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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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It's sad what happened, but is was an accident. I drive my car every day, and there is a higher chance of getting in a car accident then another monorail accident. There have only been two incidents total in Disney Parks in over 50 years. I'd take those odds!
I love the monorail and would love to be a pilot if DH and I ever moved to FL. I feel so bad for this young man's family but that won't put me off in riding the monorail. If they allow guests to ride up front again, (and I hope they do) I'll add that to my list of must do's.
I can understand how it feels 'strange' or 'kind of unnerving' to ride the monorail so soon after the accident. It's just like when you're involved in a ar accident or had a near hit. It's unnerving but you do it. I get a little unnerved when I'm about to fly or even when I'm purchasing airline tickets and there's a plane crash. It just makes you think twice but hopefully you just go on.
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I will certainly continue to ride and enjoy the monorail. I agree that this young cast member that was killed would not want to see people stop riding or to be afraid of the monorail. It is a tragedy that an innocent life was taken due to this accident, but it was an accident. I am still very confident in Disney and believe they are doing everything they can to ensure that nothing like this happens again.
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I think I would have felt a bit strange riding the monorail in the first few days after they accident but by the time I'm there at the end of September I don't think I'll really be focusing on it too much.
Well said! I feel the best memorial to that young man's life that any of us can give is to continue to ride and enjoy the monorail. By all accounts he loved and was very good at what he did, so I will honor that by continuing on.
I agree! I don't see what there is to be nervous about. If you ride in a car you
are more likely to have an accident. I think we need to keep that in mind.
i know what you mean . But i think i will ride the boat over this time i'm not scarred but with my little ones i would have too think twice with them .
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I too will continue to ride the monorail...as I posted earlier, I will feel a little weird the first time getting on, but I think it is because everything about Disney makes me happy -- we have great family memories of all our trips there and it is just sad that it had to happen in a place that has brought our family so much joy!
For those who might feel weird, I just read in another post (keep in mind, it's been reported but not necessarily verified) that the Purple monorail is going to be retired now. I suppose it's for the best though (who knows what kind of damage it has or what kind of emotions it would set off in another pilot). But with 2 less monorails, it's probably going to make getting around take a little bit longer (especially during the busy seasons).
I'm not sure weird is the right word. I know when we go back, and ride it again. I will think about the CM, but the monorail is far safer then most other forms of transportation. In addition after an accident like this one, I bet the procedures in place will make it even safer.
I hope they eventually bring back riding in the front. It's such a unique experience and I would love to do it again. DH didn't get to ride with us the last time as DM was with me, so he never got the chance.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
So sorry he was killed. But if I stop riding the Monorail because there was a accident well I had better stop doing anything dangerous. Like flying, driving a car, walking, riding a bicycle, taking a shower, breathing, etc.
Well said! I feel the best memorial to that young man's life that any of us can give is to continue to ride and enjoy the monorail. By all accounts he loved and was very good at what he did, so I will honor that by continuing on.
I share your sentiments Danielle. I was in a travel agents booking an October holiday in Disney on 11 SEP 01, just hours before the attacks took place. They phoned me that afternoon asking if I wanted to cancel. I didn't. I felt that I owed it to all the people who didn't make it home that day to make sure that the terrorists didn't win. Different circumstances I know.
We all owe it to Austin to carry on using the monorail. We may feel a twinge of apprehension or a twinge of sadness, but at the end of the day life goes on, and the best way of honouring ANYONE who has passed away in tragic circumstances is to ensure that life DOES go on.
The monorail has had a VERY good safety record. This was a "freak" incident brought about by a number of factors that are unlikely to recur at the same time in the same order. Lessons will be learned from this to make the monorail even safer for the future.
I'd like to think that stopping people riding "up front" is a temporary measure to allow the pilots to "escape" from the questions people are bound to want to ask, and to allow them to concentrate on their jobs and come to terms with their loss in private. I'm sure the "privilege" will return when it is good and proper to do so.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Julian
I share your sentiments Danielle. I was in a travel agents booking an October holiday in Disney on 11 SEP 01, just hours before the attacks took place. They phoned me that afternoon asking if I wanted to cancel. I didn't. I felt that I owed it to all the people who didn't make it home that day to make sure that the terrorists didn't win. Different circumstances I know.
We all owe it to Austin to carry on using the monorail. We may feel a twinge of apprehension or a twinge of sadness, but at the end of the day life goes on, and the best way of honouring ANYONE who has passed away in tragic circumstances is to ensure that life DOES go on.
The monorail has had a VERY good safety record. This was a "freak" incident brought about by a number of factors that are unlikely to recur at the same time in the same order. Lessons will be learned from this to make the monorail even safer for the future.
I'd like to think that stopping people riding "up front" is a temporary measure to allow the pilots to "escape" from the questions people are bound to want to ask, and to allow them to concentrate on their jobs and come to terms with their loss in private. I'm sure the "privilege" will return when it is good and proper to do so.
I can't imagine my thoughts could have been put to "paper" any better.
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