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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 have 4, and the funny thing is that age has no limit on being concerned or intimidated about things. My 15 yo DD HATES ITTBAB, and HISTA, since she dislikes the feeling of little things crawling over her (even if they ARE just air jets ). The light is a really good idea, BUT, when we were there last week, I saw several CM's ask parents to turn off any lights, strobes, etc. What they DID allow was anything that glowed. I would trot over to your nearest dollar store and stock up on glow sticks, bracelets, necklaces, etc. Then you could have special glow things for special rides, if she wants.
I have always felt really strongly that everyone tries things when THEY are ready, not someone else. Sometimes it seems like you will NEVER get to ride EE, but it happens so quickly, the "Well, off to college! Love you! Bye!". Treasure this time with your family, and don't stress about the small stuff...Really, riding the "big" rides is not the most important thing. THAT would be the hugs and giggles and wondering gasps that you savor forever in your heart!
Have a wonderful time!!!
Everytime we went to get on a ride my middle child would ask me about what was going to happen on this ride. I explained the ride to her her before she got on. I let them know that it will be dark or if there is a little hill, etc.....
I told her that there is nothing bad that is going to happend to them. I will be right next to her the whole time and if she got scared all she had to do is tell me and I would put my arms around her and she closed her eyes. This worked really well. After the first few rides with her not seeing a thing she got curious about what was going on and finally decided that she was going to start looking and by the early afternoon she was riding everything without ducking under my arms.
Just remember that they trust you so dont lie to them becuase they wont believe you the next time and your trip will be ruined because she wont go on anything else.
Everytime we went to get on a ride my middle child would ask me about what was going to happen on this ride. I explained the ride to her her before she got on. I let them know that it will be dark or if there is a little hill, etc.....
I told her that there is nothing bad that is going to happend to them. I will be right next to her the whole time and if she got scared all she had to do is tell me and I would put my arms around her and she closed her eyes. This worked really well. After the first few rides with her not seeing a thing she got curious about what was going on and finally decided that she was going to start looking and by the early afternoon she was riding everything without ducking under my arms.
Just remember that they trust you so dont lie to them becuase they wont believe you the next time and your trip will be ruined because she wont go on anything else.
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My DH and I gently forced our 6 yr old son onto Pirates of the Carribean on our trip in May. He came out of that ride with a huge smile and now it's his #1 favorite ride at WDW.
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AKL May 2005; Poly May 2007; BC 2008; BC 2009; BC 2010; BLT/BCV 2011; AKV/BCV 2012; AKV/VWL 2013; Aulani 2014
My DH and I gently forced our 6 yr old son onto Pirates of the Carribean on our trip in May. He came out of that ride with a huge smile and now it's his #1 favorite ride at WDW.
I was gently forced on most rides on my first trip to wdw as a child...and i was always so proud of myself after.
I am just trying to find that good balance of not being to forceful!
I think it's really up to the personality of each child and the parent knowing what they can and can not handle. My DD8 is one of those kids who will be a bit reluctant at first, but we be begging to go on again and again afterwards. My DD5 is a lot more cautious, but extremely brave at the same time. When we go in Feb, I will have to gauge how much she can handle and which rides we can all go on as a family and which ones we'll have to use the child swap for.
My DD8 can not stop talking about EE, but I don't see her going through with that one, we'll see!!!
I'm a hippy mom, so we don't do anything my daughter doesn't want to. The first year she went wanted to ride everything. Next year we were there 6 days and only rode 3 rides. (But it was the best trip ever, since there are SOOOOO many other things to do). Then the next trip she rode Test Track and wants to ride all the roller coasters when we go in November.
I want her to LOVE everything Disney and as much as I want to see the changes to the changes to the HM, I would have to do it alone, while the DH and DD eat a Mickey bar. I don't want to freak her out.
Jodie (the mom who waited 45 minutes to get on the dumbo ride with my daughter who said she didn't want to go when it was our turn.)
I think it's really up to the personality of each child and the parent knowing what they can and can not handle. My DD8 is one of those kids who will be a bit reluctant at first, but we be begging to go on again and again afterwards. My DD5 is a lot more cautious, but extremely brave at the same time. When we go in Feb, I will have to gauge how much she can handle and which rides we can all go on as a family and which ones we'll have to use the child swap for.
My DD8 can not stop talking about EE, but I don't see her going through with that one, we'll see!!!
I'm a hippy mom, so we don't do anything my daughter doesn't want to. The first year she went wanted to ride everything. Next year we were there 6 days and only rode 3 rides. (But it was the best trip ever, since there are SOOOOO many other things to do). Then the next trip she rode Test Track and wants to ride all the roller coasters when we go in November.
I want her to LOVE everything Disney and as much as I want to see the changes to the changes to the HM, I would have to do it alone, while the DH and DD eat a Mickey bar. I don't want to freak her out.
Jodie (the mom who waited 45 minutes to get on the dumbo ride with my daughter who said she didn't want to go when it was our turn.)
