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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Our first glimpse of the parade…we were so excited!!!
I noticed the lady next to me was taping the parade and her battery light was flashing, so I let her know. She was very upset as she didn’t have a spare battery…..note…Always bring at LEAST one spare battery for you camera each day….so she had to switch to taking pictures on her phone.
Being that this was brand new….I took a zillion pictures.
Of course a highlight for us and many around us was a chance to see Anna and Elsa. At this point in time they were meeting in Epcot and the waits were averaging 6 hours each day, so there was no chance in heck we would be ever meeting them this trip.
This float has turning platforms so I had to act fast to get as many photos as I could of them before they were out of site to the other side.
Tiana and Naveen were on the other side of the turning platform….oh and also on this float was Cinderella and her Prince and I totally bypassed taking pictures of them to get Anna and Elsa.
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Again, the characters had fabulous expressions in this parade too.
And the Lost Boys!
I was a little obsessed with Hook as you can tell.
Tinker Bell brought up the rear of the float.
She was fabulous!
Tick Tock!
Merida’s clan was next to arrive.
She was a ton of fun!
I see a dragon!!!!!
Loved the fairies.
Hello Prince Phillip.
I really watched the dragon….waiting for that fire breathing moment….. Come on Phillip….Go fight her!
She’s lifting her head! Surely she’s about to blow!
Nope! Nothing at all.
I was so disappointed that she didn’t blow fire. I texted Janet to let her know and we both hoped that it wasn’t something that was only done for the debut parade or special occasions. Another odd thing is that Aurora is not in this parade at all. I have heard a few people think they have seen her, but no, she is not in this parade anywhere. I have watched it online, watched it at the parks twice (I will be watching it the next day as well), and gone over all my pictures…she is not in this parade. Now there is a theory and though it’s not confirmed in any way, I am betting it might be right or on the right path. We, meaning all my cohorts who like to talk Disney…..think that she was supposed to be on the first float with the Princesses, but then Frozen took off and Disney wasn’t prepared for it and they replaced her with Anna and Elsa. I can’t say this is true, but this parade was in the works long before Frozen came out and I am guessing they never intended to originally have Anna and Elsa on the float. That’s my theory and I am sticking to it!
I know I have said it over and over…but I just loved all the wild costumes.
Donald and Daisy.
Pluto!
These girls costumes are supposed to represent the “Big Top” circus theme, but for some reason, I keep thinking they look like Mad Hatters…and I call the Hatter girls. LOL.
Look over here Mickey!
And with that, it was over. I think I covered it for you all fairly nicely…only missing a few things…..
So what did we think of the parade? AWESOME!!!!!!! It’s my new favorite at the parks….of course there are not many parades left at the parks anymore. Spectro is still my all-time favorite, but that is NOT coming back. And the Animal Kingdom parade is still 2nd, but again, that has now ended, but this one ranked up there with them. We were chattering away about it as we walked away….quickly…because little Miss Claire needed a bathroom break…and fast!
After the bathroom break we took a few minute to decide what to do next and of course I was trying to conquer the app that only worked some of the time. There was this dog across from us and I asked how they were allowed to bring a dog in…..she’s a service dog! How cute is she? She had her official patch on and everything. I am not sure what kind of service she does as she’s not very big at all, but I am sure no one has told her that.
Great parade photos. We have FP+ for the parade one afternoon in September. We did this in April also. DW got the best shot of the fire. I hope to get a good one this time.
Great parade photos! I just can't wait to see it in person! I want to see the dragon blow fire too!!!!
Where were you sitting? It looked like a great spot! I never know where to sit and I don't like to mess with Main Street.
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great photos of the parade. I haven't seen it yet so these are really great. I think you are probably right about Anna and Elsa kicking out Sleeping Beauty This is supposed to be a celebration of Fantasyland and A&E are not in that area (or weren't).
Great photos of the parade, we loved it when we saw it last week (and the dragon did breath fire ). I thought the costumes were amazing. Great theory on the Aurora mystery, we wondered that as well, my daughter mentioned how strange that the dragon and the fairies were all there but no Aurora.
We love Beaches and Cream! We think the whole boardwalk area is pretty magical. Your nighttime pictures at DHS looked awesome!
We love 'Ohana, too. When we ate breakfast there a few years ago with our boys we had some great character interactions. Pluto was a hoot and my boys enjoyed him.
Your MK day is off to a great start! The parade photos are awesome. We missed that parade on our last trip. Boo!
We did get to see the parade, but our location was not as good for photographs as yours was. I was at a weird angle for most of the floats. Your photos are awesome!