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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 think this is when Karen went back to the DLH for her conference call. I think it must have been, because I seemed to do a little wandering around. When I’m with Karen, I’m not the one making decisions about what to do – I let her do it. So when I actually have to switch to thinking mode, I struggle a bit.
BTMRR had a 5-minute standby time, so riding that was a no brainer luckily
And Haunted Mansion Holiday was almost ready. Its official opening date was the very next day. I was sort of hoping for a soft opening sneak peek, but that didn’t happen. I’d just have to ride it the next day as planned.
Then I decided to do Splash Mountain because there’s a single riders line and it was freakin’ hot.
I noticed there was a hole in my t-shirt how embarrassing!!, so I decided to head on back to the DLH to change. I didn’t mind too much (well, I’m sad I had to throw away my TOT T-shirt, but I’ve got more) because a black t-shirt in the blazing sun was making me slightly miserable.
Karen was finished with her conference call, so after a quick snack in the lounge (and changing my clothes of course) we headed back to the park. First, Karen and I stopped for a few Photopass pictures.
Then we went to ride Splash Mountain. I think we’d picked up FPs for it earlier that day. Or maybe Karen did. I don’t remember. Here’s our ride photo…
We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride and then spent some time browsing the shops. We spotted Eeyore out greeting his fans but it was too hot. I sent Chez a text to let her know we’d spotted her donkey, but it was too hot for her to stand in a queue out in the sun. So that tells you just how hot it was!
I loved the fall-themed treats available in the shop.
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Karen and I had both heard rumors that Star Wars Land may be taking the place of Big Thunder Ranch, so we made a point to go spend some quality time there, just in case it would be our last opportunity.
We saw Jesse with nobody waiting to meet her, so we rectified that. A CM here told us that they’d been given the official word that Big Thunder Ranch would officially be closing. Well, I expect Star Wars Land will be a home run, so it’s easier to accept, I guess. Here’s our pic with Jesse, by the way.
After meeting Jesse, I got some more photos.
I this one so much!
I’m guessing we headed to Fantasyland from there, because my next photos are from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. I love getting the chance to ride this Disney classic.
The rest of our plans for the day were over at DCA, so we headed out of the park, but stopped to enjoy Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln on the way.
We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride and then spent some time browsing the shops. We spotted Eeyore out greeting his fans but it was too hot. I sent Chez a text to let her know we’d spotted her donkey, but it was too hot for her to stand in a queue out in the sun. So that tells you just how hot it was!
Oh my goodness, to this day, I still cannot believe that is what I texted back. I never thought that would happen in a million years. It was just so appallingly hot, the prospect of walking over there (I think we were at the park entrance maybe?) and then standing in the heat was just not going to happen.
Oswald was on the schedule and Karen confirmed that he’d be making an appearance soon. We spent a little time exploring nearby until he arrived.
We encountered some streetmosphere performers.
And there was some candy making going on, too.
Then Oswald made an appearance. We were waiting so were first in line to greet him. He’s very cute!
And there are also bonus Photopass photos.
I was glad we got the chance to meet him, because as far as I know, that’s the only place he makes appearances.
We walked through Grizzly Peak to our next destination. I love the new look. It really reminded me of a National Park.
Love this old car!
We stopped at the special Photopass spot in Grizzly Peak. The photographer was super, super chatty, but out shots came out cute!
And another bonus pic…
I love passing the entrance to the Grand Californian while you’re strolling along inside the park.
Then we took a spin on California Screamin’. Woot!
And after that, a photo shoot.
Bonus picture.
We were having such great luck with the Photopass photographers that we decided to try again at the Bug’s Life spot. Much better results this time! (Remember, last time we got one boring shot with Karen and me just standing there ).
What a difference a CM makes!
We decided it was a good time to take a break, so we went back to the DLH.
Up Next: DCA at night
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
I remember you guys saying you'd been first in line for Oswald. I would've loved to have seen him, but again it would've meant standing outside in the searing heat and that was so not going to happen. If I wouldn't do it for my donkey boy, I couldn't do it for him.
