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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 don't think I've ever seen a walker (the kind with wheels for older people) in the parks. Are they allowed? The person I know who might need one does not want to spend his days sitting in an ECV, he wants to be up and moving, but he needs a little extra support.
As far as a walker being "allowed" in the parks, of course it is allowed, just like any other assistive device like a wheelchair, cane, crutches or service dog.
I hope the person using it realizes s/he will be walking 7-10 miles per day though... A scooter would come in mighty handy.
I would also worry about the crowd level when you visit. People dart in front of you and cut you off and I think that could be a little dangerous on a walker.
Also, from personal experience rehabbing a knee replacement, bring extra skis or tennis balls to cover the walker tips ( unless all four legs of the walker have wheels) -- walking on all that pavement will burn the fuzz right off your tennis balls and chew up the skis very quickly!
I used a "wheeled" walker one day at MK (my ECV wasn't delivered early enough for our plans). We spent 7 hours "walking" the park and it was exhausting......As a matter of fact.......people did "cut me off", cut in front of me and just sometimes just "stop".......I must say, this is the first time I've ever used a walker or the ECV and to put it mildly....sometimes I felt invisable......I want to apologise if I at anytime I unintentionally made anyone feel like that. I had to apologise to my DH when I returned home....I always "yelled"/or spoke harshly at him for almost running over people and just for him to watch out........I now don't think it was always his fault. ....I really had a better time and felt more comfortable using the ECV.....I did park it at different areas and walk around........
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
They are allowed, but I think it might be a little dangerous for the person using it. So many children running about and crowds in a rush to get where they are going will cause a hazard to someone with a walker. Also, AK is not a walker-friendly park. The walking paths aren't all smooth like a parking lot. In fact, there are a lot of areas in WDW that might be difficult to navigate with a walker, for example, the bridge to adventureland. And where would it go when the person wanted to test out a ride? I guess with the wheelchairs.
The walker might be fine at the resort, but the entire party will be slowed down by it at the parks. An ECV or wheelchair makes much more sense. Perhaps you could consider a wheelchair. Use it like a walker when you want to walk, and sit in it when the walking gets too difficult.
I have seen them - mostly the ones that have the seats (and usually the seat is full of souvenirs ) - but it's been few and far between. I mostly see wheelchairs and ECV's. Another suggestion is your friend could do what my hubby does on occasion - he uses his wheelchair as his walker (he has a bad back, bad hips and bad knees). In Disney, he needs a scooter because of the distances but other places he'll use his wheelchair and when he's up to walking, he pushes his wheelchair and when he needs a break, he sits down and can be pushed for a while.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Thanks for your replies. What I'm looking at is a "rolator" with four wheels and a seat and hand brakes. I thought the seat would be a great place to store water bottles and meds, and yes, souvenirs. I hadn't thought of the possibility of him getting knocked over by people (however he did get taken down by a rampaging 3yo on one trip and he didn't have a walker then). Walking ten miles a day is nothing for him at this time but he is getting to place where he seems to need a little help occasionally, especially in the evenings.. I know it would drive him nuts to sit all day so I thought maybe we could use the rolator. Guess I'll know more about how he is by next April and maybe I'll try to get him to pack it (we drive) just in case he needs it. At least now I know that they are allowed.
Thanks for your replies. What I'm looking at is a "rolator" with four wheels and a seat and hand brakes. I thought the seat would be a great place to store water bottles and meds, and yes, souvenirs. I hadn't thought of the possibility of him getting knocked over by people (however he did get taken down by a rampaging 3yo on one trip and he didn't have a walker then). Walking ten miles a day is nothing for him at this time but he is getting to place where he seems to need a little help occasionally, especially in the evenings.. I know it would drive him nuts to sit all day so I thought maybe we could use the rolator. Guess I'll know more about how he is by next April and maybe I'll try to get him to pack it (we drive) just in case he needs it. At least now I know that they are allowed.
Walkers are Durable Medical Equipment and I don't think Disney can disallow them but the kind you are talking about are exactly what I've seen - wheels and handbrakes. Whatever way you can go - walker, wheelchair or ECV, have a wonderful trip
I would agree with CinderAbby that a wheelchair might be more practical; my SIL, who has CP, used a wheelchair just as she described. She would pile her stuff in the seat and push it to work, then roll herself home at the end of the workday. I have seen folks with those four wheel walkers in all the parks, just not many of them. Bumpy walkways, especially in AK, can make them difficult to use. But whatever works for the person! Hope you have a great trip.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
You can store medical equipment such as canes, crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs at the rental place in each park from what I have heard. You can take the chair with you and leave it some place, walk around, and come back later for it such as in Fantasyland or Sunset Blvd.
You can use a cable and lock the wheels together and leave it in stroller parking. Just make sure you have name, cell phone, and hotel in case Disney thinks it is unclaimed or something. No locking to rails allowed but the purpose to to make it obvious that something is being taken.
At Disneyland I will park the scooter and hit Star Tours, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear then hop on board the scooter and head over to another spot. When I am tired I do one of those at a time.
I have seen the knee board, rollators, walkers, and canes with folding seats. Disney will not stop you from using any assistance device within reason. Sadly they won't let me bring the scooter with cowcatcher and truck air horns.
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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.
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) - but it's been few and far between. I mostly see wheelchairs and ECV's. Another suggestion is your friend could do what my hubby does on occasion - he uses his wheelchair as his walker (he has a bad back, bad hips and bad knees). In Disney, he needs a scooter because of the distances but other places he'll use his wheelchair and when he's up to walking, he pushes his wheelchair and when he needs a break, he sits down and can be pushed for a while.
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