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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I completely agree with this! However...durring Illuminations this teen girl had a whole bench saved by laying on it talking on the phone...that didn't bother me, I sat my butt on the ground beside her and my bf stood....what bothered me was that she wasn't saving the seats for anyone but her own stingy self. No one came and she never let anyone have the other half of that bench. I should have just kicked her @$%! LOL!!
I would have been fuming!! That's just RUDE!! And if that had been my son doing that, I would have kicked him!! That's just absolutely ridiculous! Saving a seat is one thing. We do that sometimes. One son and dh save our spot while the other and I go get snacks. But we use exactly what he saved. I think that goes back to what someone else said about or society. It's all about ME. So many people live in a giant bubble of ME and have no concern at all about the rest of the world b/c they feel that they are the most important person out there (don't they know I'm the most important person out there??). But I guess if there weren't those people, we'd have nothing at all to talk about! LOL!!
I'm in my mid sixties but thankfully am in excellent health and physical condition so I wouldn't ask or expect anyone to offer me their seat. You would be surprised, however, at the number of times I am offered a seat on a Disney bus. It happens way more often than you might expect.
Ken
That is always good to hear!
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But, to someone who just wants to crowd a sitting area because they were too lazy or inconsiderate to look for a place early enough - it's surprising how far a slim old man can spread out when he has to!!! LOL!!
I think that if you made a point to get there early to get a good seat you shouldn't have to give it up. If it would ease your conscience why don't you save an extra seat or two and then look for someone with a sleeping baby/cane, ect and give the extra to them.
I am glad you brought this up because I do have a pet pev I would like to mention. It makes me sad to see a bus full of people with women holding babies and young children standing trying to balance on the swaying bus and men sitting and not giving up their seats.
I agree with you on all points! The people who arrive early for parades, should get to keep their seats. As someone who will NOT stake out an early seat, we know that means skipping the parade/best views if there is no space available. That's on me.
The buses, however, are a completely different story!! Kids, babies and moms should have seats before able-bodied adults. I also expected my kids to squish into as little space as possible to keep more seats open to others. It made me mad when parents allowed their kids to each have their own sea, when they could have shared the space and allowed others to sit.
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You're not being rude. First come, first serve. You arrived early, found a great spot, and waited. I get annoyed when people show up 5-10 minutes before the parade starts and tries to slither their way in front of me. If they have kids, I offer the kids a spot in front/next to us (but not the parents).
Guilt usually gets the better of me and I will give up my spot for a small child or elderly...I will not give up DD's spot. I know I probably get taken advantage of a lot but just chalk it up to karma.
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Disney Vacation Specialist Magical Memories Travel Chelsey
I don't think you should give up your seat for FW or a parade at disney. A lot of people wouldn't care if you gave it up or not, they will just stand in front of you. It always amazes me how the rude people come out of the woodwork when you are waiting for FW or the parades.
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Don't feel guilty - sit there and enjoy yourself. Maybe it's the time of year I go, maybe I'm not that observant, I don't know but it seems to me the people that get tired and need to sit (eldery, disabled) are the ones already sitting - either on an ECV, a wheelchair, a walker with a seat - so there shouldn't be a need for anyone to get up off a bench for them. And too, maybe because I've done it plenty of times myself (even as an adult but not lately - I have too much trouble getting up), if someone comes along with kids and wants the bench - if there's room for the adults, go ahead and sit but there'e the ground, the kids shouldn't have any problems getting down or up from it. No need IMO of kids taking up the benches on adults.
Well thank you. It used to tickle me to death when people would stop by our table in a restaurant and tell me how well behaved my boys were. It was a hard job...I had them from the time they were 3 and 4 till they were 8 and 9, and they were HORRIBLE when I met them! They didn't know colors, they didn't know how to use utensils, they went to bed on a blanket in front of the tv whenever they wanted!!! Their dad didn't have a CLUE! My parents said they had never seen such awful kids. I had to literally hold them down with them screaming bloody murder to make them go to bed...all while my husband worked in a show theater at night and didn't have to deal with it. Lets just say I will never do it again, but I DID manage to get it done, and from what I hear (they have been long gone due to the lousiest ex husband ever) people still talk about how they are some of the best behaved teenagers they have ever met. At least I made some sort of a difference in the 5 years they were mine.
