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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My husband and I are going to WDW at the end of April for the first time. I've never been at all and he went when he was a lot younger, so he didn't do any of the planning. I'm currently trying to plan out what we'll be doing at each of the parks and I'm trying to make sure we won't miss anything. We are only going to be visiting the parks for a total of four days, so I'm trying to see a lot of stuff in a short period of time. I don't want to do and see everything, which I know would take a lot longer than four days for it all. I have my selections figured out, but now I have to plan out which park we'll go to on each day. I really want to be able to see the night time parade in MK and the other various night time shows in the other parks. Unfortunately we aren't staying at a Disney property or resort. We will be staying at a Marriott property for a couple nights and then we'll be at a Sheraton property close to WDW. The only reason we are going to WDW is because we were given a special offer by the Sheraton's Vistana Resort for a 3 night stay. We decided to add a couple extra nights to that so we'd have more time at WDW, so we booked another hotel for the first couple nights we'd be there. That brings me to my point and question. I've read in lots of places that you have to be a guest at a Disney resort in order to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours, which I totally understand and have no problems with. What I'm concerned about is actually being able to see the various night time shows and fireworks displays at the different parks. When it comes to those shows, do the evening extra magic hours come into play or would the shows be open to everyone? I've also been trying to figure out what the hours are that are extra magic hours. What I mean is between what hours in the morning and the evening are considered EMH? I've been on the WDW official website and found the hours each park is open during the time we'll be there. Are the hours that are listed only the regular park hours or do they include the EMH? I've been trying to find the times for the EMH, but all I've found were the dates for which the EMH hours occur. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
The hours shown on the website are the hours the parks are opened to everyone. EMH happen either before or after the times listed. You will be able to see the shows you want. Have a great time!!
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Have a magical day!
Barb
1980 (Off site), 1981-Poly, 1984,1986,1990(off site)
1996-Give Kids The World, 2004-CBR
2006-All Star Movies, 2008-All Star Music,2009 All Star Sports, 2011- Fort Wilderness, 2012-Art of Animation
Thank you so much for your help, I greatly appreciate it. I'm really happy to know that the EMH happen after the listed times on the site, that helps a lot! I was just curious about your different WDW trips and what some of them mean, such as Give Kids The World, CBR, and All Star Movies?
Desilu
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All Star Movies is a Disney World resort as is CBR(Caribbean Beach Resort) Give Kids the World was were we stayed on our trip given to us by the Make a Wish Foundation( my older son had leukemia but has been in remission since 1996).
I hope ypu have a great trip!!
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Have a magical day!
Barb
1980 (Off site), 1981-Poly, 1984,1986,1990(off site)
1996-Give Kids The World, 2004-CBR
2006-All Star Movies, 2008-All Star Music,2009 All Star Sports, 2011- Fort Wilderness, 2012-Art of Animation
Cool, thanks for that info. It took a while, but I finally figured out that's what people were putting in with their previous trips. I just didn't recognize the abbreviations. That's good news about your son, congratulations. Thanks again.
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I had no idea that you still be in the park to shop and or eat during EMH's........I thought you were out unless you were on property. LEarn something new everyday......
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'99 off-site
'03 off-site
'04 AKL
'05 French Quarter
'06 Old Key West / French Quarter
'07 SSR
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They only check wristbands if you try to enter a ride line or an attraction line. If you are sitting on a bench for the fireworks, they will leave you be.
The only exception to this is for the special "hard ticket" events like the Christas or Halloween parties (or the new Princesses and Pirates party). They have CMs actively strolling the parks with flashlights who will ask to see your wristbands... If you don't have one, they escort you from the park for the special event.
There is a great section at the top of your page which says FAQ -- there's a section on what all the abbreviations mean... I still have to check it once in a while.
I believe that all the parades, etc., are also available during regular hours, except, as noted above, the "hard ticket" things like MVMCP (Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party), the Halloween, etc.
I had no idea that you still be in the park to shop and or eat during EMH's........I thought you were out unless you were on property. LEarn something new everyday......