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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Ok I have read about the Orlando Premium Outlet whitch houses the Character Premiere & Character Warehouse on seveal web sites. Has Anyone been there? Are there really some good deals? I would relaly like to go but only if its worth my time. I will have my car so getting there is not an issue for us.
Also I herd that Universal Studios (I know not DISNEY)has a store there and across from Character Premiere? R there bargins there as well! My DS's love Spiderman and DD loves Dora so that alone would make it worth the pop over to that one!
Sorry just trying to figure out when I could sqeeze it in to our busy Disney vacation!
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We visited the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall last June. Overall, I wasn't to excited by it excpet for the Character Premiere store, which had some awesome deals on a variety of Disney items -- clothes, pins, frames, just about everything. I got a nice ligthweight Mickey jacket (red with orange printed lining) for under $20. I may have been disinterested in most of the stores, since we fly and I really didn't want to worry about packaging my purchases and shipping them home. My DSis who lives in Orlando shops there regular and always finds loads of bargains.
Cam, Do they really have pins for .99? I was told they do, but am finding it hard to believe. i really don't care much what they may look like, I'm just looking for REALLY CHEAP pins to trade. As a matter of fact, the less I like them the better. just gives me more to trade with.
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My 19 year old hero! Hurry home! (A.K.A. D_Stitch)
It's impossible to say if it's worth a visit. We've had trips where we've bought loads and other times where we've bought nothing. They have a good range - it just depends if it features your favourite characters. I've picked up T-shirts (embroidered) that should've been around $30 in the parks for about $10, so you can get some great savings there. I say give it a go.
The outlets are almost always worth a visit, though they are somewhat hit and miss; they get new stock in on a weekly basis, so sometimes they have nothing I want, other times they're loaded. I like to visit twice - once at the beginning of my trip and once toward the end.
For complete info on all 3 Disney outlets in the WDW area, including maps, directions, hours, and web sites, see the link in my signature.
OH No now I am confussed the site I even found the outlets said they were in the same outlet mall and WillCAD yours says that the Character Premiere & Character Warehouse are in 2 different places or did I read that wrong? If not are they really far apart from one another?
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OH No now I am confussed the site I even found the outlets said they were in the same outlet mall and WillCAD yours says that the Character Premiere & Character Warehouse are in 2 different places or did I read that wrong? If not are they really far apart from one another?
For many years, there WERE two outlets in the same mall - the old Belz Mall on International Drive near Universal Studios. But the Belz Mall was sold a few years ago and has been completely rebuilt, and now only has one Disney outlet.
There are currently 3 Disney outlets in the Orlando area:
1) Character Premier at the Pr1me Outlets International (formerly the Belz Mall)
2) Character Premier at the Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland Avenue
3) Character Outlet at the Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores on SR 535
Number 1 is way up near Universal Studios, while the other two are about 10 minutes from Downtown Disney by car or cab.
The Universal outlet at the Orlando Premium Outlets has closed. It is no longer there. I like the Character outlet at the Prime Outlets (Belz) and the store at the Orlando Premium Outlet the best. Premium Outlet is the closest to the Downtown Disney entrance. Their inventory may very a bit but they will have basically the same stuff. If you're a real outlet nut like me, you go to both! (sometimes more than once per trip!)
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