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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Another set of amazing photos! The parade looked beautiful! Did you get your Minnie? She looked darling and I think I would have had to squish her in - LOL
I'll keep the suspense going and just say you'll find out in an upcoming installment!
Wow! More great pics! Can I just tell you how much I am loving your TR? I look forward to reading it every morning. That parade was fantastic and sooo magical, (and Spectromagic is my absolutely fav parade so that's saying something!). What was the music like? Was it close to Spectromagic music? And is it just me or does it seem like the less well-known characters in the States get equal or "better" treatment in Japan?
Do you know wht? I don't recall the music now at all - that's now much impact it had on me...!
I think the issue with the characters is that different countries like different characters and obviously Disney will obviously feature the popular ones in that country in that parade.
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Your parade pictures look delightful. What was so different or special about it that made it better than Spectromagic? I'll have to go look for a youtube video.
It was the fact that the floats and the characters just seemed to be so bright and well lit - it was much more vibrant than you see in Spectromagic and, as a result, it really caught the eye.
Finally got to catch up and all I can say is WOW!!! Toontown looks like so much fun - there is just so much going on and it all works so well together by the looks of it. The parade looked really nice...
But that hotel...can I say I want to go to Toyko just to stay there - the theming of the hotel and DisneySea in the background is just plain amazing. It looks like a European Coastal Village and the buildings, really like its own little world. The hotel is beautiful...the lobby and your room.
Glad you got to head back to Disneyland to enjoy the evening, the parade looked fantastic and glad you were able to get some food over at the Crystal Palace...a Japanese buffet sounds very interesting...
Just catching up again. And I want to visit Japan more than ever! It's so cool that Mark got to meet Grumpy. I wonder if he caused any trouble considering the characters understood English. And that parade really looks fantastic. I've got my hotel all sorted for my future trip - Mira Costa looks FANTASTIC!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Thursday 9 April – part one: Disney theming moves to a new level
We just slept in this morning, not surfacing until just before 8.00. We decided to head down to one of the restaurants downstairs for breakfast and went to Oceano, which proved to be excellent. It had a superb selection of food and we both ate a lot for the 2500¥ each that we had paid for it. We had a lovely window table, although the sun was streaming in. It was neat to see the Cast Members getting the place ready for opening.
The view from our table
We headed down to the park at around 10.00 and went out to the globe, where we had agreed to meet Donna and her family, but it was mobbed. We couldn’t se them and figured that even if they were there, there was no way that we would ever find them, so we headed into the park.
We were amazed to see many of the Japanese guests running into the park, heading to what I’m not quite sure. At that point, we thought that the park would be a madhouse, but as the day progressed, we would find out that wasn’t the case at all. This place really does absorb crowds well.
As we walked into the park, the instant feeling you got is one of authenticity. You feel as if you’ve been transported to another part of the world and are somewhere in Italy. Even though we had already seen this from our room, nothing really prepares you for seeing it from ground level, as it were. Although we’ve become accustomed to Disney theming over the years, this really is in a totally different league and just blows away every other them park. You really have to see this for yourself to understand what I’m saying and it’s something that every Disney fan should do at least once in their lives. If you can find the time and money, you owe it to yourself to visit Tokyo DisneySea, it’s that good.
OK, enough said in praise of this park. Let’s let the pictures tell the story, first with Mediterranean Harbour…
The view over to Fortress Exploration in the centre of the park
Next: don’t knock the popcorn until you’ve tried it!
Wow, that's amazing! The scenery looks EXACTELY like Venice! Disney has really done an awesome job at Tokyo DisneySea. Can't wait to see more pictures!
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: As you'll find out, we never made it back to Tokyo Disneyland.. something else caught our attention! 
NYC-Canada Cruise Sept 2012
I bought one of those mini tripods, so hopefully I can find a place to put it on.
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
And that parade really looks fantastic. I've got my hotel all sorted for my future trip - Mira Costa looks FANTASTIC!
Wow, that's amazing! The scenery looks EXACTELY like Venice! Disney has really done an awesome job at Tokyo DisneySea. Can't wait to see more pictures! 
) by any means, but the first glimpse of Tokyo Disney Sea looks very unique and interestingly fun!! 
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