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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What a fun update!!! I loved the headboard in your room and it was a great view of all the hotels and park! I don't usually take the time to watch the parades or shows but you really captured some nice pics of them. I know Fantasmic is going to be down when we go in October and that's the show I really wanted to see but at least the WOC will be still available to watch. I loved your PP pics of the runaway train.
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What a nice room you have with a nice view! Love that backboard! Great photos from Fantasmic and love the Steamboat Willie one! You got some good attractions in, nice PP pics and a nice meal! Quite a successful evening!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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If anyone is still interested, I'm going to finish this TR! I actually have it nearly completely written, so it's a matter of finding time to post, but I'm aiming for daily (or almost daily ) updates. This unfinished TR has been hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Now you're making me feel bad for all the things we missed at Disneyland, like the afternoon parade, Fantasmic!... oh well, I guess there's a good reason to go back anyway. By the way, what was the show you went to just after the parade? I don't think I missed the name of it...
That show is called Mickey and the Magical Map. And with a trip as short as yours was, you have to pick the highlights (and the heat certainly didn't help ), but any reason to go back is a good one! And I'll tag along!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I love the view from your room, and the headboard is so interesting! This update has verified what I already knew, we need to go back. We missed the afternoon parade and Magical Map. When I was editing my Fantasmic! photos and came to the black and white Steamboat Willie, I at first wondered if I'd messed with some setting on my camera until I remembered he was in B&W. Cool touch!
I think the DLH is my favorite Disney resort because of all the cool little Disney touches everywhere. It feels like Disney.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Your BTMRR pictures are so funny! The three of you did well hamming it up.
And the headboard IS !
Great afternoon and evening.
It was a lot of fun doing the Photopass spots (with one major exception - but more on that in the TR).
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
What a fun update!!! I loved the headboard in your room and it was a great view of all the hotels and park! I don't usually take the time to watch the parades or shows but you really captured some nice pics of them. I know Fantasmic is going to be down when we go in October and that's the show I really wanted to see but at least the WOC will be still available to watch. I loved your PP pics of the runaway train.
The nighttime entertainment at the DLR parks are really worth seeing! They're all great and worth seeing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
What a nice room you have with a nice view! Love that backboard! Great photos from Fantasmic and love the Steamboat Willie one! You got some good attractions in, nice PP pics and a nice meal! Quite a successful evening!
It really was a great evening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Love the photos with the BTMRR backdrop! They are hilarious.
Great photos of Fantasmic!
Thanks! It was a lot of fun taking those pics!
Quote:
Originally Posted by benchley
Wonderful parade and Fantasmic show. There more I see the more determined I am that we will visit the East coast.
Fantasmic is so great, but it's spoiled me and makes me always want to skip it at Hollywood Studios because it isn't as good there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
What a great time in DL! Mickey and the Magical Map looks great. We missed that. Something for next time!
It's a cute show and I'm glad Karen included it in the itinerary!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SharonK0527
Sounds like a very fun day! Dinner looked good and the castle was very beautiful all lit up at night!
It was a great ending to a great day.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Day Seven – Tuesday, September 8 A good reason to ride the Matterhorn
I was up early as usual and spent some time catching up my notes. I was up early enough that I even had time to post a quick update on the boards! Karen and I had breakfast in the lounge and then headed down for Early Entry at Disneyland.
Early Entry wasn’t very early at all, and there were big crowds (relatively speaking). We headed straight for Peter Pan, but we were greeted with a queue that extended out onto the walkway. Karen decided to skip it and try to ride it first thing on our next DL morning. We instead rode one of my FL favorites, Alice in Wonderland.
It had been recently refurbished and I enjoyed the new effects and the general spiffiness of it. Is spiffiness a word? Well, Word didn’t put a little red squiggly line under it, so I suppose it is a word after all. Where was I? Oh yes, Alice in Wonderland!
This is my favorite scene in the entire ride – and I can never get a photo in focus
Next was the Matterhorn. The queue was rather long, but it’s fast-moving, so it wasn’t long before we were boarding. This had also recently been refurbished and a new Yeti installed. I hadn’t watched any video of it or anything because I wanted to see it for myself. WOW! He’s amazing! It was so realistic I felt like he actually would start running after us! It made me sad for the poor, broken yeti at EE (which I’ve been told is actually not broken anymore, but now hits itself in the head – I would pay a lot of cold hard cash to see that! ).
We went and grabbed FPs for Star Tours and then rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. I like that I can actually remove the laser gun and aim better, but somehow it never gets me a high score. Go figure! Good thing, too, because Karen takes this very seriously and isn’t above beating the poop out of you to make your score lower. True story!
Something went wrong with our ride photo – Karen had my score and I had no score at all. Maybe Disney recognized Karen and fixed it so she’d have the higher score no matter what, just to prevent in-park violence?
