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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We have 57 days until our big trip! We are so excited! But, I have a few questions...
PACKING. I am making a final Amazon.com purchase to complete our packing list. But, I am wondering about January travel. Is it necessary to have hats, sweatbands, bandanas, mister fans, umbrellas, ponchos, sunblock and/or aloe?
POOL TOYS. Do hotels allow kids to use pool toys such as a beach ball, diving rings, etc?
LAUNDRY. I am planning on doing laundry part way through our trip. Has anyone used the Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets? They would be easy to pack, but I would like to know that they would do the job.
LA NOUBA. We land at 4 pm on New Year's Eve. Since getting into a park will be most likely impossible, we are watching La Nouba. Is there a dress code? Do most dress nicely or are shorts/sweats appropriate?
RIDES. There is a possibility [very small] that my sister and her family will be going. My sister is a larger woman... I am curious to know if there is a weight limit on any of the rides. It would be better to know beforehand to help avoid awkward and embarrassing situations for her. If I were to guess, she is about 5'4", 225 pounds and she carries it pretty proportional.
LANYARDS. I bought the girls lanyards so that they can participate in pin trading. I purchased each of them 10 trading pins. Is that a lousy number? Too many? And, how many pins can the Disney lanyard hold?
Oh shoot, I had another question and I cannot think of it now... boo.
In answer to the clothing question, it's best to pack a little bit of everything for travel in January. Make sure to pack a few clothes for colder weather but also make sure to pack some shorts and t-shirts as well. We went one year in February and it was the coldest week on record. We wore long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts and jackets everyday. Also on our last trip in December last year, we wore a little of everything from shirts and shorts in the day and jackets and jeans in the evenings to sweatshirts and jeans the next day. Whereas the year before it was 85 and sunny every single day and we were in shorts and t-shirts at midnight in MK. When you travel to WDW in winter (i.e. Nov through Feb) it's always best to pack a little bit of clothing for every kind of weather.
Thanks for the clothing information! I have the girls packing a sweatpant & sweatshirt outfit, jeans & long sleeve shirt outfit, one nice outfit [pants] and the rest short/capris & tee-shirts. I'm hoping it will be an appropriate balance. I will have laundry services available so we can wash & wear if need be. Thanks again!
PACKING.
Honestly, January weather can be really cold or rather enjoyable! My best advice for packing your clothes is to wait (hard to do, right? ) to as close to your departure date as you can so you can review the weather forecast! This way you’ll know exactly what to pack without packing everything and without packing too much of the wrong type of clothing.
If you can find some gloves/scarves on sale (just in case you get a cold snap in January!), don’t hesitate buying them – because if I had to guess, I’d bet on it being colder vs. warm/hot during your trip.
POOL TOYS.
DH and I stayed at SSR in September and we saw (and used!) those “floaty noodles.” No one gave them a second glance, and the pool rules didn’t say they weren’t allowed (yes, I read them while in the water! ). I think those work best because they’re skinny and don’t hog pool space! For us 2 each was best.
LAUNDRY.
I used these for our trip as well and they are fantastic! The best thing about them is that if you have a lighter load, you can cut these length-wise and not have to waste a whole sheet! Plus they fit in a quart-size Ziplock bag for easy packing too.
LA NOUBA.
I just went to their site and they indicate that “There really isn't any dress code for our shows. While some of our guests decide to dress up, others wear casual clothes. It is really up to you.” Here’s the site if you have additional questions about the show: Cirque du Soleil Official Website.
RIDES.
Here’s a great thread that asked this same question and yielded a lot of information that should be useful in easing any concerns for your sister:
LANYARDS.
I think 10 is a great number to start out with and if they just need () more, there certainly is no shortage of places to buy more! And with regard to how many a lanyard can hold? Depends on the pin sizes as there are so many different shapes and sizes!
Oh shoot, I had another question and I cannot think of it now... boo.
Hate when that happens!
That should be sufficient. We always take 2 long pants (one of which is a pair of jeans that we wear on the plane) and a couple of long sleeve shirts, along with a couple sweat shirts and a jacket. The rest we take as t shirts and shorts. But we don't do laundry when we're there. You should be fine.
We have found that the key to clothing in January is layering! I usually start and end the day with a light jacket or sweatshirt on, but in the middle of the day I'm fine in short-sleeved shirt and jeans or capris. But like the others have said, the weather can vary wildly.
On our first January trip in 2001, I checked the weather for marathon weekend the day before we left and it predicted a low of 55 and high in the 70s for the next day. In reality, it was 36 degrees when we woke up and warmed up to almost 80 that day!
I am Pooh sized, larger than your sister, and I have never had a problem with any of the rides. That being said just use common sense, sometimes it might be better to ride alone rather than squeezing into a seat with someone else.
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JennyN
Life is good
Disneyland 1985, 93, 96, 98, 99, 02, 03, 05, 07, 08 and Dec 08
WDW 03, 05.
In Jan, pack for warm and cold weather. I don't bring misters or anything like that for Jan. So a combination of Capris, Tees, long and short sleeve, and long pants. Warm fleece jacket/hoodie. As mentioned, we too start out in the morning with a hoodie, and by noon, it's tied around my waist! Need it for evening too.
We are traveling at the beginning of January too! For the past two years we have gone to Disney the first week of January and have had everything from 45 to 85. We packed some of everything and did fine. As mentioned we also dress in layers on the colder days and do fine - being from upstate NY 80 is hot for us .
As for other items, I make sure that we have the sunscreen and the ponchos - have used both on the same day. My DH brings his hat to help keep the sun off his face and we both make sure we have our sun glasses.
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I would check the accuweather forecast. Earlier this year, we were there Feb. 1 to Feb 6 and it was unseasonably cold (29º in the morning) and windy. We live in a mild climate, so we were freezing even with layers of clothes. Also go prepared.
We have found that the key to clothing in January is layering!
That's always been my approach too.
A t-shirt covered by a zip-up hoodie usually does it for me, but I always bring a coat as well. The scarf, hat and gloves are a must in your packing -- you may not need them, but I'd hate to pay for them once on property.
Eileen
Layering is a great idea. when we were kids we always went to disney in Jan/Feb and then head to the keys to see the grandparents. sometime it was cool sometimes nice and warm so a little bit of everything is a great idea! The purex laundry sheets are GREAT!! We used them on our aug trip and loved them!!!
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) to as close to your departure date as you can so you can review the weather forecast! This way you’ll know exactly what to pack without packing everything and without packing too much of the wrong type of clothing. 
). I think those work best because they’re skinny and don’t hog pool space! For us 2 each was best.
That's always been my approach too.
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