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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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OK guys, I know the Empire State Building is THE place to go for views over New York City, but I also know that the lines can be horrendous for it. I know there's also an observation deck at the Rockefeller Center and I'm thinking that would probably have less lines, bearing in mind we're doing a flying visit to New York in October.
Has anyone done both or been up to the top of the Rockefeller Center? Would you recommend it or should I stick with the old faithful Empire State Building?
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Hi Cheryl. I usually only lurk on here but I figured I'd sign up to offer some advice. Definitely check out the Top of the Rock. We go all the time and it's a lot of fun. It gets pretty crowded (but not as bad as the Empire State Building) and it's just as expensive as the Empire State Building, but there's a lot more on offer. The elevator ride to the top of the building is worth the price of admission alone! It's a very, very cool ride but I won't give anything away The view's amazing and there are some really nice exhibits on the history of Rockefeller Center, including the famous Radio City Rockettes, NBC Studios, and the ice rink. It's definitely worth the trip!
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I would also have to give my vote for the Top of the Rock. It is a great view and their is also so much to see....(they have really incorporated so much into your visit).
The Empire State Building is great but if I had to make the choice it would definitely be the Top of the Rock....
You're welcome! What else do you have planned for New York?
My priority is to visit Central Park - in three previous visits, I've never made it there and I intend to put that right I think we'll probably also go out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, as DH hasn't seen Ellis Island and I have very fond memories of it from a previous trip. I also want to see some of the Financial District and the site of the World Trade Center - I feel that's something we should do while we're there. We hope to get to the World of Disney store and no doubt we'll see other buildings while we're there. We don't have long though, so it's just a case of trying to prioritise and cram as much in as we can.
I live at the WOD store....well not seriously but I work a few blocks away....Central Park is always nice especially in the Fall, maybe a trip to the Natural History Museum (that is like my favorite musesum in NY).....
My priority is to visit Central Park - in three previous visits, I've never made it there and I intend to put that right I think we'll probably also go out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, as DH hasn't seen Ellis Island and I have very fond memories of it from a previous trip. I also want to see some of the Financial District and the site of the World Trade Center - I feel that's something we should do while we're there. We hope to get to the World of Disney store and no doubt we'll see other buildings while we're there. We don't have long though, so it's just a case of trying to prioritise and cram as much in as we can.
That sounds like a lot of fun! Just make sure to prioritize since that's a lot to cram in. I saw that you'll only be in the city overnight and there's enough to do in Central Park to fill up a day alone. Central Park is a trek from the Top of the Rock but it's a relatively short cab/subway ride. Both sites are on the complete opposite end of the city from the WTC site and Financial District so definitely make sure you know what you want to do. The lines to get out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty could waste an hour alone. It's all worth it, though, as I'm sure you know! Just make sure you have a good plan. Have fun!
Sorry I can't help you. I have been to NY many times but have never been to the observation deck of either. I think your decision should partly be based on where you are planning to visit. Meaning if you are looking to go to St. Patrick's then maybe you would be better off going to Rockefeller Center. But nostalgia plays a big part for Empire State Building.
That sounds like a lot of fun! Just make sure to prioritize since that's a lot to cram in. I saw that you'll only be in the city overnight and there's enough to do in Central Park to fill up a day alone. Central Park is a trek from the Top of the Rock but it's a relatively short cab/subway ride. Both sites are on the complete opposite end of the city from the WTC site and Financial District so definitely make sure you know what you want to do. The lines to get out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty could waste an hour alone. It's all worth it, though, as I'm sure you know! Just make sure you have a good plan. Have fun!
Don't worry, I'm in the process of coming up with a good plan - and, as others here will tell you, we always manage to cram a lot of things into our days on vacation!
I wouldn't miss the Empire. 30 rock has the Rainbow Room up top for dinner, etc. and has terrific views. But if I absolutely HAD to choose, frankly, I'd go for the Empire!
Don't worry, I'm in the process of coming up with a good plan - and, as others here will tell you, we always manage to cram a lot of things into our days on vacation!
I wouldn't doubt it! Are you going to write a trip report? I can't wait to follow along!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bitterchickey
I wouldn't miss the Empire. 30 rock has the Rainbow Room up top for dinner, etc. and has terrific views. But if I absolutely HAD to choose, frankly, I'd go for the Empire!
The Rainbow Room is in another area, you can't get there from the Top of the Rock. If you've never been to the Empire State Building then it's something fun to do, but it's expensive for what you get. The Top of the Rock gives you great views plus a whole lot more, minus the humongous crowds. It also gives you an amazing view of the Empire State Building itself and some really unique photo opportunities with the building in the background!
I've done both, during different trips, multiple times. I love the nostalgia of ESB, but also loved Rockefeller Center. We went the week before Thanksgiving one year and got to see them set up the tree and decorate.
Check out the websites for both places. We made reservations for a tour of NBC studios and RF, and that worked out great as we showed up at our assigned time. Saved us a lot of waiting in line.
ESB is a wait in line deal, but we also rode something similar to Soaring/Star Tours, which was like a helicopter ride over NYC. Very cool.
Always research and plan well, and have a back up plan. And have fun.
We also did Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty in the same day, and the bus dropped us off on Wall Street and we walked to Battery Park to ride the Circle Line to Ellis Island and SOL.
Hi Cheryl. I usually only lurk on here but I figured I'd sign up to offer some advice. Definitely check out the Top of the Rock. We go all the time and it's a lot of fun. It gets pretty crowded (but not as bad as the Empire State Building) and it's just as expensive as the Empire State Building, but there's a lot more on offer. The elevator ride to the top of the building is worth the price of admission alone! It's a very, very cool ride but I won't give anything away The view's amazing and there are some really nice exhibits on the history of Rockefeller Center, including the famous Radio City Rockettes, NBC Studios, and the ice rink. It's definitely worth the trip!
I'm going to second 30 Rock for that over the Empire State building, not just because I love the show, but because there's more to do both in and around the area. Plus, ice skating!
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The view's amazing and there are some really nice exhibits on the history of Rockefeller Center, including the famous Radio City Rockettes, NBC Studios, and the ice rink. It's definitely worth the trip!
I think we'll probably also go out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, as DH hasn't seen Ellis Island and I have very fond memories of it from a previous trip. I also want to see some of the Financial District and the site of the World Trade Center - I feel that's something we should do while we're there. We hope to get to the World of Disney store and no doubt we'll see other buildings while we're there. We don't have long though, so it's just a case of trying to prioritise and cram as much in as we can. 
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