Next we went to ride Snow White, but we saw Aurora, so we stopped to say hello.
Then we headed for the Snow White ride, which I make it a priority to ride now that it’s WDW counterpart is no more.
It’s not uncommon to see characters wandering about at Disneyland, but you often see entertainment just randomly pop up. That morning we saw the band riding the carousel!
I enjoyed our ride on SWSA.
We followed it up with Pinocchio’s Daring Journey.
Then, Captain Hook seemed to be lurking around, so we figured we’d keep him out of trouble.
Then we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room. And got Dole Whips. The Tiki Room and Dole Whips go together like peanut butter and jelly.
We decided to explore Tom Sawyer Island for a bit. I remember we had a short wait for the raft, but it seemed like an eternity in the hot sun! I forgot to mention it was over 100 degrees again.
After returning from Tom Sawyer Island, we headed to Critter Country.
I don’t remember exactly when we stopped for the Haunted Mansion Photopass stop, but it seems logical that this is when it was, so I’m adding it here.
We look like we’re singing here – it’s okay, though, because we were singing “Grim Grinning Ghosts”
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Yay, I'm definitely still interested and I'm so happy to see you back, especially as I was only thinking about you earlier - seriously, no word of a lie!
We used our Indy FPs that we picked up some time (I didn’t put it in my notes, so I don’t remember when it was). This is a must-do attraction for me. The queue is one of the first (if not the first) interactive queues. Lots of fun gags, but I rarely have time to play with anything, particularly when going through the FP queue.
With that done, we went for an exotic cruise.
I invariably forget about the piranhas and am surprised by them every time. Perhaps next time I'll remember in time to get a photo.
After the Jungle Cruise, we did some shopping on Main Street. I was pleased to see the fall decorations going up, even though the temperature was less than fall-like.
Note: the weather person can’t even get the forecast right in real time!
Best jack-o-lantern ever!
And I got to enjoy the new interactive windows on Main Street. They are amazing and I hope they bring them to WDW. Very cool and clever! One window can tell a whole story now.
I got better photos later in the trip. On our way out of the park, we encountered Cruella DeVil entertaining her public.
She was replaced by Chip and Dale…
And some firemen joined in.
And finally, Goofy, which made me very happy!
We walked through Downtown Disney, checking out some merchandise a bit on the way but not actually shopping. I did pop into the LEGO store to get a better photo of this.
We’d been texting back and forth with Cheryl, so we knew they would be arriving to check in at the Grand Californian very soon. Cheryl had already let us know that they were tired and hot and wanted to rest and freshen up, but Karen and I figured we’d pop over and say hello to them as they were checking in!
They weren’t in the lobby when we got there, so I did a bit of exploring while we waited for them. They had this fabulous castle made of gingerbread (I love edible displays). Unfortunately, I must have been so wrapped up in looking at all the little details that I neglected to get a photo of it. Odd, because I remember taking it, but maybe I accidentally deleted it.
After a bit, Karen thought she spotted them going past us. I had been daydreaming and would’ve completely missed them! Karen and I walked over to greet them. After a quick chat, we let them get checked in and settled before their big night, while we headed for a break in the lounge back at the DLH.
Up Next: A one-two punch (and no, I’m not talking about riding Buzz Lightyear with Karen again )
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Glad to see you back and I had forgotten that you hadn't completed this TR! You're certainly feast or famine with these! Great photos of your day and can't believe the temps, although, Cam and Chezp bot h mentioned in their TRs how crazily hot and humid it was! Not a Fall like day as you said except for maybe Death Valley or the Sahara!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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I know Fantasmic is going to be down when we go in October and that's the show I really wanted to see but at least the WOC will be still available to watch. I loved your PP pics of the runaway train.
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Thank
Pixie Dust
) updates. This unfinished TR has been hanging over my head like the Sword of Damocles. 
By the way, what was the show you went to just after the parade? I don't think I missed the name of it...
), but any reason to go back is a good one! 
This update has verified what I already knew, we need to go back. We missed the afternoon parade and Magical Map. 
When I was editing my Fantasmic! photos and came to the black and white Steamboat Willie, I at first wondered if I'd messed with some setting on my camera until I remembered he was in B&W. Cool touch! 
Well, Word didn’t put a little red squiggly line under it, so I suppose it is a word after all. Where was I? Oh yes, Alice in Wonderland!
True story! 
I forgot to mention it was over 100 degrees again.
PassPorter Guide Author
After a quick chat, we let them get checked in and settled before their big night, while we headed for a break in the lounge back at the DLH.
You're certainly feast or famine with these! 
Great photos of your day and can't believe the temps, although, Cam and Chezp bot h mentioned in their TRs how crazily hot and humid it was! 
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