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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 may have missed this, but when is your trip? i'm doing a fully split trip in may--four days in disney with my mother, one day 'off' on my own, and then four days at universal with my husband (staying at AKL and Royal Pacific Resort). the universal part is sort of against my will--at least the length of it is (i'd rather add at least a day of disney with my husband, but he is opposed to traveling AT ALL during his visit) i plan to post a fairly comprehensive review of both, with a cost-benefit comparison (i'm insane, i know). so if your trip is AFTER the beginning of may, perhaps that will help.
personally, i'm of the mind that while it would be cheaper to do disney for more days, that's because that's how disney sets it up so you don't stray off disney property. i'm enough of a 'stick it to the man' kind of person that i'd PAY the extra money to visit universal just to 'stick it' to said 'man' (even if the 'man' is a 'mouse'!) but that's probably just me.
i may have missed this, but when is your trip? i'm doing a fully split trip in may--four days in disney with my mother, one day 'off' on my own, and then four days at universal with my husband (staying at AKL and Royal Pacific Resort). the universal part is sort of against my will--at least the length of it is (i'd rather add at least a day of disney with my husband, but he is opposed to traveling AT ALL during his visit) i plan to post a fairly comprehensive review of both, with a cost-benefit comparison (i'm insane, i know). so if your trip is AFTER the beginning of may, perhaps that will help.
personally, i'm of the mind that while it would be cheaper to do disney for more days, that's because that's how disney sets it up so you don't stray off disney property. i'm enough of a 'stick it to the man' kind of person that i'd PAY the extra money to visit universal just to 'stick it' to said 'man' (even if the 'man' is a 'mouse'!) but that's probably just me.
We go in Sept. I will watch for your TR. Maybe it will help our decision.
We like Universal and have been several times. We went last summer (Aug) to see the Harry Potter stuff. I was a bit disappointed as there are 2 coasters (not a fan) and the Forbidden Journey, also a thrill ride. My DMum would not ride any of it. The area is quite crowded, too - small spaces. However, the theming is gorgeous and even just being in the queue for FJ is amazing. I think there are a lot of fun rides at US/IOA. My 2 older DS love the coasters. It's not Disney, but it's still a lot of fun.
I used to see a lot of cheap ticket offers for Universal parks - $100 for multiple days. Since the Harry Potter stuff opened I have not seen these super cheap deals. We generally stay on site for 1 night to get the "universal express" benefit. The resorts are gorgeous and the express benefit is amazing. We also got early admission to the Harry Potter area. It was very helpful in the morning, as lines were crazy. But by evening, the lines were as short again as they had been in the morning. If you are patient, I think you'll be fine.
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We just went to IOA to do the WWoHP on March 1st. We paid for a 1 day / 1 park ticket for 3 of us because there wasn't really much at the other park we wanted to see. We got our tickets through MouseSavers, someone else had mentioned them.
It was expensive, but it is definitely worth it. To stand in Hogsmeade Village and look up at Hogwarts, it is just like being in the movie. If you are a fan, definitely go! Walking through the castle is amazing, the Forbidden Journey ride is amazing, walking around and looking at all the window displays is amazing, eating at Three Broosticks or the HogsHead Tavern is amazing. It was all amazing! Yes, the shops are way too small and very frustrating, but manageable! I was just amazed at how good the themeing is.
Now, do I ever have to go back? No not really. But I am so glad I went once.
And DS also enjoyed the Jurassic Park and Seussland areas, the themeing there is amazing! The other two areas were way too loud, noisy and garish. We just walked through them. Oh and lunch at Mythos was amazing!
If you can swing it at all in your budget you have to go!
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Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa
Thanks everyone for your suggestion.
My DH and I looked at attractions, and its about half and half for DD. There are about the same amount of attractions she can ride as those she can't. On this trip she will be tall enough to ride everything at WDW except RnRc and Primeval Whirl. This will be the first trip that someone else has not come with us. (We usually bring someone to help with her and sit with her while we ride. We use the swap tickets, but my DH and I enjoy riding together.) We really want to make this a family experience and do things all of us can do together. I think we may wait till some time in the next couple of years, when she is a little bigger.
However, if the money is right when Sept comes, we may to decide to add that on.
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