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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Greetings, it has been a long time since I've used these boards.
DH & I are meeting friends at Trader Sam's later this week & we've only attempted to go once, and were only able to sit outdoors. While that experience was still great, my friends are visiting from Australia and we'd love to sit indoors as they won't have the opportunity to get back here soon.
I know they don't take reservations, so is the best course of action to just get there as soon as possible and get on the list to go inside? I learned from AllEars that being let in isn't a guarantee for a seat, too. Any tricks there?
From what I've read it is best to get there right when it opens (at 4 PM I believe) to get a seat. And often there is a line before that time. Other than that it is a show up and get on the wait list place. I would imagine a weekday would be better than a weekend too.
Good luck!
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I want adventure in the great wide somewhere...and coffee
we visited around 4:30pm on a maybe tuesday in october (last year). it was entirely empty. i also read about the lines, but i think we were reading the same post--which was written days after it opened. i'm thinking that by now, the draw has died down.
my husband and i are going to attempt it next tuesday night. i'll report back with how that goes.
I was there a few weeks ago and people where lining up an hour and a half before it opened. But I think the majority of them wanted the new Halloween mugs.
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We are hoping to stop by after our holiday carriage ride in December around 9:30-10:00 pm on a Wednesday night. Anyone know if people are lined up at that hour?
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Goofing around at Tusker House Spring Break 2016
Michelle
We stayed at the Polynesian at the end of September, and we never saw a line. We got in twice, and we had no problems or wait in the mid afternoon--around 5ish. The CM at the front did tell us, however, that after a certain time, little ones were not allowed in, which I was not aware of (we had our 4 year old with us when we visited). I think he said 8:30, but if you were traveling with kiddos, you may want to check that.
Definitely start milling around about 3:30. There will eventually be a person with a list and pagers. The capacity is very small, but if you are early enough you should be able to get in pretty quick. Good thing is that the pager works on the patio area too, so you can wait out there if necessary. Have fun! Two shots of rum!!!!!
We stayed at the Polynesian at the end of September, and we never saw a line. We got in twice, and we had no problems or wait in the mid afternoon--around 5ish. The CM at the front did tell us, however, that after a certain time, little ones were not allowed in, which I was not aware of (we had our 4 year old with us when we visited). I think he said 8:30, but if you were traveling with kiddos, you may want to check that.
they actually make a rather loud announcement and kick out all of the kids. it's AWESOME. we were there after the luau, so i believe it was around 8pm.