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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My family is taking a trip this Christmas while touringplans.com predicts crowd level 10 We have very few must-sees so I think we'll do okay.
I was just wondering what your basic plan for the day is for those of you that have been during peak times. For example, do you get to the parks for opening and stay all day or take a break and return to the same park or another park?
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Take advantage of EMH, be there at rope drop, use FP wherever possible. We usually head elsewhere when it gets crazy crowded, either back to the hotel or to another park
I've never been there during this time, but I have heard that quite often parks will be closed due to capacity (MK is usually the first one I think), so if you go the "visit a park early, take a break at the resort, go back to a park" way, I would work it so MK wasn't the park you were planning to go back to in the afternoon since it might close. Just a thought. Good luck!!
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
I would go early in the day and do my must-sees. Then as soon as the crowds got oppressive I would leave for the day. And make sure you eat your CS meals at off-hours.
My family is taking a trip this Christmas while touringplans.com predicts crowd level 10 We have very few must-sees so I think we'll do okay.
I was just wondering what your basic plan for the day is for those of you that have been during peak times. For example, do you get to the parks for opening and stay all day or take a break and return to the same park or another park?
We park hop and definitely don't stay all day. : We prefer to take a break during the day and make peace with the fact that we won't see it all or do it all.
Generally, we avoid the EMH park, do one park in the am, return to our resort for a swim or nap, and then head out to a different park in the pm.
We went for Christmas for the first time in '09 and I was worried about the crowds, too, but it went surprisingly well. We did AM EMH some days, and were there for rope drop on other days. We didn't do PM EMH, because the crowds just seemed to build and build, so we preferred to get to bed "early" (for us) and to get up early.
We made full use of Fast Pass, were flexible about changing our plans when the crowds got too crazy, and we were able to be patient on the few occasions that we were in long lines. We went to AK on Christmas Day, even though it was very rainy in the morning. There was hardly anyone there, though the rain stopped, for the first few hours, and it was delightful!! (I think DH and DS's rode EE 5 times in a row! I could only manage two.) We spent a lot of time in World Showcase, doing KP Adventures, listening to Holiday Storytellers, and watching other live entertainment. We also had at least one TS meal per day, which was a lovely respite from the crowds.
I think if you're well-prepared, you'll be able to handle it, no problem!
During the really busy times, we make full use of the Extra Magic Hours - sometimes morning and sometimes evenings. We also grab Fastpasses as soon as we can for the most popular rides. It sounds like you've already done this, but we're also realistic about how much we'll be able to see and do - we don't plan to do too much and that way, we're not disappointed.
DH and I used to go during the Christmas/New Year's week back in our high school/early college days. We basically just went to a park and stayed there. We went with no expectations of what we would be able to get done, and just went with the flow. Now, that admittedly is a lot easier to do with 2 young people, or with a small group of young people. With a family I would recommend what everyone else has said - use EMH and Fastpass, and head somewhere else when the crowds get very oppressive.
Thanks for the advice and suggestions everyone! We don't usually manage to get to the parks for opening but I'm already warning about the crowds and trying to prepare them for getting there in time for opening. The youngest person going is 14 so it may be a little easier without any small children.
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We have very few must-sees so I think we'll do okay. 
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: We prefer to take a break during the day and make peace with the fact that we won't see it all or do it all. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Thanks for the advice and suggestions everyone! We don't usually manage to get to the parks for opening but I'm already warning about the crowds and trying to prepare them for getting there in time for opening. The youngest person going is 14 so it may be a little easier without any small children.
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