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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi Everyone. We have just decided to go to MVMCP and are very excited about it. I would really like to find a good spot on Main Street to watch the parade. We will be with my daughter who will be almost 2 when we go so I would like to attend the earlier parade. I was curious when you would recommend finding a spot for the parade. I was thinking we could find a spot and then send the men folk out for something for us to eat while we wait. What are your thoughts and recommendations? Thanks in advance
I would try for a spot between 2:00-3:00 p.m., trading off childcare so that everyone can trade tickets for the party admittance bracelets.
We found Main Street lined shoulder-to-shoulder already when we arrived at about 3:45 last fall for the party.
Honestly, I'd try for a spot somewhere in the castle hub area or on the bridge into Tomorrowland. You may not have as good a view, but you're more likely to find a spot without having to camp out in it for more than four hours.
And yes, as you may know, the first parade doesn't start until 8:15. Some have said there wasn't that much of a mob when they did the party, but this was our experience the Thursday before Thanksgiving. Perhaps the earlier parties aren't such a madhouse. I don't know.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
I think it depends on when during the season you are going. I haven't been to MVMCP in years, but I did go to MNSSHP just last Sunday night. That, of course, was a good month before Halloween. I found a very good spot at 7 for the 8:15 parade. Just keep your eyes on the area and when it starts getting full, claim your spot and leave at least one person there to guard it.
We are going Dec. 5. It is a more expensive night bc it's on a Friday so I imagine it will be a bit busier but we are also going during a non peak travel time. I definitely won't be lining up 4 hrs in advance...if it's that busy we will have to figure something else out lol!!
I went the same weekend that you are going a couple years ago. We had a great curbside seat in Frontierland that we got about 30 minutes before the parade started. I think, though I am not positive, that it was the second parade though. Sorry about that.
We are going Dec. 5. It is a more expensive night bc it's on a Friday so I imagine it will be a bit busier but we are also going during a non peak travel time. I definitely won't be lining up 4 hrs in advance...if it's that busy we will have to figure something else out lol!!
Truthfully, the Christmas party draws mobs.
On our way out last fall, I spoke with a grandmother, young mother and toddler who said they were locals in the habit of going midweek every year. Not again soon, said the grandmother, as they had as much trouble getting a sling-style folding stroller through the crowds as we had with DH's scooter.
She added that Disney is obviously overselling far too much when you can't even get a small stroller up the middle of Main Street.
You may have much less difficulty, but I would prepare for it to be extremely crowded and perhaps you'll be lucky.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
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We have given up on watching parades on Main Street. People can get really ugly if they think you are poaching their space, and I can think of better ways to spend the limited party time than waiting two hours for the parade. When we go to MVMCP, we usually watch it from the corner where they enter/exit in between Frontierland and Adventureland. Lots of waves from the CMs, good view of the floats, and much lower crowds.
We watched the MNSSHP parade from the upper floor of the train station it made it easy to leave the park afterwards but I'm not sure it will help with the earlier parade or not.
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ME DS 4 DH 1995 shades of green 2011 offsite 2013Wilderness lodge
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We got a spot right in front of Tonys Town Square. Great spot, not much crowd, easy to exit park afterwards. The parade comes down Main Street and bends around the turn so it was great for photos too. No way I'd stake out a spot early on the afternoon for a nighttime parade, it totally defeats the purpose of paying so much for that special event. Also, do the later parade if at all possible.
I have watched the early parade right after I came out of the Mickey meet n greet. We stood on the "porch" and it was great. Frontierland is a great place to watch too. We always get curb seats without having to wait for hours.
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