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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Anyone been yet? Can tell me about what kind of crowds you have experienced? As Legoland doesn't have Fast Passes (that I'm aware of), I want to mentally prepare myself for what I will be facing!
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Last edited by Belle*; 11-15-2011 at 12:01 PM..
Reason: podcast11162011
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I'm not sure how it is now, but a week after they opened, I went, and it wasn't very busy. The wait times were very small, and it was a joy to wander the park, have a leisurely lunch and see the ski show, all without chasing the crowds.
Of course, now that people know that they are open, the case may be different.
So we were there, the week before Thanksgiving, and the crowds didn't seem too bad. (but of course, that is a slower Disney time, so same goes for Legoland probably?)!HOWEVER, they are no Disney, and IMO, could really stand some crowd management lessons!!! Though the park didn't seem loaded, the waits for rides seemed longer than I thought they should be. Watching the employees load and unload the rides, seemed like it could have been done much quicker. I am no professional though. So I sure could be wrong. One in particular was the Ford Driving School. We did that one more than once. Parents sit outside and watch the kids drive on the track. I saw the track sit empty, and employees stand around for what seemed like 5 minutes. There is a safety video the kids watch before driving, and it seems like some should be watching, while a group is driving, so that there is a constant flow. But again, I am not an employee, so maybe there is a reason I don't know about it. Of course, this is all just my opinion!
We were there last Monday (November 28) and it was not busy. Most of the guests that were there were on field trips, and they seemed to clear out when it began to rain in the early afternoon.
We hit the driving school first thing since Jennifer mentioned on the podcast that it might get busy later in the day but the boat ride nearby seemed to take forever. Like the driving school, it's not on any kind of track so some of the guests (my youngest DD included) would get stuck in the corners and slow down everyone behind them. I don't think we had longer than a 10 minute wait for any of the other rides. Even with the relatively short wait times, we were there from open to close (10 am - 5 pm) and didn't have time to see everything.
Being Legoland is only a couple of months old and school is in session one might have to wait until summer to start worrying about crowd levels.
I have never been to Legoland in Calif. but Legoland FL crowd levels will be different from those of WDW. Not taking into consideration of the area of WDW Disneyland is more for all ages, where I understand, Legoland is up to around the age of twelve when the teenage begins. Things are beginning to get too small at Legoland at twelve and the teenagers are ready to "move on the greener pastures".
Families will always go to Disneyland at all ages but as parents would you continue to go to Legoland with only teenagers and no children instead of Disneyland?
Like wagons and cars. Once you get to a certain age wagons are set aside and thoughts go to cars.
Wait for true crowd levels until the weather warms up and school breaks for summer vacation. Possibly watch the attendance at Legoland after the first quarter of 2012, keep track of what's what with Legoland, present posts and replies and then make your decision. Wath the internet for discounts, offers, ticket specials, etc.
For now watch the posts and replies. Crowd levels and some information for Legoland FL are here.
For now combine portions of posts and sites that contain useful information to you. This way much of the information will be at your fingertips to review and if you keep it attached to the internet, as in these forums, it will update itself automatically or make reference to a newer site.
Watch this forum for images and video clips on Legoland FL. Maybe it will give you new ideas for your trip.
We were there Monday, Feb 27th and the crowds and lines were low. It was a great time to be there. This summer I'm sure it will be swamped! But the longer opening times will make up for that. For us it was open 10am-5pm.
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Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa