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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm considering this Magic Kingdom tour for our next trip with DD5 & DD8. I would love to hear from anyone who has experienced this tour. I'm wondering if it is worth the extra $ since we do travel on a budget. We plan to spend 2 days in MK so I thought this might be fun to try. What kinds of activities does it involve? How large is the group of people on the tour. One of my daughters if very shy so I'm not sure she would feel comfortable participating if there are a lot of people. Thanks for your input!!
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We did family magic tour several years ago. It was myself, DH, DS 8, DS 12, DMom and DSis. We had a great time! I would say there was 12-15 in our group. They have you do silly things but I dont think your daughter would be singled out if she didnt want to act silly and just walked along. My DS 12 wasnt too into being silly, nothing was said to him. Although she may end up playing along. We thought it was well worth it!
We did the tour last November - it was me, my DH, our kids ages 4, 7, 8, 9 and my in-laws. My youngest one started to get a little bored along the way - but the older kids that could read the clues were really into it. And, surprisingly, my FIL really enjoyed himself! The tour leader tried to give all of the kids equal opportunities to participate but she didn't push any of them to do anything.
For our group, it was kind of just a scavenger hunt. We didn't go on any rides or anything, just looked for different things throughout the park while we were searching for a certain item that had been "lost"! It was mostly the kids participating while the adults followed along. I wouldn't go out of my way to do it if you have a busy schedule but it's pretty reasonably priced if you have the free time.
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We've done the Family Magic Tour twice, once when the girls were 4-1/2 and 7, and then last April when they were 8 and 10; my sis and her son, who was 5 at the time, joined us for that tour. We enjoyed it both times - I think the cost is fairly reasonable for a Disney tour/treasure hunt and for the length of the tour (a bit over 2 hours). It's a lot of fun!
My oldest is very shy but the tour guides are wonderful - they talk to everyone but never put pressure on anyone. The kids are all given the opportunity to read the clues - if they can read, of course - and everyone can give their input in helping to find the "treasure". It is a lot of walking, but you do take a restroom break. You do lots of silly things, adults and children alike LOL, but again, without any pressure so your DD should feel comfortable.
I think it's a great experience. The first time I booked it, we were looking for something new to do at WDW as it was our 3rd trip in 3 yrs. The last time I booked it b/c the girls really wanted to do it again and we wanted to share the fun with my nephew. However, I agree with the other poster - if this tour would take up some of your valuable park time, I would re-consider. It's not a tour that will have you bypassing lines to get on rides. Instead you will travel throughout the park looking for clues. Now, when we first did the tour in '05, they did include a ride as a group (along with a special guest - no spoilers from me! LOL) but they did not do this on our tour in '09 at all.
So if you only have one day at the MK and you have a list of attractions that you must see, I would bypass the tour until another trip and concentrate on seeing all that is available in the park. But if you have multiple days at WDW, especially at the MK, it's a great opportunity to experience the park in a new way.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and helping me get a better understanding of the tour. It sounds like my shy DD would do just fine and we would all enjoy it. We will be in WDW for 10 days and plan to spend 2 days at MK so I thought it would be something fun and a little different. Now I just have to decide if I want to spend the extra money.
We did the Family Magic tour (me, DH, and DS8) last June. We've been to WDW a million times, but we hadn't tried this before. It was really fun!! I would highly recommend it. Like others said, it's a scavenger hunt around MK for a missing item. My favorite part though, was that our tour guide offered up lots of fun MK trivia during our hunt. I found it really interesting. I also have no problem acting like a big kid and joining in on all of the games - as did most of the adults in our group. Maybe your daughter would be more apt to play along if you were doing it too... Either way though, she definitely wouldn't be pressured by the tour guide. They definitely are prepared for all personalities!!
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
We did the tour last December with boys 12 and 8 and daughter 10. They were the only kids in our group that could read, so they really got into it. We had a great time and even my 12 year old son who is now 13 and thinks that he must be cool all the time had a great time and enjoyed being goofy with everyone else. The tour is something that the kids always bring up when they talk about our trip.
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Next Trip July 19-23 15th Anniversery Trip without the kids!!!!
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Either way though, she definitely wouldn't be pressured by the tour guide. They definitely are prepared for all personalities!!
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