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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I think we have more "Must Do's" than humanly possible for one 8 day trip.
It is our first trip and it's been a LONG time coming so I want to make sure we do enough but not too much KWIM.
So of our list of "Must Do's" what do you suggest we keep and get rid of (if any) or add
MVMCP
Candle light processional
BBB
Pirate League
Wishes
Osborne Lights
Block Party Bash
Playhouse Disney show
Fantasmic
Nemo Show
Photo Sessions (BBB one and possibly arranging one at the Poly)
Jungle Parade
Touring resorts to see Christmas Decorations
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. I'm wondering about Fantasmic as DD has special needs, she has GDD, SPD & Epilepsy, so I'm wondering if it might be just too much for her right now.
I think she'll be okay with fireworks if we get her some sound reducing headphones or something of that nature. We're not planning on doing a TON of rides as we're not sure how the kids will take to them so we do expect to take in more shows, parades etc. but as you all know that could change once we get there and the MAGIC begins.
Can't wait till our trip is closer and I can start a PTR so I can ask all my questions and waffle back and forth in one place.
__________________
Rose Our little family Hook(DH), Tink(8) & Peter Pan(7), & Piglet 28 months or 24 months corrected.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
First time visiting WDW can be completely overwhelming, but I think from what you have listed, it's doable. . .especially since most things can be accomplished in one day/park visit.
For examples:
Visiting the resorts to see the decorations and MVMCP. You can do a monorail resort tour, check out the Contemporary, Poly, and GF and all their holiday glory, have dinner, and then go straight to the party.
Or, for the Candlelight Processional, you bundle that with Illuminations and seeing the Epcot resort-area decorations since everything is accessible by either walking or taking the boats from the "back" of Epcot.
I think as long as you can fit whatever event you want to see/do into when you'll be at or near that particular park, you'll be doing fine!
And planning how you can do it all, before the trip, just gives you one more thing you can do to pass the time before it's time to go!
Great suggestions I didn't even think of just popping by the resorts near the parks we are visting on the days we are visiting them. That could be a nice way to relax and have the kids get some "down time" also.
I really like the idea of a monorail decoration tour also since we will be at the Poly I might keep that in mind for our first day depending on when we get in.
__________________
Rose Our little family Hook(DH), Tink(8) & Peter Pan(7), & Piglet 28 months or 24 months corrected.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
As for your list, it's doable without being overwhelmed. The way we do it: arrange all of your "Must dos" by Park. For you this would be:
MK:
MVMCP
Photo Session
BB and Pirate League
Wishes
all could be done the same day!
EPCOT:
Candle Light Processional - I would recommend making it a dining package (guaranteed seating for both Candle Light and Illuminations, all the same day)
Nemo (fairly easy to get on, continuous loading - go any time)
DHS:
Osborne Lights (After dusk, but no def. time.)
Block Party Bash
Playhouse Disney (this does not have a certain time, so you can go anytime)
Fantasmic
AK:
Jungle Parade
(I'm adding Festival of the Lion King to your list - you'll love it!!)
Various Resorts:
Tour (when you're in EPCOT, walk out INternational Gateway between France and UK pavilions, and it's a short walk to Yacht and Beach Clubs and Boardwalk Inn, then a boat ride or a slightly longer walk to Swan and Dolphin resorts)
Go to AKL while you're at AK
Do a mono-rail resorts tour - or just hit one each day, on your way back to your resort)
The rest of the resorts are a little more out of the way, but all easy to access using WDW transport.
Now, just plan how many days you'll want to be in each park - and what times they open and close each night. It looks overwhelming when you look at in just ONE list, but now you have 5 lists, each with very few items!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I agree that listing your must-dos by park is the way to go. Since you're interested in shows and parades, I'll also mention two that we always make time for are Finding Nemo the Musical at AK and Spectromagic at MK. Have fun planning!
The priority for me would be the Christmas events and decorations, as they're only on during that time of the year. Make sure you see those in case future trips don't take you back during Christmas again. If you need to leave anything out, then make it the things that operate year round.
Awesome thanks so much for grouping them by park for me that's a great idea. I guess there's probably a work sheet, or two, that would help us with this eh.
I agree that the Christmas celebrations are top priority for us that's my biggest motivator for waiting 11 months to go otherwise we would be going earlier.
I'm pleasantly surprised that you all think we could probably do all of these in one trip, we do still want to get in some rides though so we will have to work those in Soarin is DH's MUST do so we've got to squeeze that in.
__________________
Rose Our little family Hook(DH), Tink(8) & Peter Pan(7), & Piglet 28 months or 24 months corrected.
Don't forget the gingerbread house in the GF! And I agree with the others, festival of the lion king while in AK. And at the poly, sometimes they have hula dancers in the lobby.
If your DD's epilepsy is touched off by strobe or laser lighting Fantasmic is not something I would recommend. However, if the laser or strobe lights are not a problem and you have the headphones, I would definitely recommend it. If she seems to get agitated or stressed, as long as you're sitting near the top along an exit lane you should be able to leave quickly if need be.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Have fun planning! 
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
