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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're seasoned WDW passholders, but this January is going to be our first trip as a family to DL. At the end of that trip, we'll be driving down from DL to San Diego to catch our flight out.
We'll have from 8AM to 7PM in San Diego, and I'd love some advise, critiques, and suggestions on the itinerary. We'll be there on a Saturday. My plan right now is to head out of DL at 8am and drive to La Jolla Cove (to see sea lions/seals) and check out the Pacific ocean/beach. Then around 12pm head to the Midway museum, maybe stay about 2 hours there and then head out to the San Diego Zoo for the rest of the day.
I was really hoping to get in some whale watching at Point Loma (I heard that was the place to go to see them) but I don't think I have enough time. As it is, I don't know if I have enough time for the zoo to do it justice.
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It's been many years since I went to the San Diego Zoo, but I understand you can easily spend a full day there. I think I'd skip the Midway unless someone in your family has a personal interest in it, so you can spend more time at the zoo.
The new PassPorter Disneyland and Southern California Attractions LIVE! Guide has several pages devoted to San Diego, including Balboa Park, which sounds like another wonderful place to visit (not to make your planning any harder than it already is!), so you might want to check that out: http://www.passporter.com/guide/disn...rnia-guide.php .
Can you possibly add another day to your trip? Where are you visiting from--is this a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Southern California, or would you perhaps visit again in the future?
We're coming from Orlando, and right now the plan is to spend 5 days at DL and have that last day in San Diego. If we take a day out of DL, we could do another day at SD instead. Still debating whether we want to do 4 or 5 days at DL.
I don't mind doing 4 days at DL, but I also don't want to feel rushed to try to fit everything in those 4 days.
I can scrap the Midway museum and maybe just spend the day at the zoo instead?
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I know you can find plenty to do in 5 days at the two parks. Just remember while you're planning that DLR has fewer things to do than WDW, although Disneyland Park is jam-packed full--I counted 55 different attractions there when working on the PP Guide! DCA has fewer attractions, but then it's newer.
For myself, I would likely declare that it's primarily a Disney trip, and the side trip to San Diego is a little bonus. But then, I'm going to DLR for 8 days, just a couple of weeks from now, and I only ever stayed that long once at WDW.
But if you're unlikely to get to Southern California again for many years, it could be worth your while to spend more time outside the parks, maybe take an LA bus tour. It all depends on how your family wants to spend the time while you're out there. I really do suggest you get the PP LIVE! Guide--our contributor Kristin Billings is a travel agent in Southern California, and she has three pages on just San Diego attractions. You can look at that (or a different guidebook) to see how tempting all those things are to you, and make your decision that way.
I think it's a great idea to be sure to hit a beach, just because you can! The waters of the Pacific are much cooler than Atlantic beaches, so be prepared in case you're planning to swim.
You could buy four-day passes (check Mousesavers.com for info on Ares Travel to get small discounts) and then decide at the parks whether or not to upgrade for that fifth day, if you're comfortable playing things by ear.
If you're renting a car for the full trip, another way to handle it would be to plan a short trip to SD or LA for a half day, returning to the parks for dinner, fireworks, World of Color, or whatever that evening.
I love DL, perhaps more than WDW. The thing I love is it is so compact and you spend much less time walking between attractions and going from park to park is so quick and easy. I think four days would be adequate, especially if you go during the week. My observations (based only on 3 trips) is that DL is much more crowded on the weekends than during the week. Last time I went, Saturday and Sunday were packed (it was Mother's Day weekend) but Monday was empty-sadly empty. Just about every attraction was a walk on and I remember feeling sorry for some characters in DCA standing there with no one approaching.
I also think San Diego is wonderful but to me the zoo is a full day. And remember, traffic in California can be like nothing you have ever seen before.
Personally, I think four days at DLR is really perfect; one full day for each park, one to hit the highlights of both parks and one day for relaxation and shopping/food at DownTown Disney.
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), so you might want to check that out: 
Lots of decisions to make!
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