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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I will be by myself on the 26th and will probably not be in costume. This night I plan on seeing and doing all of the things we missed on the first party. Yes, I will probably try to stake out one of my favorite places to photograph Wishes. That would be on the hump at the top of Main Street. This way the large bursts will not be blocked by the castle. I plan on watching the second parade to get shots I missed before. We will see how any of this comes together. I will text you so we can set a place to meet.
Well, you will just have to make sure and share a photo of your costumes from Night 1.
Depending on the crowd level, I would also prefer to move back for Fireworks. I might have to think carefully how I word that to DH - "you wait here, I'm going to meet my internet friend at the hump on Main Street ..." . I wish Friday night wasn't our only option for the party, but at least it's not yet October.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Well, you will just have to make sure and share a photo of your costumes from Night 1.
Depending on the crowd level, I would also prefer to move back for Fireworks. I might have to think carefully how I word that to DH - "you wait here, I'm going to meet my internet friend at the hump on Main Street ..." . I wish Friday night wasn't our only option for the party, but at least it's not yet October.
Will do. I can see how saying that could raise some eyebrows.
This is a fun PTR! We will be at VWL 9/18-22 and have tix to MNSSHP on 9-19. Maybe we will run into you. Didn't know about the soirée but that would be too late at night for us anyways. Enjoying reading about your plans!
This is a fun PTR! We will be at VWL 9/18-22 and have tix to MNSSHP on 9-19. Maybe we will run into you. Didn't know about the soirée but that would be too late at night for us anyways. Enjoying reading about your plans!
Glad you have joined in. Send me a PM when you get to the resort. Perhaps we will meet before we check out on Sunday (21st).
It took us a little time to decide. Especially since DW is a diabetic and really can't enjoy the desserts. I booked it once for the 10:15 party and had second thoughts and cancelled it. After we read the reviews both good and bad, DW told me she really wanted to do it. I called back several days later asked for and got the second party at 11:45. The reserved standing areas and the very positive report we read online clinched it for us. The cost was a factor so we cancelled a dinner at a signature restaurant and figured that what we would save there would make up for part of the cost of the Soiree tickets. Let us know what you decide. It would be nice to meet you guys. I know we are staying at the same hotel but it is a large hotel and without plans we could pass in the halls and never realize it. Just think it is only 10 days to the MNSSHP.
I cant believe its getting so close! We leave on Thursday from Ga between 12-4 p.m. our 1st night will be at the ASMU resort in a standard room. We booked it for like, $70 with our AP Discount.
I also think they will acommodate your wife's dietary needs. Perhaps even in the maleficent cup they could put sugar free candy as well. I was told that it would be standing room only so the characters could do a meet and greet with all the guests, and the guests would just be mingling around. That turned me of to the soiree because i thought why can't we sit? At other character dining events they have tables for you. They also have the characters come around and meet you at your table. So that was a turn off for me... but then the reviews showed that you can and will have a private dining table & i like that idea better. I was wanting something like that that could be more intimate for us and that felt more like a dining event instead of a hodgepodge get together mashup of folks for $100, ya know? $100 pp is alot of money for no table and chair at CRT!! I was wanting upscale for that price. Hope to see you at the Halloween party regardless!! And perhaps get a review from you on the soiree if i don't get to go
I wasn't aware there was a Disney outlet store in St. Augustine. Will definitely stop there on my next roadtrip to FL.
Your plans sound great and I'm looking forward to your report from VWL as that will be where I'm staying for the first time next Christmas.
__________________
Don't let your heart be filled with sorrow, for all you know, tomorrow, the dream that you wish will come true.
I wasn't aware there was a Disney outlet store in St. Augustine. Will definitely stop there on my next roadtrip to FL.
Your plans sound great and I'm looking forward to your report from VWL as that will be where I'm staying for the first time next Christmas.
Unfortunately, the Disney outlet in St Augustine is closing the end of September. By "next" Christmas, do you mean 2014 or 2015?
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I just checked the extended forecast for Kissimmee during our trip. It does NOT look good. The predictions are for temps in the high 80s and low 90s with rain predicted for almost everyday in the range of 50 to 70% chance. Oh well, I guess that the ponchos are going to be required for this trip. Now I need to find a rain coat for my camera. I have decided to go ahead an post the rest of the plans. There are still some gaps and I still haven't been able to get any pix loaded. I am spending a lot of time studying for tests with my work and I just do not have enough time to get it done. Here is the info from the 17th on.
