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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
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Let me say that both DD and I were disappointed with Soarin'. We hoped doing a second run-through would change our minds, but no. I like the old one better. This new one has too many CGI additions in it. In fact, its hard sometimes telling if areas are real as they look so digitized (Taj Mahal, I'm looking at you). Also, they tried to be clever with the transitions between areas.....and it worked to some extent but obvious CGI.
We both walked away wishing it had been a new version of the old film.
BTW, we were supposed to see it in the new theater, but when we got down there, it was broken down so we had to turn around and go to one of the old theaters.
I rope dropped it Wed 6/22. From the rope drop next to Fountainview, to walking off the ride, it was 25 minutes. Wish I had rope dropped TT instead as it broke down and it took us 2 hrs from getting in line to walking off the ride. We could have standby-ed Soarin later that day in 45 minutes or less.
We were at Epcot on 6/22 as well. I didn't realize that TT had broken down that day. I'm glad we rode it standby at rope drop!
Soarin has always been one of my favorites and I'm sure the new version will be impressive also!
Unfortunately, we will not be at WDW till Christmas 2017- which is nearly a year and half a way..... But we will be at Disneyland in less than a year/June 2017- and it sounds like they have the new version also?
Two of my boys will be down there this coming Thanksgiving- I'll have to tell them not to give me any spoilers.... I haven't seen a video or anything and I don't want to....
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We rode the new Soarin' twice today. Once with a posted 20 minute wait that actually took about 20 minutes! And then again with a FP. We had quite a different experience each time. The first time, we were directly in the center of the center section. Everything was amazing!! Then.... the second time, we were as far to the left as you can be. Much of the picture was totally distorted and bent. It was really bizarre. The Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower were completely curved to the right. If at all possible, ask to sit in the center section!
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"Any wish is possible. All it takes is a little courage to set it free." -Jiminy Cricket
We rode it today and we all loved it. Test track and Frozen Ever After consistently had higher wait times than Soarin'. Soarin was averaging around 45 minutes, test track closer to an hour. I saw a 120 minute posted wait time for frozen ever after tonight around 6:30 . The lowest I saw was 45 minutes.
We rode it today and we all loved it. Test track and Frozen Ever After consistently had higher wait times than Soarin'. Soarin was averaging around 45 minutes, test track closer to an hour. I saw a 120 minute posted wait time for frozen ever after tonight around 6:30 . The lowest I saw was 45 minutes.
That's good to know for FP+ planning as I assume they're all in the same tier. Thanks!
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I want adventure in the great wide somewhere...and coffee
Let me say that both DD and I were disappointed with Soarin'. We hoped doing a second run-through would change our minds, but no. I like the old one better. This new one has too many CGI additions in it. In fact, its hard sometimes telling if areas are real as they look so digitized (Taj Mahal, I'm looking at you). Also, they tried to be clever with the transitions between areas.....and it worked to some extent but obvious CGI.
We both walked away wishing it had been a new version of the old film.
BTW, we were supposed to see it in the new theater, but when we got down there, it was broken down so we had to turn around and go to one of the old theaters.
I agree with you 100%. We were lucky enough to be in DL the weekend it opened there and I was disappointed for all the reasons you listed. Hope I'll feel differently when I see it again in WDW next Spring, but I'm doubtful
The reviews seem wonderful!! We don't have a trip planned soon, so I may have to watch videos to see it. I just don't think the experience can be complete without the smells though...Anyone want to share a spoiler with that? Orange Groves? Pine Trees? Curry?
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"Disneyland has that thing - the imagination and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid."
--Walt Disney
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