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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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'm hoping the surprise on new year's is the date that the first phase of fantasyland will be open. or the OPENING of the first phase. i know they said 'early 2012' and that would be REALLY early...so there's likely not hope for that. but i'll be there at the end of february and i'd love to see phase 1!!! (like SO so much!)
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Well, I'll guess that the announcement will be made on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Among other thing's, it's the 40th anniversary of that show, and, of course, it's WDW's 40th anniversary year. They'll already have camera crews and a "reporter" at MK to capture the fireworks and festivities.
I doubt it'll be something huge (like a fifth major park for WDW), because if it was, they'd want lots of press coverage. That's something that's hard to get on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (and weekends in general).
The Year of More Magic... so, it's something likely to make the upcoming year more magical. Since even pixie dust isn't enough make major new attractions appear within a year, it would likely be something less permanent.
If I'm right about them announcing it on Dick Clark's show... something pop entertainment/entertainer-related would make some sense. Could it involve American Idol/American Idol Experience, considering Ryan Seacrest is Dick's co-host on New Year's Eve? Maybe... What about another seasonal celebration featuring entertainers, like Star Wars Weekends? Super Soap Weekend has been gone for a while... Or following that theme, a series of star-studded events throughout the year. Look at the guest line-up on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve... a special show starring Justin Bieber one month, Lady Gaga the next, Nicky Minaj... And, whoever it is, they'll also appear in one of the park parades, have a special autographing session for some lucky guests...
Then again, perhaps it'll be the return of the prize patrols, doling out "more magic" to some lucky park guests in some variation on The Year of a Thousand Dreams.
Yeah, the more I think about it, the more that fits. It can last all year long, it can be put into effect quickly (and without having to build stuff), encourages park attendance, it isn't "hard news" (so news coverage can wait until Monday), it's something the folks tuning in to see the MK fireworks would be excited to learn...
We'll know for sure in about three weeks, right?
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Crossing my fingers that it is similar to a Year of a Million Dreams. Loved that when we went in 2008!!!! But let's be honest. I don't care what the theme is. I am just excited to be going!
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I'm thinking that they'll announce the opening date for FL Phase 1. I am also hoping they do something similar to the Year of a Million Dreams Prize-Patrol.
I hope that it is something big we will be in disney world next october can't wait
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Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club