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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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So, after reading a post here about the cool Crayola factory in PA, I checked out it's web site and saw that it isn't too far from Sesame Place. DH and I have been trying to figure out where we want to go next year for our family vacation (we'd hoped to go on a Disney cruise, but want to wait until DS is a little older so he can do the kids' activities and DH says we can't go to WDW every year). DH has family just outside of Philadelphia that we haven't seen for quite some time, so we're thinking PA might just fit the bill, but we'd like a little more info.
Has anyone been to Sesame Place? Is it worth a stop? Obviously, it's not going to be WDW, but is it clean and safe? We are larger people -- are the rides accommodating for Pooh-sized people? We saw that they have a 2-day admissions package -- is that necessary, or can you do everything you want to do in just one day?
I'd also like some info on Hershey, PA and their amusement park -- pretty much the same questions -- is it clean and safe? How are the rides for Pooh-sized folks?
Anything else you'd do if you were in PA for a week with a 6-year-old and 2-year-old? We will probably make it a road trip (so we'll have a car), stay in hotels wherever we need to (we can stay in a different one each night if need be), and plan one or two days to spend with DH's family.
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We took our kids to Sesame Place waaaaay back in 1986 and they loved it as we did too! I just saw a segment of the tv show "Jon and Kate plus 8" and they took all the kids there and its really improved since we went back in the day. I can't remember if they accomodate pooh sized people though...I'm pooh sized now but I really don't remember going on too many rides back then. Have fun!
We've been to Sesame Place and Hershey Park - both are wonderful family parks! Obviosuly Sesame Place is geared toward the younger children and the water park is perfect for this age group There is a lot for families to do and see at Hershey Park as well but I find the rides geared a bit more toward older children, but there are rides for the little ones as well. Just not as many.
My girls LOVED Sesame Place. We went the last 2 summers when they were 18 months and 2 1/2. We didn't go back this summer, because we are saving for 2 weeks in January at WDW
It is especially designed for little children. We found both times we needed both days of the 2 day pass, as there are a lot of water activities and this tires them out. I am fairly pooh sized myself and I didn't have any problem on most of the rides I went on. OK - getting my knees into the balloon ride was a little tight, but we did it.
They too have character meals - I would recommend spending the money for the indoor one as it gives a nice break with the air conditioning. Also the park allows in/out privledges in both the parks and the parking, so this is a nice option to go back to the hotel and rest. Check out their website with packages, we found a deal at the place we stayed at, that was better than a AAA rate. We stayed a little bit further away (Princeton NY), but we had a room with a separate living room, so we could stay up while the girls went to bed, and a full hot breakfast included each morning.
Hershey - we also stopped here, although we didn't go to the amusement park. For the age of our girls, it didn't seem worth it. We did go the Hershey exhibits and take the trolley tour though. We all enjoyed it.
Also in the Philly area. We went to the Children's Museum in Philly too. A totally hands on experience that the girls really loved. We also planned on visiting the aquarium that was right across the river in Camden NJ, but due to a sick child we were a day late leaving and had to cut this one out. I really wanted to see this as they have a tunnel that goes through (or under) the shark tank, so you can watch them overhead. We also drove out to Atlantic City, took a walk down the boardwalk and went out on the beach (which was a first for my kids)
If you want more details or more information, just let me know.
Sesame Place is a lot of fun. I'm in the plus sized category and have no problems with the water slides and sharing a raft with DS. The two day admission is worth it since you only have to pay for one day. I think it's called the Elmo's pass or something. Even if you don't use the second day, you didn't pay any extra for it. The lines can get pretty long in the summer so I would plan for a second day. The only thing I don't like about SP is that most of the food places close early. So I would pack a picnic for lunch and dinner or take advantage of the many places right in the area.
I would say that the Crayola Factory is at least 1 1/2 hour drive from the SP area.
As someone who used to work/live in this area, I can say that Sesame Place is a fun place for the little ones. It is definitely clean and safe. Since I grew up there, I spent some time there as a kid. I had fallen off of a ride and the medical staff was quick and effective in treating me and of course taking care of my parents and letting them know what was going on. I too am Pooh sized and don't remember having much of an issue going on the rides with my young neices.