Love the pictures! Did Mr. Toads Wild with my DS24 in January and he told me afterwards that he was glad he didn't ride it when he was 6 as he would have been SO confused as to what was happening. We did a LOT of laughing on that ride. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
All of your PhotoPass photos are terrific! I love DL's version of iasw. Starting outside seemed so magical. I couldn't believe that I was finally getting to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for the first time anywhere ever. And I loved it! Really every update of yours I read I'm read to go back, but I've also been thinking I may need Karen to help me plan it because you two get so much done.
I loved this update!!! Your photo pass pictures are the best! You both certainly got a lot done on this day even with the extreme heat. I'll have to look for Oswald when we go in September.
Oh my goodness, to this day, I still cannot believe that is what I texted back. I never thought that would happen in a million years. It was just so appallingly hot, the prospect of walking over there (I think we were at the park entrance maybe?) and then standing in the heat was just not going to happen.
It's kind of sad that you didn't get a chance to see your donkey at Disneyland.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I remember you guys saying you'd been first in line for Oswald. I would've loved to have seen him, but again it would've meant standing outside in the searing heat and that was so not going to happen. If I wouldn't do it for my donkey boy, I couldn't do it for him.
Oswald was super cute, but even he didn't want to come out in the heat! We tried to see him earlier in the trip, but his appearance was cancelled because of the high temperatures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Baloo
Love the pictures! Did Mr. Toads Wild with my DS24 in January and he told me afterwards that he was glad he didn't ride it when he was 6 as he would have been SO confused as to what was happening. We did a LOT of laughing on that ride. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Mr. Toad's is a wild ride in more ways than one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Lots accomplished!
Love the photos, especially with Oswald - he's really cute!
Oh my goodness, he is cute. And his little puffy bunny tail is adorable! Wish I'd taken a picture of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
All of your PhotoPass photos are terrific! I love DL's version of iasw. Starting outside seemed so magical. I couldn't believe that I was finally getting to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for the first time anywhere ever. And I loved it! Really every update of yours I read I'm read to go back, but I've also been thinking I may need Karen to help me plan it because you two get so much done.
Save
Karen is definitely a planning guru. The BASS is a thing to behold. And I'll nominate Karen to be your personal guide on your next trip. And I'll have to go too, to supervise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
I loved this update!!! Your photo pass pictures are the best! You both certainly got a lot done on this day even with the extreme heat. I'll have to look for Oswald when we go in September.
We did get a lot done, in spite of the wicked temps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Love all the photopass photos!!! I wish they had these backdrops at WDW.
Me too! They were so much fun.
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Back at the DLH, Karen and I spent some time at the pool (Karen went down the slide – it looks fun, but I haven’t tried it because I never want to get my hair wet ).
I think this was the day it was supposed to rain. We saw rain clouds up in the mountains. It even got very windy like it was going to rain, but it never actually rained. The weather mojo, she is strong. Too bad, because they really needed the rain, and I wouldn’t have minded it raining and cooling things down a bit. We got ready for our dinner package and then headed out.
I’d had one meal at Carthay Circle before and it was delicious, so I was looking forward to eating there again. Also, it’s always fun having dinner with Cheryl & Mark.
We were seated in a little room that had a balcony. The parade was going on and we were allowed to go out and watch it there. Cheryl and I of course took the opportunity to get some photos from a unique perspective.
Oh boy, did they need the rain! We heard that from so many people and we were commenting that we were surprised Disney didn't highlight that to guests in the bathroom about water conservation, as we were told that they desperately need to do that in California.
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I think it must have been, because I seemed to do a little wandering around. 
When I’m with Karen, I’m not the one making decisions about what to do – I let her do it. So when I actually have to switch to thinking mode, I struggle a bit. 
I’d just have to ride it the next day as planned.
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A CM here told us that they’d been given the official word that Big Thunder Ranch would officially be closing. 
this one so much! 
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It was just so appallingly hot, the prospect of walking over there (I think we were at the park entrance maybe?) and then standing in the heat was just not going to happen. 
We were waiting so were first in line to greet him. He’s very cute! 
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