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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are Passholders at WDW, and have visited the World many times. We have dealt with a GAC at FL for the last 15 years.
This was our first GAC at Disneyland, and we were pleasantly shocked at the difference for handicapped people.
In CA -
1 - There were NO issues with Cast Members about stopping a belt to board the ride. They were all pleasant - offering to do all they could to help us. The rides were new ones & older ones - it didn't matter to them. (MK in FL has given so many problems in stopping the belt on HM & on The Little Mermaid. Peter Pan cannot be stopped at all. I finally got on Jungle Cruise!)
2 - Many rides in CA had accessible cars loading away from the loading area (just like Toy Story Mania in FL.)
3 - We were NEVER treated as if we were annoying in any way. Try that in FL!
4 - I felt so much more accepted in CA. Why can't the attitudes of CMs be adjusted to this level in FL??? (I didn't ask to have physical issues. Please don't get annoyed with me & roll your eyes. Yes, I am slow.)
All things considered - a handicapped individual is better accepted in California. Why is it so awful in Florida? Why do we get "screamed at" in Florida for having needs? Yes, needs - not wants! I have never left a Florida trip without some type of controversy by CMs.
Get with it, WDW! You are behind DLand in kindness!
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Location: Davenport, Florida 20 minutes from the mouse
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I am with you. I find Disneyland much easier. It was my home park. Just moved from CA to FL. I am now adjusting to WDW. At WDW, the cm's have been ok, just not as friendly at the attractions. More so at MK than the other parks. No complaints from me...yet.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
I, too, found it much more difficult in DLR than at WDW and also found the CMs much more attentive and friendly in Florida!
For me it's the opposite. I can ride Pirates, and Thunder Mountain without having to transfer from my scooter. I can take my scooter down on HM, where they stop the walkway. Never had any problems with the CM's at Disneyland.
For me it's the opposite. I can ride Pirates, and Thunder Mountain without having to transfer from my scooter. I can take my scooter down on HM, where they stop the walkway. Never had any problems with the CM's at Disneyland.
At DLR I often couldn't find a CM when I wanted to ride. I'd get into a queue with my scooter, not being able to find anyone to ask about access, then I'd be accosted after a while by an angry CM pointing me in the direction I should go with the scooter. Sorry, can't remember details of which rides. It's true, though, that at WDW the Pirate's ride is a problem! (Hope you're enjoying being a Floridian!)
This is interesting to see different takes on these parks. I was with Deb in DL and there were many comments about how it was less handicapped-friendly than WDW.
I toured DL with another PassPorter a few weeks ago, and we both felt DL was less "Magical" than WDW overall, particularly in the attitudes of the cast members. I noticed, though, that it was a very busy Saturday and the next day everyone, guests and CMs alike, were calmer.
As far as access, I have to say I saw some major rudeness in DL Carsland Radiator Springs regarding special needs by one cast member. I also saw some reasonable understanding. The rudeness was on the Saturday when it was so crowded, so maybe that was a part of it.
Sometimes it just depends on the individual CM. Maybe it's the same as going into a restaurant and, sometimes, you are unlucky and you get the bad waitress. (I know it shouldn't be that way, but, sometimes you get the cranky, insensitive CM in either park.)
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I, too, found it much more difficult in DLR than at WDW and also found the CMs much more attentive and friendly in Florida!
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