I just wanted to comment...I too am tickled when I have strangers in restaurants come to the table just to let me know how enjoyable it was to eat with my 6-next week- DD. I just love it!
Also, how great about the boys!! Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference. Wtg!
I'm not a local, but I do view WDW as part of my home after 7 visits there. I go by the principle of how I would want to be treated. My kids know that we'll be back, and so if someone else seems to really need the view, we might give up our seats to those who wish to see it.
That doesn't mean we're required to do it out of courtesy or etiquette. It just means we have the option. If you're feeling generous, you can share the view. But it shouldn't be expected. After all, you waited for the view.
As I've read through this thread, many of you commented on other instances where courtesy or lack thereof can create issues.
I like to teach my boys that WDW/DL is a magical place. Both adults and kids work together to keep it that way. Part of that is using our manners, and DH and I work hard during trips to model what we want our kids to do.
*Give up seat to anyone who may need to sit more than you.
* Hold the door for those behind you.
* Please's and thank you's
* Smile
We have a family tradition of getting FastPasses for a desired ride and then giving them away to the same size party before we go. The boys enjoy "picking" the family. There's always smiles and thank you's all around. The only message? Pay it forward and do it for someone else. I'd like to think someone did in the last 7 trips.
This last trip to DL, we were stranded on California Screamin' and got FP for 6 people for any ride in the park. We were only a party of 4, so we waited for a couple to come along that was headed for the stand by line at Soarin' (60+ min. wait!). We walked up and explained to them what we had and if they cared to join us in the FP line. Their faces did this...
We had a great time, discovered we were all Disney addicts and got to ride top center with no feet hanging down. Good Times!
If others NEED a seat/good spot so badly they should stake one out in plenty of time also. One of my pet hates is waiting patiently for ages in a good position(missing out on action elsewhere in the parks) and having someone come at the last minute and stand in front or push their children in front to get a better view. Yes I have kids but would never allow them on my shoulders if it obstructed the person behind or push them in front because we hadn't got positioned before the parade/show.
I do however agree able bodied young adults should give up seats for others on buses - my kids are happy to sit on the bus floor but I don't think grandma should!
If you have staked out your seat ahead of time that is your seat! Don't give it up, unless there is a viable reason to do so, like a person of mature years, etc.
I have, in the past let kids come sit with my kids in the spot we have saved, but never the adults. They can stand if they didn't have the forethought to do what I do...stake out a spot and miss out on some of the fun (although I do enjoy the quiet, people watching time).
Displaying courtesy does not have to mean being spineless or getting run over by thoughtless people who EXPECT everything without GIVING anything.
People who can't stand for long periods have the same opportunity you do to stake out a seat early. I do not think you should feel obligated to give up your seat to those who come later.
Absolutely!
If they need a seat for a parade, then they should get there early enough to secure one. For those in scooters or wheelchairs, Disney does provide some special viewing areas for them, but it still requires advanced planning on the guest's part to get there before it fills up.
If I got to a bench early and waited all that time (that I didn't get to spend going on rides like the non-planners), there's no way I'd give it up -- short of someone passing out in front of me and needing it for an emergency situation.
During the parades themselves, I will allow a child shorter than me to move into the space immediately in front of me. But... I do not allow the parent of that child to stand in front of me, which would ruin my view. Again, if it was important to them to give their child a good view of the parade, they can plan to be there early enough to secure a spot at the curb.
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You're not obligated to give up that seat. I wouldn't feel obligated to give it up after investing the amount of time you did saving it in the first place. While they were off "struggling" around the park for an hour (or more), you sat there patiently for the event to begin.
I always give up my seat for older folks and mothers with babies. I allow small kids to get in front of me to watch a parade but not their parents. I've been the one who gets there late and tries to see what I can. I don't complain unless someone steps on my foot. I've learned my leasson a time or two. Now I make sure we have plenty of time.
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). But I guess if there weren't those people, we'd have nothing at all to talk about! LOL!!
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Disney Vacation Specialist Magical Memories Travel Chelsey
) people still talk about how they are some of the best behaved teenagers they have ever met. At least I made some sort of a difference in the 5 years they were mine.
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
Danielle Harmon
Absolutely! 
Katie's graduation
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