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My grandson would not go on a lot of rides because he was afraid of the unknown. Before our trip to WDW last June we did Google Video searches at Google Video for Disney World rides and were able to watch videos of many of the rides that he was hesitant about going on. When we got to the park he knew what to expect on certain rides and had no trouble going on some he wouldn't try in the past. I also carried light up necklaces that I could grab and snap on easily in my backpack in case it got darker on the rides than he liked.
I had to wait TWO YEARS to ride RnR because the first 2 nephews I brought with me were too timid or scared to ride. It took their youngest brother's turn to go with me before I had a brave child to go on. Ben loves all these rides TOT was a IASW for him. Sam had tears in his eyes at age 8 when he willingly went on HM with me. & se refused to ride it at age 10. He rode Splash Mountain with no issues at age 8, but did not want to go on at age 10, I asked him to ride it once so we vould get a picture of the four of us on it. He started crying 5 minutes into the ride & was hysterical by the time we got to the big drop. He told me after that as he bought a squished quarter from the coin squisher machine in the splash gift shop. "That ride will haunt me forever"
Now fast forward 4 years later.... he rode Spalsh Mountain & liked it.. Rode HM about a dozen times because he wanted the CM to try to scare him. One followed him & kept standing close behind him trying to intimidate/scare him... he thought that was GREAT. it would have made him pee himself at age 10.. so though I have not been able to get him on TMR or other rollercoaster types. He is trying to overcome the fears.
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Aug,1978- LBV;Apr,1987-Disneyland;March,1993-offsite;Jan,1997-offsite;Aug,1999- CBR;Sept,2000- ASMo;Aug,2001- ASSP;Aug,2002- ASMU/AKL;Jan & July 2003-POR;June,December 2004- PC;January 2005- ASMU; Aug 2005-PC;Dec 2005-AKL;Jan 2006-CBR ; July/Aug-Saratoga springs; Dec. PC;April 2007- Disneyland;Aug 2007-Disneyland & So Cal;Dec 2007-POFQ; Aug2008-POFQ & Nov 2008 PC,Y&B May 2009 ASmu, June 2009 PC ; Nov 2009 WL & POFQ;Jan 2010 BW & WL; June 2010 POFQ ; Aug 2010 Poly ;Oct 2010 WL; Jan 2011 PC
I agree on starting small too. We took our niece and nephew the first time when they were 6 and 8. We started off mild with Dumbo, the Carousel, teacups, speedway and then went to Buzz Lightyear. My niece was hesitant about the HM but I explained that nothing would jump out at her and if she got scared to just close her eyes. She did OK and was a bit scared in the doom buggie (gripping my arm) but 1/2 way through started to relax and enjoy it. We got them on Splash with no problem told them it was a log slide. BTMRR scared my niece because of the "bats" in the cave but she loved Space MT (go figure).
If she doesn't want to do a ride, see about doing a child swap.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
Reading everyone's stories brought back memories of my oldest DD17. We took her for her first time to WDW and Universal when she was about 3 1/2. She went on everything, no problems. The old KingKong ride at US was her favorite. Went back when she was 4 1/2 and she cried on half of them and we had to leave after waiting in lines. It turns out that when she was a year older, she understood all the line dialogue. Think back to King Kong and all the media warnings playing while you were in line. Or look at the room in HM before you get on the buggie. When she heard all that stuff, she freaked and wouldn't go thru with the rides.
Well, she is now 17 and goes on everything. 3 more DD's followed her, and they all had different views on rides. You just have to know them. And, as much as my kids like rollercoasters, if I had to skip something, they are what I would want to skip. Yes, they are awesomely themed at Disney, but there are roller coaster type thrill rides everywhere. The stuff I couldn't imaging missing are things like Pirates, PeterPan, Philharmagic, etc..............
The first time I went when I was little, my mom just told me that I didn't have to go on anything with sholuder restraints. I saw the logic, in that no sholder restraints ment you didn't really go very fast/far. But then I got kinda worried when I saw ToT. That didn't have shoulder restraints, but it was still way to scary for me
Our 5 year old, is terrified to try anything new. I can relate, because I am the same way. So we made him go on some rides, nothing scary or any roller coasters. But once he did it once he liked it and wanted to do it again, he just needed to get through it the first time to know what to expect. I knew this about him, because I was the same way. I appreciate that my parents were a little forceful, with me at Disney, because if they would not have been I would not have ridden anything.
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). The light is a really good idea, BUT, when we were there last week, I saw several CM's ask parents to turn off any lights, strobes, etc. What they DID allow was anything that glowed. I would trot over to your nearest dollar store and stock up on glow sticks, bracelets, necklaces, etc. Then you could have special glow things for special rides, if she wants.
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5 minutes into the ride & was hysterical by the time we got to the big drop. He told me after that as he bought a squished quarter from the coin squisher machine in the splash gift shop. "That ride will haunt me forever" 
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