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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We love to head right to MK and see the castle. This next trip we will be arriving earlier than normal so I am going to be happy to spend some extra time there. I just can't wait to get on splash mountain. Cold or not im going!!
We don't have a first day tradition, but we have a last day tradition. Our last day is always at DHS and we have lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater before leaving for the airport.
We've been doing this ever since we started renting a car.
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I love all the different plans and why you do things the way you do! None of your plans or traditions are WEIRD or Strange - everyone loves different things - and each thing is just as magical for the person doing it! Thanks for answering!
we always hit epcot first on our arrival day...first ride is Soarin or Mission: Space whichever is shorter and FP the other. we eat in WS either San Angel Inn or what is now Teppan Edo. Followed by Illuminations! We skip EMH that night if there are any. Magic Kingdom is saved until first full day.
Spaceship Earth is first (That is the first ride my kids were ever on in WDW).
I had read that it might be a good idea to start with EPCOT first since it is more educational than MK and the kids might not get into it if they had been to MK first. So the very first time that I brought my kids...that is what we did.
So now...that is what we do. For us...getting into EPCOT and inside the big ball signals that we have indeed returned!!
I don't have a tradition. I've been there so many times with so many different people. (friends, roommates, family, extended family, my boyfriend who became my fiance, who became my husband).
But, this trip will be our first with all of our boys and I think we will try to make a tradition to start. I think maybe in Epcot because I like to build a bit of the suspense before walking down Main Street U.S.A. and seeing the castle for the first time.
MK first! We have to ride pirates first. Hopefully it will be open this time. Last time we went it was closed. It is rehab till the 18th and we arrive on the 22nd. Can I have pixies everyone for this one wish!!!
For me, I have to see the Contemporary to feel as though I'm at Disney.
When DH and I went in 2000, I made dinner ressies at Chef Mickeys (We had gotten to our timeshare at 4pm) and then the next day, we chose AK as the first park.
We've decided to continue with that tradition for our kids on this next trip as well as throwing in a ride on the monorail after dinner.
Normally, we'd check in, swim a bit, then change and head to DD. It gets us into Disney mode without using a park ticket since we usually don't arrive mid-day. Then our first full day would be MK.
This year, we're doing things a bit differently. We're checking into BC mid-day, swimming, then having the buffet dinner at Cape May Cafe, and heading to bed early. The first full day we're hitting HS, since we didn't make it there last year. We are all chomping at the bit for Toy Story Mania, DS is dying to see Indiana Jones and LMA Stunt Show, and DD is counting the minutes to see Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Plus, MK has AM-EMH that morning, so we're saving it for the following day.
If we're up for it, then we'll hit Epcot for dinner at San Angel, evening EMH and Illuminations that night.
Talking about it is really getting me pumped - can't wait!
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15 total family trips with stays at the Poly, AKL, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, POFQ, Pop Century, All Star Music, Movies & Sports, and Coronado Springs.
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Our only tradition is to get to TMK as quickly as possible, and that's mainly because I become a big kid as soon as I set foot in that park and I want to do it as soon as possible.
This is our first trip as a family, but we're planning on checking in at the GF and exploring a bit and taking a monorail ride (just to take the edge off lol) before heading to Ft. Wilderness for the 5pm Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue. Then we'll come back to the hotel, possibly watch the fireworks or the Electrical Water Pageant and hit the sack!
There's no way I could only do a little of MK our first day; that has to be our first FULL day at WDW.
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Carol
WDW Resort - On Site - December 2008 Grand Floridian Resort
WDW Resort - On Site - December 2012 Wilderness Lodge
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