Forums Closed
|
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
|
|
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.
|
 |
|
03-14-2006, 09:47 AM
|
#16
|
Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 5,325
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
[ QUOTE ]
Actually, I think MGM needs something that kids can enjoy too. At least something that kids 40" and higher can ride. Something not as intense as those two rides but around the realms of BTMRR, Splash Mountain, and Test Track.
[/ QUOTE ]
I agree with you on this Matt. I think MGM definitely needs more rides. So much time there is spent waiting for shows and attending shows. I get bored with it after a while. I can't handle a lot of the thrill rides ( I kinda am like your wife with the motion sickness) so I would like to see something that would be more family friendly but more thrilling than Dumbo!
|
|
|
|
03-15-2006, 12:38 PM
|
#17
|
|
Facebook Addict
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Philadelphia
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 39,682
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
I've only heard the rumors that were posted on screamscape. I'd love to see a replacement for the Indiana Jones show. It hasn't ever been updated, and now with the new stunt show on the backlot, is there really a need for two stunt shows?
|
|
|
|
|
03-15-2006, 04:12 PM
|
#18
|
|
Community Rank: Day-Tripper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 6
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
This just popped in my head the other day:
Does anyone remember MGM when it first opened?
They used to have a guest "Star" (usually B-list) who would get their own parade and appear for a couple of question and answer sessions. We got to see Nancy Kerrigan.
They also had a Backstage Tour where they actually showed you a mini movie made at MGM (it starred Bette Midler) and then they would take you around and show you how they did it and the props they used. Later it was replaced with static set pieces. Not as much fun.
They have taken a number of unique things out of MGM.
|
|
|
|
|
03-17-2006, 11:54 AM
|
#19
|
Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: East Bridgewater, MA
Posts: 16,143
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
MGM is my favorite overall park - probably because I associate Disney with movies and its best represented here. And, I think it has a little bit of everything for everyone.
I would LOVE to see a Monsters Inc. ride here (not at MK).
I remember that backstage tour! I think I remember them showing how the kids rode the bee in "honey, I shrunk the kids" (on a blue/green screen) and had some people from the audience participate? And I remember something with Bette Midler in . . . funny, I thought I imagined it!
|
|
|
|
|
03-19-2006, 10:40 PM
|
#20
|
Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 3,968
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
I love MGM ... I've been staying at Beach Club ... and the hop over there is easy. I would like to see something new but didn't they just add a show and with the MGM contract ending maybe the next new thing will be once they know what's happening.
|
|
|
|
|
03-20-2006, 09:44 AM
|
#21
|
Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,547
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
Yea, MGM needs some updating! It's a great park, but there's just not enough to do, and most attractions are so outdated. It's a great start with TOT, RNRC, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, the Great Movie Ride, the Back Lot Express, Who Wants to Be a Millionnaire, and One Man's Dream. Now they need to keep adding on!
MGM is a really small park, so I know there's not much room to do major renovations. But MuppetVision 3D could use an update... like Jennifer said, the movie's blurry. Also, Star Tours could be made more intense. It was pretty lame this past summer. And Sounds Dangerous... that should be gone sometime soon!
|
|
|
|
|
03-20-2006, 09:57 AM
|
#22
|
Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Longfellow's "Jewel by the Sea"
Posts: 14,165
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
[ QUOTE ]
How about a ride a.k.a. "SpiderMan" or "The Mummy" like at those other parks.. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] based on a Disney or Pixar movie?
The Incredibles would be a good start. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
[/ QUOTE ]
Now you're talkin'. Spiderman and The Mummy are freakishly good rides, an Incredibles theme would be FANTASTIC. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
|
|
|
|
|
03-20-2006, 04:54 PM
|
#23
|
Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,547
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How about a ride a.k.a. "SpiderMan" or "The Mummy" like at those other parks.. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] based on a Disney or Pixar movie?
The Incredibles would be a good start. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
[/ QUOTE ]
Now you're talkin'. Spiderman and The Mummy are freakishly good rides, an Incredibles theme would be FANTASTIC. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
[/ QUOTE ]
That would be awesome [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] While Soarin' is my favorite, The Mummy eas actually the best ride I've EVER been on... it was absolutely CRAZY!!! And Spiderman is amazing, too. Disney needs to step up the thrill rides [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
|
|
|
|
|
03-20-2006, 09:41 PM
|
#24
|
Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: new york
Posts: 9,202
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
disney needs to start adding more rides to their parks to get people to keep comming back year after year.
|
|
|
|
|
03-20-2006, 10:20 PM
|
#25
|
Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,526
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
ROFL yeah. they didn't know that. hahaha There attendance is at record highs.. they are doing fine.
|
|
|
|
|
03-22-2006, 12:48 PM
|
#26
|
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 14,427
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
I guess watching someone else riding around at high speed (Extreme Stunt Show) doesn't count as a thrill ride, eh? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
If you count attractions at the parks, you'll see that three full-tilt thrill rides is as many as any one park gets at this point (MK's three "mountains"). Studios has two that nobody would argue over. Of course, before Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster were added, Star Tours and Catastrophe Canyon were "it" for thrills. It still adds up to 3.25 "thrill rides" in my book. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
My prediction? Someday George Lucas (and the rest of us) will get our wish, and Star Tours will get its long-awaited makeover. That's as much of a cash investment as Studios is likely to get after the money Disney spent on the Extreme Stunt Show.
