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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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, still fairly new at the boards. My family of four- I'm 29, hubby 28, son, 8 and daughter, 7 are going to WDW June 11 - 17. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Sunspree which they tell me is a mile from WDW on Interstate 4. When you guys suggest taking a break in the middle of the day and going back to your hotel, am I to assume you are staying at a WDW resort and that it doesnt take that long for you to go back to your hotel? I hear traffic can be rough, and I wouldnt want to spend 1 hour in traffic to get back to the hotel just to feel like we wasted time. Does that make sense? [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] Thanks - I've enjoyed the tips and advice on the boards.
Hi Monkyshell [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]
You assumed correctly that when people talk about "going back to their hotel for a break" they are staying on property. You are also right that with ehere you are staying, the drive makes it impracticle. I don't know what you are paying to stay off site, but I would highly recommend that you consider staying on site - at one of the All Star Resorts, for example. For my money, especially with young kids, the advantages are very worth it. (i.e., package delivery to your resort, ultimate park hopper passes, and convenience.) You can find really great deals on lodging and packages if you go to Mousesavers.com (We got a really wonderful deal staying at the Wilderness Lodge, but they post deals on everything!) And (as if I don't sound like an advertisement enough already!) I would also recommend the travel agent who works through that site (Sue). She has helped us and I am going to recommend her to everyone now! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
monkyshell - Hi. I would also recommend visiting www.mousesavers.com. We were considering staying at the Holiday Inn Sun Spree for our trip in June (19-27), but with the discount code on mousesavers.com, I was able to secure a better rate staying at the All Star Music than I was at the Holiday Inn Sun Spree. So, we will be staying on Disney property, which is what we wanted for less than it would have cost us to stay off property. And, we will definitely be making that pit stop back at our room every day as we have 2 DD's (age 6 & 3). That's my recommendation. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
My $.02 is to stay on site if you can, especially with going in the summer. The breaks are really great and a swim can really revive you and the kids for the evening.
If it is just not possible, make sure you plan some cool afternoon activities,i.e. indoor shows, or bring stuff for the kids to play in the fountain/spray areas at the parks, the cool zone at epcot, long sit-down lunches...I'm sure there are other ideas too.
OK, we stay off site (own timeshare property), visit in summer and always take mid afternoon breaks. We are about a mile off property too, I would guess, maybe a little more. My kids are now 9 and 6, have travelled at least every year, sometimes twice, for 4 years. The afternoon break is vital. We head out early for a park, tour till it gets too crowded, then go back to the hotel for some "let out the steam" time for the kids, sometimes swimming, sometimes just chilling at the condo, then return either just before or just after dinner, depending on our plans for the evening. Touring this way, we feel we are eliminating the heat of the day and the biggest crowds (as well as a grumpy dad and kids).
Another idea is to start your days later. We just got back from our trip and found this worked well for us. My daughter is a sleeper and this trip is a rough one for a two year old who wants to walk every where so we just let her sleep in till around 10am and slowly worked our way to the parks around 12-1pm. I like the park at night so I'd rather do that than go home. Since you'll have later evening hours and more frequent parades this could work even better. Spend the morning by the pool. Take a nap and try and make it to the park for the afternoon parade. For something like Animal Kingdom you'll need to be up earlier but you can just go home after your day there since that usually closes early anyway. Just another thought.
CAUTION:
We just got back and several days the parks reached capacity and did not let non-resort guests into the parks for a few hours!!
Our recommendation is to stay on site and use the Disney transportation!! Traffic was very heavy and it was wonderful to just get on the bus and relax!!
My 2 cents for what it is worth. I agree with all that said stay on site if you can. If you really can't, or don't want to do that, I would recomend- 1. If you are a AAA member there is a lounge in the Magic Kigdom, you could take a little break there, 2. Try taking a "break" by riding the River Boat, a nice slow moving ride, do the Hall of Pres. and the Bears. They are both sit down type shows and most important in the hot FL sun AIRCONTITIONED.
Hi we stayed off site last year and will be staying off site this year also (on Irlo Bronson Blvd/Hwy. 192 approx. 3 miles away from Disney)
We usually arrived at the park when it first opened and stayed till early afternoon. We always take breaks, usually for 2 - 3 hours and it did not take us long to travel back and forth. During the afternoon the traffic was very light. I would say that if we left the park around 2 pm, we would go to the hotel, change into our swim suits and swim for about 1 hour/or take a nap/or watch TV and then change for the evening and go back to the parks around 5 pm. When we did return to the parks we were never turned away because it was filled to capacity.
Trust me, no matter where you stay, breaktime is a must-do.
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