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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am going with majority rules on our next trip and majority says June.
It is not my preferred time for both crowds and heat, but I intend to make the best of it. We are rope drop tourists and plan to rest midday and head back for evenings. Our week begins on Father’s Day.
Our most recent trip was over Father's Day . . . the trip before that was in August. Both were hot and humid. The biggest difference for me is that my body was more acclimated to that type of weather in August.
We did the same, went to the parks in the morning - midday break - and back in the evening. It worked well for us. Just make sure to stay hydrated. Have a great time!
I am going with majority rules on our next trip and majority says June.
It is not my preferred time for both crowds and heat, but I intend to make the best of it. We are rope drop tourists and plan to rest midday and head back for evenings. Our week begins on Father’s Day.
What do I need to know and prepare for?
We've been at Disney that exact week 7 times in the last 17 years. We usually do exactly what you plan to do -- rope drop, stay in the park until about 1-2:00, then back to the room to hang out in the a/c or swim, then back to the parks around 6:00. We also do one or two "sleep in" days where we don't get to the parks until mid afternoon and then stay through park close. We find that to be tolerable as well.
It can definitely be very hot and humid (real feel can be in the low 100's) but we've also had weeks with 4-5 days that are in the upper 80's (as opposed to upper 90's) and tolerable humidity. We've never had a ton of rain during that week in June. I think that at least 2 of those weeks we never saw any rain (it either didn't rain at the park we were in or it rained during the night while we were sleeping) and we've never had anything more than a few hours of rain most of the other trips.
While I would love to go a different/cooler time of year (we did go in May one year -- had 14" of rain over the 7 days we were there. Temps were good and crowds were low, though!), until our kids all graduate from high school (5 more years!), we're pretty much stuck with going in June due to school and sports schedules. It might not be the ideal time to go, but I'd rather go in June than not at all.
We’ve been at that time, too. Your midday break will be welcome, and since that’s what you’re used to doing, you won’t need to change your pattern.
We have found that really anytime after mid-May, the weather will be hot, humid, and quite rainy at that time of the year. We just poncho up and trek on. The rain tends to come more in the afternoons and evenings, and the thunderstorms can be intense, but we just carry on as best we can.
You’re right, Katie. Just make the best of it. After all, you’re still at Disney!
We used to routinely go the second two weeks of June. The first week seemed slightly better weather-wise and crowd-wise. The temperatures and crowds went up as we moved through the trip. We also experienced almost daily rain in the late afternoon. Eventually, I planned our evening meals around 5:00 PM so we'd already be inside. These rains were usually brief.
Get cooling towels with a carrying case. I have one from Disney. I put ice in the case in the morning and I have a cold towel for a while and I can always get more ice at the parks. I always carry it in the summer.
Be prepared to leave AK early, around noon. My friend and I were there over the summer and we ended up in the Tiffins bar for 3+ hours as it was just too hot to be out.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell