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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Has anyone here been there? We just changed our vacation plans and are going to do my trip I've dreamt about since I was a kid which is going on a cross country road trip from Pa to Yellowstone National Park!!!!!!!!!! Anyhow hoping someone can answer a few questions. First off we are figuring 4 days there and 4 days back which averages out to about 7-8 hours driving a day, then planning 4 days staying at Yellowstone. Everything in the park is booked solid so my first question is.....Does anyone have any recommendations for places to stay outside the park. It looks like Wapiti is the closest place to stay for the eastern entrance. My second and third question is.........First is 4 days long enough to see the park's awesomeness? and 2nd how long on average does it take to tour the grand loops............also any particular favorites or recommendations on must see activities either at the park or on the journey to and from, I know it looks like COdy, Wy has a lot going on and we are definitely stopping to see Mt. Rushmore and Devils Towers on the way in.
Keeping in mind we are not dawdlers, my husband is a "lets keep moving" kind of guy. We heard we couldn't see a Disney park in a day and we can go and be done with a park by 3pm and see everything.
Sorry so many questions......I've come to love this forum for all the Disney info, now hoping to get the same kind of help for this newest adventure.
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Crazy Momma to Raven 15, Slade 13, Denissa, Skye and Ridge 11 (yes they are triplets)from Pennsylvania who just can't stay away from Disney.
Four days is enough. We saw most of it in two days, but there was a few things we missed that I wish we'd had more time to do. As far as hotels, book something outside the park. However, I've had fantastic luck asking at the actual hotel if they have any openings by just stopping in and asking. Then you can cancel your other reservation. Be prepared to be stopped on the roads due to herds of Bison or elk, which can throw any plans you have right out the window. They are amazing though.
One overlooked thing going in is Hot Springs, SD. They have a Mammoth Dig Site that was really cool to see. Cody has a rodeo and some other interesting shops.
As far as things to do while in the park, get up early and drive in the western park of the park to see the bears.
I think four days is plenty. We flew in on a Thursday afternoon, stayed the night at Mammoth Hot Springs, then spent the Friday touring, before staying the night at the Old Faithful Inn. The Saturday, we again spent touring the park and we left maybe late afternoon to head to the Grand Tetons. I'd have preferred a third day, but we saw a lot of the park in those couple of days.
If I'm remembering right, there's a map of the grand loops on the Yellowstone website, which I found really useful, as they give mileage between all points around the park, which gives you an idea. The speed limit is often quite low, and as has been said, you can grind to a halt for animals. We were stuck in a jam for buffalo and it was the most amazing thing.
I don't know if you read the trip report of our visit in September 2011 - if not, let me know and I'll dig out the link, as that might help you.
4days will definitely be enough time in and around the park. Some of the must see areas are the Old Faithful area, Mammoth Hotsprings, and Dunraven Pass. As everyone else has mentioned, be prepared to stop for the animals. However, that is part of the magic you are coming to see. Cody also has a museum that has some neat exhibits of western history. You could stay in Livingston which is just outside of Mammoth and has the original entrance to the park. They also have a couple of museums. Or, you could drive roughly an hour out of the park and stay in my hometown of Bozeman, MT. We are a typical college town, but we also have the Museum of the Rockies, several mountain lakes and many nature trails. I hope you have fun planning and love my state as much as I do!
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. Jenn
. I hope you have fun planning and love my state as much as I do!
Lets put it this way, I told my hubby or rather warned him that I might get there and not want to come back home unless it's too pack and move.....lol.....for some reason I've always had something pulling me to that area......more specifically the Dakota's.
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Crazy Momma to Raven 15, Slade 13, Denissa, Skye and Ridge 11 (yes they are triplets)from Pennsylvania who just can't stay away from Disney.
Thanks for the link, sounds like you had an awesome trip...wow! I am sooo psyched to go. We've decided to change the plans slightly in that we will spend 3 days in the Yellowstone and Cody area instead of 4 and spend the extra night in the Black Hills around Mt. Rushmore because it seems there is a lot to do in that area as well.
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Crazy Momma to Raven 15, Slade 13, Denissa, Skye and Ridge 11 (yes they are triplets)from Pennsylvania who just can't stay away from Disney.
Thanks for the question! My DH and I are planning the same road trip this summer with a detour to Denver. We don't know when we are going which is creating a booking dilemma as it could be close to the 4th of July. I'd like to have some place to stay, but tent camping has been brought up. I'd like to, but am concerned about bears. When they recommend bear spray and you cant keep anything at your campsite, including water bottles, it makes me a bit nervous.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
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Thanks for the question! My DH and I are planning the same road trip this summer with a detour to Denver. We don't know when we are going which is creating a booking dilemma as it could be close to the 4th of July. I'd like to have some place to stay, but tent camping has been brought up. I'd like to, but am concerned about bears. When they recommend bear spray and you cant keep anything at your campsite, including water bottles, it makes me a bit nervous.
Inside the park is definitely concerning for bears. However, if you try Livingston or Bozeman there are some campgrounds and mountain lakes that aren't so worrisome. You could check the KOA website for the Bozeman Hot Springs. It is a nice facility that is on the outskirts of Bozeman, but, no bears to worry about. Good luck planning!
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. Jenn
Thanks for the question! My DH and I are planning the same road trip this summer with a detour to Denver. We don't know when we are going which is creating a booking dilemma as it could be close to the 4th of July. I'd like to have some place to stay, but tent camping has been brought up. I'd like to, but am concerned about bears. When they recommend bear spray and you cant keep anything at your campsite, including water bottles, it makes me a bit nervous.
I wouldn't not camp for fear of the bears.... They will likely provide bear boxes for you to store food and such in..... The NP system does a good job of keeping their campgrounds safe.... I would for sure stay *inside* the park if at all possible...
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Yellowstone questions
Crazy Momma to Raven 15, Slade 13, Denissa, Skye and Ridge 11 (yes they are triplets)from Pennsylvania who just can't stay away from Disney.
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
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