problems?
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We used a wheelchair the first time we took DM, and an ECV the second time. We had no problems with either, as there are usually designated areas to park them (and the CM's are really good about watching them for you), and for some attractions, there are special boarding areas (which means shorter waits)....Take advantage of the latter - sit in that conveyance until time to board the ride!
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I always take my kids out of school to go. They are still young, and I think family vacations are extremely important. 
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