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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Our trip is scheduled for 11/28-12/5 and I was getting a little worried about the crowd levels because of all the recent posts about no available hotel rooms etc.
Well I just got a pin code today for a choice between free dining or room discount for those dates.
So maybe it won't be that crowded...??? Maybe?? Wishful thinking??
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Kim - Mom to Princess Alyssa (5) and Princess Ashley (4)
The week after Thanksgiving is not generally very crowed. The larger crowds are a couple of days before until the Sunday after. There are several events happening toward the end of the following week and into the weekend like Pop Warner and Mousetacular, the Christmas Parade taping and other miscellaneous conventions, but nothing that will significantly affect the crowd levels.
I was there a few years ago during the Christmas Parade taping. Ride lines are fine during the time they are taping, but I would get out of dodge when they finish. It became so packed you could hardly move!
During the taping, if you actally stay down in the area in front of the castle, you can get pictures of everything and even some with the people in the parade. We had a blast. We also got to interact, from aways off, with the characters, waving and such. I have some great pictures of them while doing that. It is interesting to see how they film it and what it looks like on TV. They definately edit it, as some acts were in different parts of the parade than it was filmed.
We are going Nov 29-Dec 6 so we'll be there at the same time.
I have heard the taping is Fri, Dec 3 and Sat, Dec 4. I hope the MVMCP won't be terribly crowded on the 3rd because that's when we plan on going. We are actually planning on being in MK on Fri because I would like to see the taping of the parade. I hope this is not a bad idea I figured we would want to go back to our room early afternoon and get ready for the party anyway so hopefully we will miss the biggest crowds (I know, wishful thinking).
We will be there 11/30-12/8, and I too was getting worried. But the resorts are not booked solid until the 5th on...which is the start of Pop Warner. (I checked...I had no problems what so ever getting a room ressie on Disney's site up through the 4th...but as soon as I changed my checkout to the 5th, all booked up...like almost every resort on property.) And from what I've heard, the Pop Warner kids are busy all day with their activities and do not affect the parks much. It's mainly the resorts that are busy.
We decided to stay far away from MK on parade taping days. As cool as it would be to be there...my almost 3 y/o would not be happy sitting there for hours. And even though I read the rides are not busy...I just don't want to deal with any of it. We will be at MK that Sunday, so I really hope it doesn't rain Friday or Saturday, cause that's the rain date!
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Stephanie- Mom to Jaden and Emerson, Wife to Keith, Novelist
I'm an independent agent with Fairytale Journeys, specializing in Disney vacations!
Visit my Facebook page!
We were there last year for two weeks. We arrivied the day after Thanksgiving. We were soooo happy with the lack of crowds! we walked onto virtually everything. Even Soarin and test track I don't think we waitied longer than 30 minutes tops. We did notice a little rise in the crowds on weekend days but it was still very managable. We did notice that even with the smaller crowds the restaurants were always full....I beleive they had been offering a free dining promo duing that time.
We go right after Thanksgiving every year (11/28 -12/6 this year) and have not found too many problems with crowds, although MK was ugly one night last year when my son and I went for fireworks. Strangers literally grabbed me to keep me from falling off a curb on Main St. because the place was so crowded, we couldn't see our feet! I think the MVMCP has a lot to do with that, as folks who don't go to the party are all squeezing in on the "off" nights. We saw the display just fine, leaning on a fence behind the popcorn wagon. But we went to Cosmic Ray's and got a snack afterward rather than try to leave in that mob.
We will be there Dec. 1 - Dec. 7. Glad to hear that the crowds shouldn't be too bad. I was getting pretty nervous about it. This is our first trip during the holiday season. Glad to hear that you were able to take advantage of a promotion. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to get one!
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I figured we would want to go back to our room early afternoon and get ready for the party anyway so hopefully we will miss the biggest crowds (I know, wishful thinking
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