The Promise of Spring: F&GF 4.0 UPDATED: 5/11 - Page 24 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Congrats on the Disney mail Having lunch at the Boathouse sounds like a nice way to wrap up your trip!
That was our thinking that a meal at The Boathouse would be a fitting last WDW meal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
So sad as these details are the end of your trip, but you will be ending it with a nice meal at The Boathouse!
I'm hoping to dine here eventually but just so much to chose from and may take me years to catch up even with an annual trip and a one week stay! This is insane but a good thing!
It is almost impossible to get around to all the wonderful dining spots now at WDW. There are even more new ones at Disney Springs than when we were there in October.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Isn't it funny - once upon a time we'd be doing 11 nights plus just at Disney and we were always ready to head home by the end of the vacation. These days, we always manage to jam other things in - either other destinations, a cruise or the other parks and I never feel as if we have enough time in Disney.
I know for us it helps that we get two trips a year of 11+ days each. Since they keep adding stuff at the parks though we may want to add some days in the future.
Departure day has mixed emotions for me too but I always know that another Disney trip is either already planned or will be soon after I return home. We loved the Boathouse restaurant when we ate there in January!
That is one of my favorite things about DVC. We've always got another trip in the works.
Well I call this day a "Bitter Sweet Day". But for me, it just beginnings with planning the next trip. I will be waiting to hear how The Boathouse dinning experience goes.
Well I call this day a "Bitter Sweet Day". But for me, it just beginnings with planning the next trip. I will be waiting to hear how The Boathouse dinning experience goes.
We ate at The Boathouse last May, so I already know what I plan on getting -- the filet mignon sliders. these!
Even after 23 trips to WDW, there are new things for us to experience, probably one of the reasons we find ourselves going back time after time after time.
This will be the first time we have ever visited WDW in the month of April. That now leaves January, February, March, and July as the only months we have never vacationed at WDW.
We have several dining firsts thanks to Disney’s addition of so many new restaurants over the past few years. These include: Tiffins (AK), Planet Hollywood Observatory (DS), and Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming (DS).
It’s been a number of years since we’ve taken a tour, but the new Caring for Giants tour at Animal Kingdom was just perfect for us and my love of animals. At $30 with a 15% DVC/AP/Disney Rewards Visa discount it was too good a deal to pass up.
Animal Kingdom is giving us a lot of first time opportunities with Tiffins and the Caring for Giants tour plus a chance to finally see the Rivers of Light Nighttime show. We also hope to even see the new baby otter triplets at the Tree of Life.
There is no guarantee we will get to do this, but we are hoping to ride the Characters in Flight hot air balloon at Disney Springs for the first time. I’m hoping we’ll get a sunny afternoon that is also not too windy. Then it will be up and up and away for us.
Shopping at Disney Springs will be a must and there are still quite a few places we’ve yet to set foot in. The Marketplace Co-Op is getting a new shop called The Dress Shop. On Disney Parks Blog an article introduced this new shop, and in one of the photos I noticed the cutest Tower of Terror inspired dress. I’m going to have to check this out.
I’ve also learned from Michael (rhinohunter) that Memory Maker now includes a video when you ride Haunted Mansion. We never miss Haunted Mansions unless it’s down for refurb. We love this one and it was a favorite for Stefanie. The video to preserve our ride will just be too cool.
We had until March 27, to customize our Magic Bands, even though we’ve had them done for a couple of months now. When they arrive, which should be soon as they have shipped, they will the newer style bands. I haven’t decided yet whether I will wear it like a watch or get one of the key chain accessories for it. Photos of our Magic Bands will arrive on the PTR sometime in April.
Another potential first that is NOT guaranteed is a sneak peek into Pandora: The World of Avatar. Luke has read somewhere (I’ve forgotten where) that there might be a day or two at the end of April when DVC/AP members could go in for a soft opening. He actually thinks this will happen just before we arrive, but he will also be checking online for further information. Since I first typed this one, we’ve learned that the DVC/AP soft openings will be happening after we’re already back home. So this first is not looking too promising right now.
Recently Disney began using special entries for Annual Passholders, and we intend to make use of these at every chance. 😃
Another first will involve the new security at all the parks. I had forgotten about this (it starts Monday, April 3). Luke mentioned it at lunch today (3/29). I asked if it applied to all four parks, and in his best Sam Eagle impersonation he said, “Yes, it will affect all four parks, but mainly Magic Kingdom.” I’ll give you a rundown of our experiences when we get back. The aim is to keep us secure and to do that in a more orderly fashion.
Not a shabby list of firsts and who knows we may discover other first opportunities once we arrive at WDW.
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.
So if you've never been in January before, how do you like the sound of January 2018, right at the beginning of the month? That's when we're looking to return to WDW....
Plans are looking good! It's too bad you'll miss the soft openings of Pandora, but at least you have your Fall trip to do this! Will be interesting with the new security measures.
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I'll be interested in hearing your experience with the new security system.
I like the option of doing the key chain type thing with the new MB's.
A friends of ours are down there now (this is spring break here) and she will be letting me know everything about the new security system when she gets back. It starts Monday and they will be there all week, so she will definitely have an opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, that is a lot of firsts!
So if you've never been in January before, how do you like the sound of January 2018, right at the beginning of the month? That's when we're looking to return to WDW....
Well now, January 2018 gives me something to think about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
I've only heard a bit about the new security changes. I'll be interested to check them out.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
From what Luke has read, it is really supposed to improve security and help guests through more easily. But I'm sure there will be kinks early on.
Plans are looking good! It's too bad you'll miss the soft openings of Pandora, but at least you have your Fall trip to do this! Will be interesting with the new security measures.
Maybe by the fall the crowd levels in Pandora will be more manageable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great list of firsts, considering how many times you have been there!!
We were pretty amazed by the list as we began rattling off new stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Isn't it great that even after all the times you've been to WDW, you can still have a list of firsts.
I know! It really does keep us going back time after time.
It really is amazing all the firsts that you can continue to do at WDW even after so many visits! People always ask me why I go back to the same vacation place time after time as they always tell me that it must get boring, but my response is always that I find new things to do and I enjoy so many shows and attractions, that I look forward to doing them all over again! Glad you've got so many firsts to do on this trip!
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.
About This Page: 
This is insane but a good thing! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
these! 
Countdown -- 26
PassPorter Guide Author
That's when we're looking to return to WDW....
Will be interesting with the new security measures.
Linear Mode
