Forums Closed
|
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
|
|
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
|
 |
02-11-2016, 08:20 PM
|
#1
|
PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
|
Feature Article: Preparing Your Special Needs Child for a Disney Trip - Part 1 - A Walt Disney World Planning Article
Preparing Your Special Needs Child for a Disney Trip - Part 1 - A Walt Disney World Planning Article
by Lauren Cataldi-May
Taking a child with special needs to Disney World usually brings anxiety and stress to parents before the trip even begins.
How will they travel? How will they react to rides? What will they eat? These are all questions I always worry about before our annual trip to Disney World with my special needs child. All children with special needs thrive on previewing new and different things. When you preview anything for a child with special needs, you help relieve some of the stress of the unknown for them. There are a few things I always do before I leave on our trip to make the trip successful. One of the most helpful tools I have found for helping my child preview before our trip is YouTube. We watch videos of rides a couple of weeks before our trip begins. You can find videos of the stage shows, musicals, fireworks, and rides. My son loves fast rides, so we watch ride videos of Expedition Everest, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Test Track, just to name a few. Many of the videos found on YouTube have the queue as well as the ride itself. Previewing what the wait will look like is also helpful, as many children with special needs have a difficult time with waiting to get on a ride.
Another great preview site is wdwvirtualvisit.com. You can watch a ride from the Ticket and Transportation Center to Epcot, walk around Epcot, and go on some rides in the various parks. Being able to preview what it looks like inside the parks is a helpful tool for special needs children. They can become very overwhelmed by the music inside the parks and all of the noise made inside the parks. When previewing the walks around the parks, ask your child what they notice. When you are at the parks, make it a point to review what you noticed in the videos. This will help your child make the connections from previewing the videos and help with the transitions while in the parks.
Using social stories can also help children with special needs preview what to expect. A social story details what will happen and how the child should react. For example, you could make a social story about traveling on the bus at Disney World. You could put a picture of the bus, how to sit on the bus, how to wait patiently on the bus, and how to exit the bus. You can make one through power point and then show it on your computer or print it out. Having the social story with you at the place will also help your child to cope during the moment. Special needs children can often have specific food allergies, special diets, or can be picky eaters. Make sure you know where your child can eat before you go to the quick service places and the sit down restaurants. There are a couple of resources to help with the menu planning. Allears.net has all of the menus and some pictures of the food. You can sit down with your child and ask them where they would like to eat. This is particularly helpful if you need to make your dining reservations at the 180 day mark. Other helpful places to look for menus are the Disney Food Blog and Disney's dining reservation site.
When planning a trip, I also remember to pack toys, food items, and other positive reinforcers that may be helpful to have for my child, especially when transitioning to different activities. You can involve your child and ask them what toys or reinforcers they would like to bring. My son, who has autism, has sensory issues with chewing on toys. I pack sensory chewable toys so that he can have something to chew on when he becomes frustrated or needs sensory input time. Packing items that help with transitions from rides and items that help with transitions leaving the parks are a must. My son has a difficult time transitioning off of rides, so I remember to pack gummy bears to help with those transitions.
If you are flying, the airlines are great at accommodating children with special needs. Before we flew with my son the first time, I contacted my local airport who put me in touch with my specific airline. This airline walked us through security so my son would not have to wait in line, let us preview a plane before he flew, and let us pre-board so my son could choose where he wanted to sit. This took a ton of anxiety off of my husband and I who were not sure how my son would react to flying.
Taking a trip to Walt Disney World can cause anxiety. Taking a trip with your special needs child can cause tremendous anxiety. Doing some of these strategies with your child will help alleviate your stress, as well as your child's stress. Enjoy your trip and remember to take as many photos as you can - so you can preview those photos for your next trip!
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 02-08-2016 10:02 AM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
