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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Marci, I'm glad you asked about the alternate route on the ride-- I love it when there are different experiences. Now I KNOW I have to try this ride more than once!
Jeannie, good point about the soup/sandwich combo being better in the cooler months! I'll probably still try it, though. The salad at Jolly Holiday would do for me for lunch, as well! That paneer veg sandwich sounds yummy. You are such a good friend to make so many sacrifices eating your way around the parks for me! And thank you, Sophia, for the photo of the Caprese sandwich-- that's always an option I enjoy. I love the look of the Starbucks area, especially all the seating! What a difference from Carsland! And only a 30-min standby for Soarin'. I'm feeling much less anxious about touring the parks in the crowds now!
I'm going to PM both of you soon about figuring out a meeting time and place.
We were troopers that first day. I would not trade that experience for anything though. That day we only went on RSR once. The next time (3 days later), we went with our friends who had a hotel (GCH) MM. Went right to RSR and was able to ride twice using the GAC.
Thanks for the heads up on how they are doing that now with the GAC. We will probably try the single rider line. They will take me out of the line and hopefully add Jessica and others to my car as I load in a different area.... worth a try.
As far as the scenes go that is where the track splits up to make up the cars for the race. If you go to the door on the left you get your tires changed. To the right is the spray paint job. When we got the tires we waited for the other car to come out of the paint job and the race was on.
We will have to get together once the passes are valid again.
I'll definitely pay more attention the next time I try the ride!
Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with you and Laurie over the summer. My pass allows summer visits, but the kids can't. I usually just get the So Cal pass, but this year knowing that Laurie would be here, and Sharon, and probably others, I decided to go big so I could see everyone over the summer (plus it included parking, which I would've had to pay separately otherwise).
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Marci, I'm glad you asked about the alternate route on the ride-- I love it when there are different experiences. Now I KNOW I have to try this ride more than once!
Jeannie, good point about the soup/sandwich combo being better in the cooler months! I'll probably still try it, though. The salad at Jolly Holiday would do for me for lunch, as well! That paneer veg sandwich sounds yummy. You are such a good friend to make so many sacrifices eating your way around the parks for me! And thank you, Sophia, for the photo of the Caprese sandwich-- that's always an option I enjoy. I love the look of the Starbucks area, especially all the seating! What a difference from Carsland! And only a 30-min standby for Soarin'. I'm feeling much less anxious about touring the parks in the crowds now!
I'm going to PM both of you soon about figuring out a meeting time and place.
I really do think you'll be fine. The rest of DCA and DL were crowded, but not outrageously crowded. There were lines for things, but none of them seemed all that bad considering school was out and summer vacations were in full swing. I think especially with the DCA overhaul Disney planned it well and made sure there was sufficient seating at the eateries and covered waiting areas for the rides as well as other ways of dispersing the crowds and lines.
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Great photos of the ride - and pretty much the first I've seen, so thanks very much for those! I can't wait to do this in December - and hopefully you'll be able to join us for that, if your passes aren't blacked out?
Great photos of the ride - and pretty much the first I've seen, so thanks very much for those! I can't wait to do this in December - and hopefully you'll be able to join us for that, if your passes aren't blacked out?
I'm definitely going to meet up with you and Mark in December. The question is, as it was last year when you visited, whether I'll have an annual pass during your visit. My pass expires just days before your visit...just like last year! We haven't decided if we're going to renew right away since the prices for the passes jumped up quite a bit. Wish me luck on getting a great job soon because then it will be a non-issue of whether I'll be able to renew right away!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Great review of the new rides and your day at DLR! I can't imagine waiting 3.5 hours in line for ANYTHING. But the RSR looks like a really fun ride! By the time I make it to DLR, it won't be new anymore, so a normal fastpass will do just fine, I hope.
I'm definitely going to meet up with you and Mark in December. The question is, as it was last year when you visited, whether I'll have an annual pass during your visit. My pass expires just days before your visit...just like last year! We haven't decided if we're going to renew right away since the prices for the passes jumped up quite a bit. Wish me luck on getting a great job soon because then it will be a non-issue of whether I'll be able to renew right away!
Sending for that.... if the worst comes to the worst, we can always meet outside the parks - I have a few places outside of Disneyland to visit on the list, so I'll have to send you the details, as some of those may work better for you...
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.
Great review of the new rides and your day at DLR! I can't imagine waiting 3.5 hours in line for ANYTHING. But the RSR looks like a really fun ride! By the time I make it to DLR, it won't be new anymore, so a normal fastpass will do just fine, I hope.
I'm thinking it might be a while before the lines die down, but I'm sure by the end of the summer, the FastPass line will be acting like it usually does!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sending for that.... if the worst comes to the worst, we can always meet outside the parks - I have a few places outside of Disneyland to visit on the list, so I'll have to send you the details, as some of those may work better for you...
Just sent you a PM! Your pixies must have worked because just an hour ago, in the course of my usual schmoozing (is that a term used in England?) with people I know at my Trader Joe's market, I managed to set up an interview to possibly do some marketing consulting for a local gym! If I can get enough consulting clients, I might give up looking for 9 to 5 work and just do consulting permanently!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
What a great day. Carsland looks really cool.
It was really fun! Do you and the girls have any plans of maybe coming out to DLR soon?
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
More great pictures!!! Lunch looked really good!!
Thanks! I was thinking the same thing about you coming back out to DLR soon...any thoughts? Your last trip seemed like a lot of fun!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Just sent you a PM! Your pixies must have worked because just an hour ago, in the course of my usual schmoozing (is that a term used in England?) with people I know at my Trader Joe's market, I managed to set up an interview to possibly do some marketing consulting for a local gym! If I can get enough consulting clients, I might give up looking for 9 to 5 work and just do consulting permanently!
I hope the schmoozing pays off! I'm tentatively planning a trip back to DLR in December of 2013. All the TR's this year featuring the holiday overlays and decorations and show got me going! If you don't have a regular AP, though, there's always meeting at Downtown Disney or the hotel for a meal!
What was the verdict from the kids on Carsland? Thumbs up?
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ballston Lake, NY
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 46,162
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 94
Likes (Received): 241
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 139
Pixie Dust (Given): 3
Pixie Dust (Received): 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Thanks! I was thinking the same thing about you coming back out to DLR soon...any thoughts? Your last trip seemed like a lot of fun!
I've been thinking about Christmas time, well more like early to mid December. I'm trying to convince my parents to take the family (me, parents, and sister's family) as our Christmas present!!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I usually just get the So Cal pass, but this year knowing that Laurie would be here, and Sharon, and probably others, I decided to go big so I could see everyone over the summer (plus it included parking, which I would've had to pay separately otherwise).
PassPorter Guide Author
I can't wait to do this in December - and hopefully you'll be able to join us for that, if your passes aren't blacked out? 
Great RS photopass pic! 
Linear Mode