Hershey- This is an amusement park more for older kids than the younger ones. However, there are some rides geared towards the younger kids. I participated with Magic Meets (Disney Fan Meet) last year and one of the things they do is a trip to Hershey. I found it difficult to get on a lot of the rides do to being Pooh sized (specially roller caosters). It was really quite embarrasing. The water park is a good size with lots to do as well.
As for other younger kid experiences, you could visit Dutch Wonderland amusement park, which is completely for young kids only. There is the Philadelphia Zoo, The Camden Aquarium (be careful, Camden is a bit of higher crime/drug type area). There is less crime by the water area but it is still considered a bit dangerous. The museum the previous poster was talking about is the kid's Please Touch Museum. This museum is geared for kids approximately aged 2-7.
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I lhave been to both and live in the area. We went to Sesame Place last year and while it is a nice park, beware of going on a weekend. It gets very crowded because everyone goes on the weekend. It was difficult for us to get our kids on rides and even in the water area. If you are going, go on a weekday to both parks. The crowd is smaller and it is more manageable.
As for cleanliness, both parks are kept very clean and are family friendly. I think Hershey is a tad more friendly than Sesame Place but that's because we went on the weekend. I cannot say much for the rides at Sesame Place because most are geared toward kids. I would imgaine to some degree they are accommodating. However, most of the rides at Hershey do accommodate. My hubby is larger in size and we went on many rides. I am not sure about the new Fahrenheit ride but it's worth a try. You will find that Hershey is a nice park and if you can get a deal on tickets it is worth it. We get tickets from work for $27, which is half the cost. SO that make sit worth it for us. Also, the nice thing about Hershey is that it now has a new water park which is included in the price-The Boardwalk. In addition, Hershey is closer to other attractions-Lancaster (home to the Amish-if you are going here and want a great buffet eat at Shady Maple-not only is it large and good eats but it is the cheapest buffet to eat at), the outlets (great shopping here and in Lancaster), several museums in Harrisburg (only a 15 min drive from Hershey), and even Valley Forge.
If you have any other questions please ask. I live and work near Hershey. Good luck in your planning.
So, after reading a post here about the cool Crayola factory in PA, I checked out it's web site and saw that it isn't too far from Sesame Place. DH and I have been trying to figure out where we want to go next year for our family vacation (we'd hoped to go on a Disney cruise, but want to wait until DS is a little older so he can do the kids' activities and DH says we can't go to WDW every year). DH has family just outside of Philadelphia that we haven't seen for quite some time, so we're thinking PA might just fit the bill, but we'd like a little more info.
Has anyone been to Sesame Place? Is it worth a stop? Obviously, it's not going to be WDW, but is it clean and safe? We are larger people -- are the rides accommodating for Pooh-sized people? We saw that they have a 2-day admissions package -- is that necessary, or can you do everything you want to do in just one day?
I'd also like some info on Hershey, PA and their amusement park -- pretty much the same questions -- is it clean and safe? How are the rides for Pooh-sized folks?
Anything else you'd do if you were in PA for a week with a 6-year-old and 2-year-old? We will probably make it a road trip (so we'll have a car), stay in hotels wherever we need to (we can stay in a different one each night if need be), and plan one or two days to spend with DH's family.
TIA!
seseme place is geared to the little ones they will all love it deffinitly.
hershey is great family place no need to say why. but as for rides the last time we went for a day, we did it thru our kids we did not go on any rides it was around christmas time it was sooo beatiful. but there is soo much to do there i'm a king size mickey and i know what you mean about the rides .
here are 2 other suggestions too hershey has a brothered company it is about 40 minutes away it is dutch wounderland
it was really nice because when we did hershey we did this too and all the kids absolutly loved it they have a 2 day ticket iday each park.
here is another suggestion dorney park and wild water kindom . it is between crayola and hershey it is my absolutly favroite park it has 2 parks for the price of one .
rides and water park we usually hit the water rides all day then hit the dry rides as many as possible before we get very tired .
i will give you links for them here is dutch wounderland Dutch Wonderland A Kingdom for Kids
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There is a lot for families to do and see at Hershey Park as well but I find the rides geared a bit more toward older children, but there are rides for the little ones as well. Just not as many.
DN Audra and I 1/2/08
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