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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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1. I've managed to convince my boyfriend to take a trip to California Adventure while we are in Cali - yay! We'll be at a motel near Disney (the Super 8 on West Katella) so we were planning on walking to the park entrance rather than paying for parking. However I'm not sure if the 1313 South Harbor Boulevard address (what google maps has as DCA's address) will bring us to the closest entrance or one that is even available to pedestrians. Does anyone have an idea?
2. Does anyone know how the Toy Story Mania lines are first thing in the morning? I'm planning on getting World of Color tickets, then getting Soarin' fast passes, then riding TSM. We'll be going October 24th - not a Mickey's Halloween party day.
3. We have reservations at the chef's counter at Napa Rose and I'm planning on telling the chef to choose what to give me Does anyone have any experiences with that? I'm not sure if I'll get slight variations from the prixe fixe menu or what.
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Chef counter at Napa Rose is the same price no matter what you suggest. One person my tell the chef how much they love cheese while I love well done scallops. Napa Rose chefs are wonderful. I have never done the counter, YET. At a regular meal I ordered the scallops if the chef could do them because he had taken them off the menu. He was so please with my love of seafood that he added shrimp to my main course. Are there things you miss like Mom's meatloaf or things you check out on every trip like cheese, wine, sausage or bread. You will have lots of fun at the Chef Counter.
As for walking it is about half a mile walk. To the south of you is the parking lot that is for overflow and goes to DLR where the buses are. The fencing would make getting in there almost as far as walking to the entrance.
Toy Story morning rush was a bust for us. We were second row at the west side and still got there to an hour wait that stretched clear up to Ariel's Grotto. They run, speed walk and basically you need to be an athlete or book a reservation at Ariel's then sneak out. We were second row for what, all that waiting and being shoved and stuff, not worth it. Get your FP first then do Toy Story and the other rides then over to Tower of Terror then use your FP in the midday after lunch at Taste Pilot's Grill. October tends to have low lines for the rapids.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Lucky you--Midway Mania will be closed during my visit next week , but it's open when you go !
There are sometimes single rider lines for this ride on busy days. Good luck and have fun!
Ginger
1. I've managed to convince my boyfriend to take a trip to California Adventure while we are in Cali - yay! We'll be at a motel near Disney (the Super 8 on West Katella) so we were planning on walking to the park entrance rather than paying for parking. However I'm not sure if the 1313 South Harbor Boulevard address (what google maps has as DCA's address) will bring us to the closest entrance or one that is even available to pedestrians. Does anyone have an idea?
I believe the closest entrance to the Super 8 would be up Harbor Blvd. a little bit (same entrances the buses enter at . . . there is a pedestrian walkway there as well.) You would come out of the motel, turn right up Katella towards DL then turn right up Harbor Blvd. The crosswalk into the DL property is just past the Park Vue Inn, in front of the IHOP. It would probably be about a 10-15 minute walk.
If you prefer not to walk, you can walk next door to the America's Best Value Inn and take the ART shuttle as there is a stop there. It will pick you up there, make a couple of stops then go to DLR. It drops off at the same spot you would walk to.