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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 anticipate our WDW trip to coincide with the Princess Race in February 2018. It would be fun to see, and I'm totally motivated to up my fitness game just browsing these posts (thank you!). I do wonder, though, about how the race influences park and resort attendance and activities. Do MK and Epcot (projected race routes, I think) stay crowded for most of the day, or do the race crowds thin out? Are there eateries that typically get overloaded ? Are certain resorts booked more than others? Any insight would be great in helping us plan ahead. And in the meanwhile, best wishes with all the training!
Hi! Overall, the races don't effect park attendance a whole lot, except for Saturday and especially Sunday night as runners go out to celebrate. It's becoming a very busy time of year/weekend for Disney anyway, over the last few years as noted by the price increase of hotels. So do the runners really add that much more to the crowds? Not necessarily. I'd say no.
Do MK and Epcot (projected race routes, I think) stay crowded for most of the day, or do the race crowds thin out?
No, as noted above, the parks aren't notably extra crowded, except perhaps Epcot more so at night. Celebratory drinks and all. As far as the mornings of race days go, on Sunday, the runners are out of MK by 9am anyway, and should be out of Epcot by 11am ish. And on Saturday (the 10K), Epcot really shouldn't show many signs of a race that morning by park opening either. Except in the far left parking lot.
Are there eateries that typically get overloaded ?
Yes! Most notably the food courts at the hotels - the pasta offering section will have a line for lunch and dinner Friday and Saturday. Generally, the hotel food courts will be busier on Friday and Saturday nights as well as runners are trying to eat an early dinner and head to bed early as well. (they have to catch the last bus from hotels by 4am to make it to the race on time)
Usually Sunday night ADR's could be hard to find too as the runners go out to celebrate. Potentially Saturday night too (for the 10K only runners) and Monday morning breakfast ADR's too. So if you have your heart set on a certain place Sat/Sun/Mon, get that ADR as soon as you can.
Are certain resorts booked more than others?
Usually it's value resorts that runners stay at the most, in my experience. That said, I know a lot of runners who opt for the convenience of the monorail post-race and only stay at MK resorts. And then there's those who only stay at Epcot resorts so they can get their medal and walk back to their room via Epcot. I guess this is to say - we're all over the place! So choose your resort now as it will only fill up more as it gets closer with crazy runners.
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Tanya
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Thank you, Disney Duke! I appreciate your expertise! This definitely helps me anticipate a few things, and I definitely feel more confident in how to proceed with my plans.
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I forgot to mention traffic and detours on Sunday morning. Saturday really should be A-ok. But Sunday, the route goes from Epcot to MK and back to Epcot. Last runner crosses the start line about 6:30 or so. 9am is *usually* the hard sweep at MK. So theoretically, the last runner should be leaving MK by 8:45ISH. The last of the runners will be then be coming back down World Drive to Epcot.
So, if you were planning an early morning on Sunday at either MK or Epcot, leave your resort at least 30 minutes earlier than you normally would. I would even advise to leave 45-1 hour earlier. Roads are closed and buses/cars have to take some strange detours to get there! You can still get there, but it could take longer is what I'm saying.
That said, if you do end up at Epcot that morning and see the runners in Futureland, please cheer them on!! Names are printed on their bibs and I can't tell you how much of a boost it is at that point in the race (the last mile) to have a little encouragement.
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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As far as the mornings of race days go, on Sunday, the runners are out of MK by 9am anyway, and should be out of Epcot by 11am ish. And on Saturday (the 10K), Epcot really shouldn't show many signs of a race that morning by park opening either. Except in the far left parking lot. 
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