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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
We're going to be fighting a 3 hour time zone difference on our trip to NYC...it'll be 3 hours later there. Planning our days is a bit of a challenge for the attractions that do shut down in the City that Doesn't Sleep. So, I was wondering if I should block out an entire day for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island? Also does the American Museum of Natural History take a whole day? And what about the Central Park Zoo? Ground Zero?
And does anyone know about how long it takes to STROLL across the Brooklyn Bridge?
Sounds like you are planning to have a great time in NYC. I can't help you with the central park zoo since I have never been. (Others will come after me and I am sure have lots to add. ) But I can tell you that the line for getting on the ferry for Ellis Island and Statue of liberty can be a long one. Fortunately, that area by the docks is a really nice one with sort of a park and street performers etc. We must have waited about 45 minutes or more for the ferry, then we went to Statue of liberty, but when I was there it was still closed so you couldn't go inside. I think it has reopened now. So I would give at least an hour there. ANd then Ellis Island which was really my favorite took several hours. It is not too crowded out there, but there is a lot to see. The tour part is really neat, they act like you are immigrants at first. Telling you "you need to sit on these benches until you get sorted". Don't forget to use the computers there to track down your ancestors who came through ellis island. I found my hubbys grandparents. It told the days they were there and all the info that was recorded about them. Really cool. The grounds are interesting since they have left them much the same as the day they shut it all down. So you can see the rather cramped quarters the people who were considered "infectious" had to stay. Many were then deported from there, so Ellis Island was the only part of America they ever saw.
Ground Zero has changed a lot since I was there, and I am sure the crowds are much lighter. We waited over an hour to view the Pit back then. Now it is all under construction. So I can't say what you will have to do there. But others will help! Have a great time and come back and tell us all about it.!!
The statue of liberty and Ellis Island will take up most of your day but I do believe you can go to ground zero also on the same day. As for the museum it really depends on who is going with you. My kids did not want to see everything soo we were there for about 4 hours. Central park is a wonderful place. The carousel has been there for many many years and one that should always be ridden on every trip to the park. The zoo and the aquarium are not huge so it is a great stop along your day at the park. FAO swartz is right outside the park and a great place to visit also. I can spend HOURS upon HOURS at the park.. There are MANY playgrounds inside this wonderful park. The Brooklyn bridge stroll again depends on who is doing the strolling.. =) My father use to walk across that every day to go to work and it took him about 30 minutes ( man on a mission) but when I bring my children on it, it takes about 1 hour. The area that it brings u to in brooklyn has changed over the MANY years into a wonderful place. Looking for a great pizza place take the train to bayridge and go eat at Gino's.. =)
Have a wonderful Trip.. NYC is a wonderful place.. If you have children.. the childrens museum is WONDERFUL, american girl is magical, a broadway play is unforgettable and seeing the morning shows being taped is just fun..( make sure to bring sign that says HELLO PASSPORTERS.. Can't wait to hear about your trip
I went to NY in 2004. I spent most of a day at the Staue of Liberty& Ellis Island. The Statue was open then for you go inside however all the tickets for the day I went had already gone before the first ferry of the day. Speaking to colleague who went recently he experienced same problem as me, so it looks like if you want to go in the Statue you need to get tickets prior to your visit.to visit ellis Island and not to go inside the Staue then there shouldn't be a problem.
As my time was very short for sight seeing(1.5 days) I cheated to see the other sights and hopped on a day & night tour bus . Ground Zero was my view out of my hotel room but the significance of it didn't really hit home until I read the poster boards around the site and saw the Globe with the eternal flame in Battery Park.
You'll have great time what ever the sights you get to see
I have three children living in NYC and love the place!! Definitely would go early for the Statue of Liberty ferry. Lines can be long but not as much once school is in session. The grounds are very pretty and lots of places to buy souveniers and drinks. Great pictures as well. You can take the walk from the pier to Ground Zero in under a half hour. THis is called Battery Park City and is great. It will lead you directly to Ground Zero. I would suggest going inside the World Trade Financial Center to view Ground Zero. There are shops and restaurants in there as well. If you climb the steps you can view the reconstruction. Also there is a walkway that takes you from Battery City over to the main Ground Zero, from here you can also look down into the Ground Zero. By Century 21 which is a discount store, it can be very crowded with both tourists and locals. But the church that housed the workers during 9/11 is located here. Central Park has a delightful Children's Zoo which is close to FAO Schwartz and the Plaza Hotel. If you have time definitely visit the Pond area in Central Park. You can walk through CP by the lake and it will lead you directly to the Museum of Natural History. It can be overwhelming and usually takes at least three hours. The Rose Center for EArth and Space is also there. Have a great time!!!
Working here in the city - as well as being a tour guide many times - you have some great plans, just allow the time. This time of year is a great time to visit. For Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island, go early and allow plenty of time as others have said. You don't want to rush. Ground Zero and the Brooklyn Bridge are an easy 20 minute walk away. If you really want to see the worlds slowest construction project you can see it from the observation windows in the World Financial Center, or from the south walkway that leads from the WFC. For the best view, pay the $1.75 and take PATH from the World Trade Center to Exchange place, then back to the WTC. It rides right through the "pit" and on the ride back you will get a great view. (I ride thru here every day). The Museum of Natural History is 4 floors plus the planetarium. It takes several hours to see completely, but of course is also near Central Park, so you could combine the two. Don't miss the observation deck at the top of the GE building, located at Rockefeller Center. The Top of the Rock is the best one in town, and you will get great Empire State Building Pics from there. Any other questions, just ask! Enjoy!
Wow! Thanks to you all for your advice...this really helps in planning our trip! Please keep the info coming!
i'm going to add a happy disney thought to this if you hit FAO SCHWARTS look around the corner to see the world of disney it is the only place for meet and greet outside the WDW and DL. go to there web site world of disney nyc.
good luck and have a magical trip.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I can't help you with the central park zoo since I have never been. (Others will come after me and I am sure have lots to add. ) But I can tell you that the line for getting on the ferry for Ellis Island and Statue of liberty can be a long one. Fortunately, that area by the docks is a really nice one with sort of a park and street performers etc. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
