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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Can anyone tell me what's the current potato head policy? Lately, I've become a little ocd on potato heads, and heading to Disney World is a dream come true.
First - the Star Wars potato heads are on sale @ DHS, right? Outside Star Tours?
Secondly - and this is my major craziness - what's the cost @ DTD for the boxes? Anyone done this lately? I've heard everywhere from $10 to $50. Can anyone confirm?
Finally - since this is our first trip - I was wondering if the exclusive items are just this year's stuff, or years past, or some of both, or what.
I included a link to a page with some of the info, but I am wondering when its last update was... (2007, I believe)
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I can't answer all your questions, but I know you can get a box of parts for $18, at least that's what I paid two years ago. My suggestion is to buy a Mr. Potato Head before you leave. I got mine at Toys R Us for $7. This way, you can pack more parts in the boxes.
I just returned from WDW last week and saw the Star Wars potato heads at numerous locations. I know they had them in the gift shop as you exit Star Tours, they had some at Once Upon a Toy at Downtown Disney. I don't recall any other specific locations, but I know I saw it several times during the week we were there.
We filled our box at Once Upon a Toy last week for $19. This was our first time filling the box (we brought a potato head from home) so I'm not overly certain about if there was anything new, but from what I remember, it was about the same as last year. We got stuff to do a pirate potato head and then I loaded up on all of the Disney World specifics (that Mickey ice cream is so darn cute!).
Have fun! I spent nearly an hour in Once Upon a Toy aquiring potato head and little pony pieces for the kids!
Yup - I agree with $19 for a box of parts. The potato head is the same - so get it at home and buy just the special parts here. They also had a large plastic container you could fill with more things for about $40, but I managed to get a couple of costume specific sets of pieces + WDW special pieces in the small box.
we did the big potato and with the help of the CM (really, get them to help. they can more in there than i ever thought possible) we got all but 3 things in the container--the umbrella, buzz light years space ship and some other larger piece. as for the ponies, its truly amazing how all that stuff plus ponies fit in the box.
If you're adding to a collection, the $19 boxes work pretty well to get new-to-you pieces.
If you're starting a collection, definitely go for the BIG option -- and I also wouldn't get "repeats" for each child. Having a group of pieces is so much easier and cost-effective.
maybe some spare arms since those are necessary for some of the special disney pieces and at least with my kids, arms were the parts that seemed to misplaced the most often.
When we were there in December I remember thinking $18 was a rip off for the potato head parts! Those boxes are TINY!! That was one of the things I was looking forward to too!
I wouldn't get the head at Disney -- you can get a basic MPH set at a local toy store for $5-7. Use the open space in the box for the specialty parts that you can only get at Disney.
Not that I think they need a good review...but if anyone's hesitant and thinks it is too pricey (which, it might be just a bit) my 2 1/2 year old son just got his pieces yesterday (trying to space out the "magic" of our souvineers after our return) and he played with it for about 2 hours straight and probably about 50% of the time for the next 4 hours. He got such a kick out of things that he remembered, like the Mickey ice creams and the Mickey ears. It was definitely worth the $$ in our house!
We always get at least one box (usually 2-3) of the parts!! Well worth the money for the amount of play time my kids get out of them! I also have a head and some parts on my desk - great stress reliever We've found the Star Wars parts in DHS, some of the resort gift shops, and at Once Upon a Toy.
We just got back...we've been collecting the Potato Head pieces since Once Upon a Toy first opened! It is a must for us every year. They generally carry the same pieces each year, and then add some new ones too. They do stop some older pieces each year as well.
It is actually more economical, and you will get many more pieces, if you buy two small boxes, than if you get one large one. We actually tried both ways last year, and were able to fit more in two small boxes!
And, as others have said, if you don't already have a potato head or two at home, you can usually get them at Walmart for $5 or so. It's much better to do that, than to have the potato take up space in the box at WDW.
A small box with tax is now just over $20.
My DS7 & DS15 still play with them - especially now since we just got home, but our big clear plastic bin with all the pieces is sitting here in the living room, and DS7 will drag it out at least once a week and spend hours tinkering with it. And, for Halloween last year, we made Disney pumpkins with the parts! I used the craft foam pumpkins from Michaels and put the Potato Head pieces into them and they made really cute pumpkins, and the kids had a ball decorating them!
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~Amy~
Last edited by Buffalogirl18; 05-09-2009 at 09:53 AM..
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!! That was one of the things I was looking forward to too!
We've found the Star Wars parts in DHS, some of the resort gift shops, and at Once Upon a Toy.
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