I'm hoping for a very different kind of thrill at Studios. I want at least one more live musical stage show on a par with Beauty and the Beast and the dearly departed Hunchback. It'd be nice to have a big, fully-enclosed theater for it, too, like the Hyperion at DCA. And while it hasn't been mentioned for a long time, it'd be cool to have a movie attraction on a par with Cinemagique at Disney Studios Paris.
Hey, Studios theme is supposed to be "entertainment." Thrill rides may be entertaining, but not every movie produced is an action/adventure/thriller. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
|
|
|
|
|
03-22-2006, 03:28 PM
|
#27
|
Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,547
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
That's true, MGM is about the movies. But when it comes to movies, Disney needs to step up their game. I know a lot of people who slip MGM completely, and just go to the Universal parks. For "movie magic" they can't be beat, especially in the thrills department. As good at Tower of Terror and Rock'N'Roller Coaster are, they still don't compare to the Hulk, The Mummy, Spiderman, and Jurassic Park. I hope Disney starts working on MGM again, it just seems very neglected!
|
|
|
|
|
03-22-2006, 08:22 PM
|
#28
|
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 14,427
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
[ QUOTE ]
That's true, MGM is about the movies. But when it comes to movies, Disney needs to step up their game.
[/ QUOTE ] Hmmm. I guess I won't find you at a chick flick. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
[ QUOTE ]
I know a lot of people who slip MGM completely, and just go to the Universal parks. For "movie magic" they can't be beat, especially in the thrills department. As good at Tower of Terror and Rock'N'Roller Coaster are, they still don't compare to the Hulk, The Mummy, Spiderman, and Jurassic Park. I hope Disney starts working on MGM again, it just seems very neglected!
[/ QUOTE ]
What about Shrek 4-D? Pretty darn good if you ask me. I guess it doesn't have enough thrills to make your list, though. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
Note that some of those attractions at Universal are more than a few years old. Disney has already "answered" them, in Disney style. Universal doesn't copy Disney (quite honestly, they've yet to demonstrate that they really "get it" at all). Why should Disney copy Universal? As far as I'm concerned, Universal operates conventional amusement parks that pretend to be theme parks. A few good rides does not a theme park make. Universal parks just don't have the "heart."
Attendance figures from Amusement Week do not support your claim. If I recall correctly, Studios beats USF, IOA and USH. Universal Florida (and especially IOA) attracts a different clientele - more local teens, fewer out-of-town families. Compare how Universal does its Halloween events to Disney's. One of Walt's fundamental goals was to have a park where parents and children could do things together. Relatively few parents are interested in riding extreme coasters with their kids, or in attending "fright nights."
I understand that for some folks, "park" and "extreme rides" are inextricably linked, but there's gotta be some reason why Disney's six domestic parks sit at the top of Amusement Week's attendance list. Could it be that Disney's approach has a broader appeal?
I think it's very comforting for folks to know that Disney is willing to spend as much on a non-thrill attraction as it spends on a thrill ride. When all the most expensive attractions at a park are thrill rides, folks begin to wonder whether they can get their money's worth.
Thrill rides, like extreme sports, have their place. I was an extreme whitewater boater and whitewater slalom racer years before there was such a thing as the X-Games. However, I am not about to take Allie or Alexander on a Class 4 river. Class 1 rivers are far better suited for family recreation.
|
|
|
|
|
03-22-2006, 08:30 PM
|
#29
|
Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,547
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
I definitely understand why Disney is at the top. They're the most popular amusement parks in the world, and that's for a reason - people love them. I just personally would love to see more extreme thrill rides. I think it would be good to cater to the more "extreme" crowd. It would be interesting to see if Disney would be able to pull this off, while still creating a "family" atmosphere [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
|
|
|
|
|
03-22-2006, 11:45 PM
|
#30
|
|
Dopey's biggest fan!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: China Spring, TX
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 26,975
|
Re: Any rumors about anything new to Disney-MGM?
[ QUOTE ]
As far as I'm concerned, Universal operates conventional amusement parks that pretend to be theme parks. A few good rides does not a theme park make. Universal parks just don't have the "heart."
[/ QUOTE ]
Good point Dave!
I have tried explaining the difference between "Amusement Parks" and "Theme Parks" many a time . . . no one ever seems to get it! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]
To me, Universal is an "Amusement" park . . . Disney is a "Theme" park. Yes, IOA may have sort of "themed" areas, but it still seems like a "mask" to me. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]
I have been to Universal many times in the past and just don't feel that comfort that I do when I go to the Disney parks. When I was in my very early twenties, I enjoyed Universal more because of the thrill rides and what-not but now that I am older (and much more of a WDW addict) the over-abundance of thrill rides just doesn't appeal to me anymore. And you won't find me anywhere near Fright Nights . . . with or without kids! That stuff scares even ME . . . and I thought that at nearly 30 I was supposed to be a "big girl" [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] That's just me though! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
As for Studios, I am looking forward to the day when Star Tours get a makeover . . . and I wouldn't mind the Indy show going away and them possibly bringing in an Indy RIDE . . . [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
That'd meet their "3rd BIG thrill ride" quota after all . . . [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
|
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
