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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Not quite correct. Unless something has changed recently, you can "legally" get another fast pass once you are within (or later than) the entry window on your first pass.
And actually just to add to this-- some CMs at the really popular rides like Soarin or Splash Mountain often won't accept fast passing that are too long overdue. We saw people turned away at both our last trip!
1) On the ride SOARIN, there's the Mickey logo on the golf ball flying through the air and fireworks displays Mickey's image.
2) On the Carousel of Progress - last scene, there's a Mickey Nutcracker on the mantel.
On our next trip, I'm going to buy the Hidden Mickey book just because it's so much fun for everyone. And makes for a good distracting conversation waiting in lines...
Tips:
1)FASTPASS isn't always faster. Recently experienced our FASTPASS for RockNRoll Roller Coaster @ 10:00a.m. it was a 8:30pm return!! We opted for the Single Rider Line. Almost the same for Expedition Everest - kids rode several more times in the Single Rider Line with minimal time wait at peak times.
Yes, you can use FASTPASS later than the alloted return time but you cannot scan another FASTPASS until that return window has arrived.
2) Naps - yep the old reliable midday nap - 2-3 hrs back in the room, just resting (not playing video games or watching television) and "decompressing" can work wonders.
3)Agree that some things you may just miss/skip. Arguments and stress aren't worth a 30 second ride unless you're able to see through the whining and exhaustion. Plan and pick wisely.
Just a note about having more than one fast pass - I tried getting a second fastpass not long after getting the first (forgetting there is a time on the pass telling you when you can get your next one) and I got a slip of paper the same size as a fast pass with the ride logo on top saying "This is not a valid fastpass". It obviously won't get you on the ride, but it's something cool (and out of the ordinary) to put in the scrapbook.
I know it's painful to many of us to hear, but it's absolutely true: wake up early. Be there for the opening of the park. The day that my mom and I did that (the guys wouldn't even consider it) we literally walked right onto almost all of the rides until well after lunch. The longest wait we had (till after lunch) was 5 minutes at It's A Small World. That was the only day we got to get to a park at opening and it was the only day we weren't standing in lines all day.
The biggest tip I have though is not to stress. We had alot of people cutting infront of us in lines for rides (especially RnR) saying they had to meet up with their families and my dad and I freaked out and refused them, but it just ended up ruining our day. I'd rather let people get in front of me, wait another 2 minutes in line, and have a calm day than to keep them from passing us and be angry at everyone for the rest of the day. Just don't let that stuff bother you. (I think alot of this had to do with the fact that there were so many high school groups there while we were there. It was 99% teen girls doing that cutting.)
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.
1. The petting zoo and horse barn at Fort Wilderness. This is such a wonderful break from the parks. The barn is full of memoralbilia and the horses are just beautiful. Definitely worth the boat ride ( or walk on the trail from WL) 2. The nature trail between WL and FW. Very nice peaceful walk, nice way to decompress a little.
Has anyone ever met Lucky at AK? He is a robotic dinosaur. He has toured all the Disney parks. I haven't ever met him but ask a CM if Lucky is there.
Get to TSI early to look for the paintbrush. They get gone quick!
Try to get to a park before opening. Most of the parks put on special opening shows. The characters ride in on the train at MK. Minnie and Goofy greet guest as Mickey is at the Tree of Life in AK. A bus of characters shows up in front of SE at Epcot. Not sure what DHS does.
No, I didn't get to see Lucky. I saw a show that had clips of him and got all excited about seeing him, but then I realized it was taped a couple of years earlier, long after Lucky had left WDW. I saw that there was another version that featured Bunson and Beaker from the Muppets, but I missed them, too.
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OK so I have read almost all of these! How many of these are outdated? Can anyone take on the task of getting rid of the repeats or outdated one? I was just wondering!
Not really a secret but kind of a funny disney lore that they play up there. In Cinderella's Royal Table, we were there on a very hot and humid day (August-ewww1) and with the air conditioning going at full blast we got dripped on by the build up of condensation. The server noticed apologized and told me to keep the secret that up in the "attic" is where Walt's frozen body is stored and it may be thawing! Weird, but i tell everyone about that story. the dumb ones say, "really?"
Probably not a secret either, but at AKL they have periodic "barbecue/wieny roasts" and you can get (rent?) night vision goggles to watch the animals at night. I don't know if that would be all that cool without having lions actually out at the section.
I haven't seen it but I read in an article that there is a rock on Discovery Island at AK that has holes in it that act like telescopes and are aimed at certain animals in the Tree of Life
Stole this from another article--the huge "rock" in the Canada Pavillion houses some of the electronics for Illuminations and open up as the show is about to begin!
When you go into the shop Tinkerbelles Treasures look for tinkerbelle flying through the show. I have also heard that if you look through the vanity keyhole you will see a quick flash of light! Another secert is the Lady and the Tramp paw prints outside Tonys restaraunt. there is also a statue of goofy that says "well howdy there!" every 30 seconds or so on main street. Pick up the telephone in the main street ice cream palor to listen in on a phone call between a mother and her daughter. Have fun finding!
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.