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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Unfortunately, teens are not always thinking and do tend to believe they are quick enough to beat any danger! How incredibly sad and such a waste of a young life.
There have been studies published recently that find teens really don't have the capability, for the most part, to make those decisions in the same way adults do. There is a psrt of their brain and ours responsible for those thought processes that does not crystallize and work properly until in your 20's. Probably why we are all thinking "What was he thinking?"
My prayers are with his family, his friends and all who had to deal with this incident.
that's got to be awful for the family, but it's once again proof to me that teens today (as a whole, not individually) do NOT respect rules and authority.
I feel sorry for his parents, and for the people who witnessed this.
I agree, If in-fact he lost his hat wouldn't it be easier to go to lost & found to report he lost it on the ride than to scale 2 fences past many warning signs & trespass to go under a operating ride to look for a $20.00 hat?
It is sad that he lost his life for such a silly reason.............
Deb
There have been studies published recently that find teens really don't have the capability, for the most part, to make those decisions in the same way adults do. There is a psrt of their brain and ours responsible for those thought processes that does not crystallize and work properly until in your 20's. Probably why we are all thinking "What was he thinking?"
I was just going to post the same thing. Teenagers lack the critical thinking skills to work through a complex problem to the natural (and seemingly obvious) consequences. The ability doesn't fully mature until around 21 years of age - which is why the drinking age is so high in the US.
While sad and awful, the park may be found liable if the area was so seemingly easily accessible (he was able to get in after all) and especially if he got the same answer most people get at a Six Flags when they lose something on a ride - "sorry, but you were told to secure all loose items before the ride began." Six Flags does not make any promises to retrieve lost items on rollercoasters. (I say this from experience - having lost prescription sunglasses from a pocket that I thought was snapped closed on the Great American Scream Machine when I was 16. Never saw them again.)
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While sad and awful, the park may be found liable if the area was so seemingly easily accessible (he was able to get in after all)
What I want to know is why none of the ride operators saw him.......there's cameras posted on the ride track-if you've ever paid attention to the main operator area, you can see about 4-6 (depending on how long the track is) TV screens with differing images on them.....it's how they know when to launch the next train.
I agree they may be held liable in some form or fashion because someone wasn't doing their job. No, it's not their fault entirely as mentioned because the kid climbed over 2 fences.......but also, in restricted areas, someone should be paying attention to those as well!
I mentioned this incident in a post last night......how truly devastating and I can't imagine how his friends feel that witnessed the whole thing.
My DS, 14yo, read this to me last night off the internet. While it is very sad and the words heart-broken do not begin to describe how I would feel if I lost one of my children, I used this story to talk with DS the importence of obeying rules. In this case, it cost this young man his life and has caused pain to his parents and family and friends.
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.
While I do feel incredibly sorry for his family and the people on the ride who had to see it happen (and for all of them), it just reinforces the discussion I had with my youngest the other night; rules and signs (in this case as well as in our discussion, in amusement parks) are there for a reason. I can't believe he didn't know he was trying to get somewhere that he shouldn't have So so sad.
__________________
Carol
WDW Resort - On Site - December 2008 Grand Floridian Resort
WDW Resort - On Site - December 2012 Wilderness Lodge
A couple of years ago I read an extensive article about the brain of a teenager and how some parts of the brain are not fully developed and as capable as a adult's. However, having said that, there are literally thousands and thousands of teenagers who visit theme parks each year that don't scale the fences so to speak, so obviously there are a lot of teenagers' brains that are capable of determining that's not a smart thing to do!
Some of the news reports are now saying that he wasn't trying to retrieve an item, but instead trying to quickly enter the park. If you've ever been to SFOG, you know that the Batman coaster borders the parking lot at an area that is pretty far away from the park entrance. The victim and his church group were supposedly in the parking lot for a meal break when he and another teen decided to climb the fence. If that's true, I'm wondering if the chaperones were aware of what they were doing. Surely not, or they wouldn't have allowed it.
In any case, it's truly horrorfying. My DD's boyfriend went to the park the next day and the entire ride area was closed off.
Screamscape.com has a lot of good info about this accident. It's just terrible and I can't imagine what his family is going through.
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for his family though.
Teenagers lack the critical thinking skills to work through a complex problem to the natural (and seemingly obvious) consequences. The ability doesn't fully mature until around 21 years of age - which is why the drinking age is so high in the US. 
Never saw them again.)
Michelle - with my step sisters!
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