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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 think many people don't realize all the scheduled entertainment at each country in the World Showcase. Be sure to see Steve Soares' website:
pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares
We do two days at Epcot. Day 1 is Future World only. Kids love everything in The Living Seas Pavilion and we have to practically drag dd out of Innoventions. Soarin is a must do. Figmet is fun and the kids have a blast playing in there afterward. I love Spaceship Earth and we have to do Test Track too. Day 2 we may sleep in a bit and then get to Epcot by 11 when World Showcase Opens. We spend all day there. DD loved the Kim Possible missions and making her mask and having her passport signed.
Exactly! Between Kim Possible missions and the Passport, we saw the world in a whole new light. 2 days planned for Epcot was great-we even did a couople of fave things(soarin', Test Track) twice by hitting them first thing in am both days since world Showcase didn't open until 11. Have fun!
Epcot is one of those parks that is hard to enjoy unless you really stop and pay attention to all of the little things. It used to be my least favorite park until I went with someone who really loved science and technology. That person forced me to spend a ton of time in Innoventions, something I had previously just breezed through. Once I realized how much cool stuff was there, I started to love Future World.
And World Showcase was always cool, but I appreciate the slower pace of the park now more that I've taken time to notice all of the details in all of the countries.
I usually spend one full day, and usually at least another half of a day somewhere in my trip, but not back to back.
It's easily a 2 day park for us, though we rarely if ever have that kind of time.
DD has loved Epcot since she was 2 and expected to see Sagwa (the Chinese Siamese cat from PBS) in the China pavilion.
glad I read this post because I was thinking just one day for epcot. Now reading this Iam going to plan 2 day for it. My youngest DD will be 4 at the time and I know she loves all hands on things and science stuff. plus the rest of my family loves that kind of stuff to.
Epcot is a tie with MK for favorite park for me and dd. Our first trip was when dd was 7 and we both fell in love with World Showcase. We spend alot of time in Epcot as we love the countries and all the dining choices.
With kids we tend to visit 1 or 1.5 days. Without, we plan on spending more time in Epcot.
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Previous Trips
May/June '96 - WDW Off Site, May '07 - AKL, May '08 - Pop Century, September '09 - Ft. Wilderness Cabins, May '10 - POFQ, December '10 - WL, July '11 - DL - Offsite, November-December 2012 - Contemporary, May '13 - DCL Fantasy & WDW Art of Animation (Nemo Suite), September '14 - Ft. Wilderness Cabins, April '15 - Beach Club (Club Level), May '16 - AKL (Arusha View) / Universal - LRPR...
EPCOT is my favorite park now as well. There's nothing better than walking around World Showcase at night, taking in the sights and sounds from the different lands. Grabbing a little snack (or beverage if you like) and just letting your stress melt away. Whenever I need to disappear to my "happy place", this is where my mind takes me.