9/17 Wednesday: Our original plans for today called for an early start at DHS. That plan was made before I booked the Soiree for the 16th and our return to the resort so late. DW says “EARLY!!!! I don’t think so.” Oh well, I just went to MDE and updated all of the FPs for today. They now run from 12:45 to 3:50. That was not much of a change but the extra 2 plus hours this morning should make the rest of the day a lot more fun. After spending a few hours at DHS, we will probably go shopping this evening at the outlets on International and have dinner in that area.
9/18 Thursday: We are going back to DHS not quite as early as yesterday. My first FP is RnRC 9:35 to 10:35 followed by TOT and then Lights, Motors, Action. DW’s FP schedule starts with Muppet 3D at 10:55 followed by the Great Movie Ride and then Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We should both be finished around 2pm. We plan to meet at the front of the park before we head to MK where we will see what we can add for FPs.
9/19 Friday: Today will be an AK day with an early start. Once again we will be going in different directions. I have a FP for Everest 9-10 while DW has one for FoLK 9:30-9:50. Then I do the Safari 10:50-11:50 while she goes to Nemo 11:30-11:50. Next will be me at FoLK 12:30-12:50 while she does the Safari 1-2. We will meet after the last FPs at Flame Tree BBQ. Neither of us has ever eaten there and we are looking forward to it. We hope to get to see FoW and some of the other shows in the afternoon. There are really no rides other than the Safari at AK that DW is comfortable getting on.
We may stop by DHS this evening for the Frozen fireworks.
9/20 Saturday: Today we are going on an adventure off property. We are members of a botanical garden in NC which has reciprocal agreement with other gardens around the US. One of these is the Bok Tower Garden in Lake Wales. This is about an hour drive from the resort. We plan on getting there when they open and spend the next few hours exploring. One of the main features of this garden is the carillon tower in the center of the garden. There is also an old plantation house which can be visited. We will probably have a light picnic while there. We will have a late lunch/early dinner at an Italian restaurant in Davenport on the way back to the resort. We will drive back and park at VWL. Then take another boat ride to the MK for the evening. I have booked FPs for JC, Anna & Elsa M&G and HM ranging from 5:50 to 9:50. This will probably be a somewhat crowded night since it is Saturday and MK has evening EMH. The reason we are doing the boat is so that we can return easily to the resort if we get tired. We will be doing a lot of walking today and most of it will be outside so we really are hoping for good weather.
9/21 Sunday: Moving day. We will need to get packed and the car loaded so we can get out of the resort before 11. We will check out and leave the car in the parking lot at VWL and take the boat back to MK for a snack lunch and more FPs. I have us booked for Tinker Bell at Town Square, then another visit with Anna & Elsa followed by the Fantasy Parade. The time for these FPs ranges from 11:50 to 3. After the parade, we will take a leisurely walk back to the boat and return to VWL to get the car and go check-in at Vacation Village @ Parkway. We cannot check-in here until after 4pm. After we get moved into the new resort we will probably go to a local market to restock supplies for the next week. Then we will rest a little before going to dinner at one of the restaurants along International Drive. We will be based at this resort until September 28th.
Now for a side note on a FP selection problem we ran into because we were not going to be staying on property for the second week. I had read that the new FP system would allow those guests staying off property to make their selections at the 30 day mark. When we hit the 30 day mark, I opened My Disney Experience and tried to make the selections. The system refused to allow me to do this and it tried to remove me from the family. I quickly cancelled the request and did some more research. What I found out did not make me very happy as I am one that likes to have all of my ducks marching in a straight line. It seems that the real rule goes this way: For guests staying ON property you are allowed to make FP selections for the length of your stay when you hit the 60 day mark from your check-in day. This is why we were able to book our first 8 days of the trip early. Our reservation at VWL is for 8 days and 7 nights. For guests staying OFF property, the selection process starts at 30 days before the first day you want to schedule a FP and this can only be done one day at a time. However, there is an exception to this rule which hit us. As an annual passholder, you are allowed to make only 7 days of FP selections in a 30 day period in advance. When I tried to start making the FP selections for the second week of our stay, I ran into this rule. We already had 8 days of FP selections so I could not make any additions. This means that for our second week, I will be able to start making selections after we had completed using our FPs for Sunday the 14th and Monday the 15th. I will have to get on the computer early in the morning of the 16th to make the selections for the 22nd and then do it each day until we have made them through the 27th. We will be checking out on the 28th and are not planning on going to the parks that day. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
The plans for the second week are somewhat sketchy at this point.
