Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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03-11-2006, 06:54 AM
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#1
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Yosemite tour
We've just booked a one day tour out to Yosemite with a tour operator from San Francisco. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]
Has anyone been to Yosemite before and if so, what should be the highlights to look out for while we're there? By the looks of the itinerary, we'll have about three hours there and then another hour or so to explore the Grand Sequoias.
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03-11-2006, 08:50 AM
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#2
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Yosemite tour
We've gone, but it was about 10 years ago, but it was for a couple days!
Definitely don't miss Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome, and Glacier Point. There's a lot of hiking to be done to get to some of these, so not sure if you'll be able to do all that. We also rented bikes and rode around one afternoon!
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03-11-2006, 10:43 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Western New York State
Posts: 1,234
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Re: Yosemite tour
It will be a very long day for you. Yosemite is not exactly around the corner from San Francisco! See as much as you can. You will want to go back and take a more leisurely tour on your own. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
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03-11-2006, 11:22 AM
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#4
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Batman's Gal/Mickey's Pal
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Owensboro, KY USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 95,254
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Re: Yosemite tour
Yosemite is still one place here that I've not been, but really want to see. Can't wait to see your pics of it!
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03-13-2006, 01:58 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: San Mateo, CA
Posts: 2,490
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Re: Yosemite tour
Cheryl, Yosemite will be spectacular for your visit in April. We've had so much rain and snow of late, the waterfalls will be absolutely gushing. I'm sure the bus tour will drop you off at strategic places in the valley (my guess is that you'll spend your 3 hours here.) I'd try to walk to Yosemite Falls, should only be about 15-20 minutes round trip from where they drop you off. If you have time, I'd also try to take the walk/hike out to Vernal Falls. It's about 3/4 of a mile from the nearest tram stop to the lookout point, and then there's a mist trail up next to the falls that you could follow for as long as you're able. I'd also say that a look around the Awahnee Hotel would be a must do. It's a spectacular arts and crafts architectural piece. I'd skip the walk to Mirror Lake, it's silted over so you no longer have the stunning reflection of Half Dome which made it worth the hike. If your tour drops you off at only one point, there's a free internal shuttle system that is very fast and efficient.
I'd guess that your tour will make at least one stop on your drive from the valley to the Grand Sequoias, at Glacier Point; it's right on the way. From there, you'd have an absolutely spectacular birds eye view of Half Dome, El Capitain, Vernal and Nevada Falls, and the valley floor. Have fun planning!
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03-14-2006, 04:35 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: California
Posts: 467
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Re: Yosemite tour
You will have a fantastic time. I love Yosemite. I agree that you should try to walk to the base of Yosemite Falls. Also you may make it to the base of Bridal Veil falls. Both are really just a short walk. Here is a link to some of my pics from my trip there last year. Please ignore the pics of the odd looking humans. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
http://www.darchiver.com/gallery/album149?page=1 |
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03-14-2006, 04:40 PM
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#7
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Yosemite tour
Kim, those photos are excellent! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] The sky is so blue on them, it looks like you had perfect weather when you were there. Thanks so much for sharing those with me - I just hope we have weather that's as good. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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03-14-2006, 06:42 PM
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#8
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Wannabe Snowbird
Join Date: May 2002
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,137
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Re: Yosemite tour
Wow, Kim, I just went through all 13 pages of those pictures and every one of them is awesome!
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03-14-2006, 11:38 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posts: 2,858
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Re: Yosemite tour
Cheryl,
I don't think I'd try to make it to the top of Vernal Falls in the short amount of time you have. You might be cutting it pretty close!! There is a bridge, a ways down from the top, that has a nice view of the falls. The "mist trail" is definitely miss-named during the spring!! With as much rain as we've been getting it will be so wet you'll feel like you're part of the falls!!! You could look into taking the valley floor tour. I'm not sure how long it is, but it gives you a nice overview and some background info. Don't miss walking around the Awahnee Hotel. It's gorgeous!!
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03-15-2006, 10:35 AM
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#10
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Community Rank: Traveler
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: California
Posts: 467
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Re: Yosemite tour
Thanks for the nice comments on my pics! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
We were lucky with our weather during out Yosemite trip. It had rained the entire week before we went so we were a bit worried about it.
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03-18-2006, 11:23 PM
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#11
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Northern NV
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 12,516
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Re: Yosemite tour
If your tour doesn't take you around the valley, I'd take the one offered there. It was a great way to see all the major points and learn the history and interesting facts about the area in just a short amount of time. You ride around in an open air tram, and the views are just astounding. On our one day trip we were able to take the tour and walk to the bottom of both Yosemite and Bridal Veil falls. It was gorgeous! There's been snow every day for the past 10 days or so, so you'll have a beautiful view. Can't wait to read all about it!
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03-23-2006, 06:02 PM
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#12
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 14,427
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Re: Yosemite tour
Wahhhh! This makes me want to go back to Yosemite! Unfortunately, in three hours... It's kinda like touring London in a day (and you know what I mean!)
Go with everyone else's advice. It's about all you can possibly accomplish in the time you've got. A bus tour around the valley will take you to all the falls mentioned, and you'll also see such oft-photographed sights as Half Dome and El Capitan.
If I could possibly fit it in, I'd visit the Ansel Adams Gallery (and add at least one more Adams print to my collection), but that's just me. Adams' photos of Yosemite are utterly breathtaking... and with what he photographed right outside the door, you're just going from one glory to the next.
The sad truth is that 90% of the park's visitors visit less than 10% of the park. If you had several days and were visiting later in the year, I'd suggest camping up along the Tioga Road, and visiting areas like Tuolumne Meadows. But the upper reaches of the park will still be snowed-in when you visit.
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03-24-2006, 02:12 AM
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#13
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Yosemite tour
[ QUOTE ]
Wahhhh! This makes me want to go back to Yosemite! Unfortunately, in three hours... It's kinda like touring London in a day (and you know what I mean!)
[/ QUOTE ]
I know exactly what you mean! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] We'll definitely visit the Ansel Adams Gallery - I was thinking about that, but wasn't sure what his photos were like.
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03-24-2006, 11:31 AM
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#14
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posts: 2,858
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Re: Yosemite tour
[ QUOTE ]
We'll definitely visit the Ansel Adams Gallery - I was thinking about that, but wasn't sure what his photos were like.
[/ QUOTE ]
Cheryl,
Here's a link the the Gallery's website. If you've never seen any of his work you are in for a treat!!
Ansel Adams Gallery |
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03-24-2006, 11:50 AM
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#15
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Yosemite tour
Thanks for the link - those photos are sueprb. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]
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