9/22 Monday: We are scheduled for the 8:45 am Wild Africa Trek. I tried to get the very first trek but it was already sold out. We will still be able to get into the park before it opens and perhaps the number of people on the later trek will be less. There are no plans for the rest of the day.
9/23 Tuesday: No plans yet
9/24 Wednesday: I have an 8 am ADR for breakfast at Tusker House in the AK. As you can see from the number of times we will be at this park, we really like AK.
9/25 Thursday: I plan for us to spend the day enjoying the F&WF at EPCOT. We are booked for dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel at 8:30. We hope to get a seat in an area so we can see Illuminations from inside.
9/26 Friday: We will start the day early at DHS. Our plans are to have lunch at Sci-Fi Dine in Theater at 12:50. Shortly after lunch we will return to the resort for a short nap. My plans are to go back to MK for the evening for a second MNSSHP. DW said she did not want to do it again so I will be by myself. I do not think that I will be in costume for this party. OK, I may wear part of it. I have been exchanging messages with Sharon (Shazza). She and I plan on meeting during the party. It will be nice to meet her and her husband.
9/27 Saturday: Not sure about this morning but we have seats near the center section for La Nouba for the early show. We will probably go to DTD and spend the day shopping and have a nice meal at T-Rex before the show.
9/28 Sunday: We will be checking out of the resort early and heading toward NC. If we have not been able to work it in yet, we may stop at Theme Park Connection to see if they have anything we can buy for a bargain. I will call the Disney outlet in St Augustine to see if they are still open. If they are, we may stop there as well. We will spend the night in a yet to be determined hotel between Savannah, GA and Columbia, SC.
9/29 Monday: Today we will complete the short drive back home. Hopefully today should only take about 3 or 4 hours. While we enjoy our time at Disney World, it is always nice to get home and sleep in our own bed.
I hope to be able to get some pictures loaded into this PTR before we go. I have tried before with only limited success.
I will also be contacting Heather (ilovedisney247) to see if we can get together. I was able to meet her in April but DW was not feeling well so she stayed at the resort. Hopefully this time DW will be doing better and will be able to go with me. It was a lot of fun to walk around MK with an online friend who also works at WDW.
__________________
Last edited by rhinohunter; 09-07-2014 at 02:41 PM..
Reason: increase the font size
More great plans! I appreciate your explanation of the FP+ rules as I had something similar come up when I was doing FP+, but I couldn't understand why. But we are annual passholders so that puts us under that 8 days rule.
Wow, that's crazy about the whole Fastpass+ situation. I had no idea that was the case and how irritating you've fallen foul of that. Despite that, your plans look great.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
More great plans! I appreciate your explanation of the FP+ rules as I had something similar come up when I was doing FP+, but I couldn't understand why. But we are annual passholders so that puts us under that 8 days rule.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, that's crazy about the whole Fastpass+ situation. I had no idea that was the case and how irritating you've fallen foul of that. Despite that, your plans look great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Interesting about that glitch in the FP+ system. I can see how the AP rule works if you're a local, but it sure works against your situation!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashli
That situation with FP+ really stinks. Sorry you are having to deal with that.
Our trips are going to overlap. We will be at WDW Sept 23-27, staying at SSR. We're doing all the parks and our MNSSHP night it Sept 23.
We are not complaining. Just remember a bad or inconvenient day at Disney is always better that a good day at work. I will be going with the flow so to speak. I have had to make some FP changes this week and have not had any problems. Of course, I have not messed with the ones for Anna & Elsa or SDMT. We have booked them both twice during the first week. Hopefully we will be able to keep them. Now for the second week, we will have to see how much difficulty it presents when I start trying to set FPs on the 16th for the 22nd. This will be a practice run for the next two trips since we are staying off property both times and each one is 12 to 14 days.
I have booked a MNSSHP in both weeks and hope to get to meet both Aurora and Snow White with their evil counterparts during the parties.
About This Page: 
. I wish Friday night wasn't our only option for the party, but at least it's not yet October.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Despite that, your plans look great. 
We will be at WDW Sept 23-27, staying at SSR. We're doing all the parks and our MNSSHP night it Sept 23.
Linear Mode
