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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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How cool about the CM who "knew" you all! I agree wholeheartedly with your raves about DLR. The parks being steps away from each other AND Downtown Disney is just awesome! DCA is fabulous, and Carsland incredible.
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When we were deposited in front of the parks, I simply could not believe that both parks were so close to each other. Why did I not ever know that? You could stand inside the gate of one park and see the other park. This was about the point where Thom started to fall in with the Disneyland Resort!
When they were building DCA, I was sure I was going to hate it - how dare they turn my childhood parking lot into another park! And wouldn't it spoil the whole Disneyland atmosphere by having another park so close by? No way! I love that! It was especially awesome at the Food & Wine Festival when we closed down DCA at a private wine event and then walked over to Disneyland - a night to remember!
Great start to the whole trip, except for flying mattresses. I haven't been to DL is years. DCA wasn't even built yet but looking forward to when I can go and then to just walk from park to park must be so cool.
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After our yummy break, we headed back to Paradise Pier. I stopped to take a picture of the girls and ended up with a bonus face in the shot. Thus began Zack's quest of the trip . . . to just barely show up in every picture. I thought this was the first, but I noticed that he appears in the first picture that I took of the DCA entrance!
We then headed off to a totally new experience for me - - the Silly Symphony Swings. I had never even been on these at a fair. Poor Mary Devall was as nervous as could be since this was a first for her also. I found a double seat for us and then tried to keep her mind occupied by taking pictures of everyone around us.
I'm not sure how Karen ended up in the midst of all of these strangers.
As soon as we were in the air, Mary Devall was absolutely fine and squealing with excitement. All of her nervousness was left on the ground. We both loved flying through the air! I’m just sorry that we never had the opportunity to ride it again!
Our FP’s for Goofy’s Sky School were ripe by this time. The best way I can describe this ride is a combination of Barnstormer and Primeval Whirl. It was so much fun and, if you don’t laugh while you’re riding it, you’re just a stick-in-the-mud. Both girls simply loved this ride . . . so much so that we got more FP’s after we rode it.
There was a counter service restaurant right there, so we decided that it was time for lunch. I’m not always a big fan of counter service, but the CS options at DLR were so much better than your standard fast food offerings. Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta had all of the traditional Italian offerings.
I went from station to station trying to decide before I finally settled on a delicious looking salad (Boardwalk Field Greens - Fresh Greens, Topped with Tomatoes, Blue Cheese, Cucumbers, Craisins® Dried Cranberries, Caramelized Pecans, Golden Raisins with a Basil Vinaigrette). We found a table big enough for all of us outside and enjoyed dining al fresco. My salad was every bit as good as it looked and it was so big that I couldn’t even finish it.
After we were all stuffed, it was time to ride Screamin’. Generally after I eat a big meal, I like to immediately go upside down. Karen and Maddie stayed behind to ride the Golden Zephyr and the Jumpin' Jellyfish while the rest of us headed to our doom . . . um, I meant headed to the really big roller coaster.
In hindsight, I realized that this had been my first time riding a “true” outdoor roller coaster. No wonder I was just a tad nervous. Mary Devall, however, showed zero signs of nerves and was simply excited. She just kills me that she can get herself so worked up over the swings, but be over-the-moon excited about a roller coaster.
She was literally bouncing around as we waited in the short line. The only thing that finally contained her was the shoulder harness . . . although she could still squeal and clap her hands. From the moment we took off, I closed my eyes. I just didn’t want to know when the big loop was coming. This ride was so smooth that I literally had no idea if I had gone upside down or not. Sharon had told Mary Devall that her favorite part of the ride were the little bunny hops near the end, so I figured when Mary Devall screamed that those were coming up that I was safe to open my eyes. This ended up being my only time riding it since I took “Maddie duty” the next day when everyone rode, but I really would like to ride it again with my eyes open this time! It truly was a ride.
We met up with Karen and Maddie and then all rode Goofy’s Sky School again . . . well, except for Thom who decided to sit out a second ride. I might should have done the same because, even with Bonine in my system, I still felt a little blech afterwards!
The parade was just finished up, so we stayed put and watched the end of it . . . and even got a little wet from the spritzing floats!
After the parade moved through, we went back to the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and let the girls take the challenge. We tried to let the girls go together to do the challenges, but Mary Devall kept coming back without her sister.
The funniest challenge was when they had to go into a cave and come out with their spirit animal. Maddie was all excited when she came out and announced that she was a wolf. Mary Devall came out with a smirk so we knew this was going to be good . . . she was a squirrel. I think that Thom tormented her with that the entire vacation and I’m pretty sure that he informed her that it was karma coming back to bite her after leaving her sister.
The very first challenge was to find tracks and the girls never could conquer that one. We had convinced Maddie to just give it up (which wasn’t hard since she just wanted to play on the tire zip line ), but Mary Devall is not one to quit so she finally got her soul sister, Karen, to help her out and they came back victorious.
Maddie was an overachiever when it came to the tire zipline. She must have done this no less than 10 times.
The Wilderness Explorer badge is given out at specific times, but we didn’t want to wait around for an hour (since we felt as if we had already been there for an hour ) so they had their own private badge ceremony with one of the rangers. I wish that Terry could have sworn them in, but he was working inside the challenge area now.
Our last ride of the day was Soarin’. It was cool to finally experience this ride in the state where it was set. Minnie’s Fly Girls were just starting a set when we came outside, so we stayed to watch this really cute show.
When we reached the front of the park, Karen headed back to the parking garage to get the car while the rest of us crossed the way for our first visit to DL since the girls wanted a sneak peek of the castle. This is where you really have to love the convenience of having the two parks right across from each other. You can just pop over without one bit of trouble.
Mary Devall had been warned repeatedly that the DL castle was tiny, but when she first saw it the only thing she could say was “Well, that’s just sad.” Even though the castle was not the icon that it is at WDW, she still loved everything about DL and she really “got it” that this park was the original and that not everything was going to be over the top.
We ended up getting stuck by the parade, so we took off to Toon Town to look around a little. Since Karen might be waiting on us, we decided not to ride anything right then and head over to Tomorrowland when the parade had moved on. Even with the little that we saw of Toon Town, I could see why there was simply no comparison to the sad shell of a Toon Town that used to exist at WDW. Mary Devall could have easily used her “Well, that’s just sad” comment about the old WDW Toon Town after seeing this one!
When we made it to TL, we headed right for the monorail which was apparently going to take us to DTD. The monorail cars are much smaller, but they are so cute!
The only problem with them being small is that they fill up quickly. Another group of people were loading from the other door to our car and, by the time that Thom, Maddie and I tried to enter, the car was full. One of the monorail drivers asked Thom if we wanted to ride up front with him, so off we went. In hindsight, Zack, Mary Devall and Sharon should have come with us because there was plenty of room.
Maddie was the only one in our family never to experience riding in the front of the monorail, so I was tickled pink that she finally had the chance. She had the best time just looking at the big window and tried her best to put up with Thom and me being a little snap happy with the camera.
It was a zippy little ride and we were soon being deposited right in the middle of DTD. The girls were so excited to see the stores that we passed . . . namely, Build-a-bear and the Lego store for Maddie . . . as we walked to the Disneyland Hotel.
It seemed as if we walked less than five minutes before we reached our hotel. The check-in desk was located in the Fantasy Tower and we spotted Karen at the desk as soon as we walked inside. The girls immediately took off for the really cool tea cup chairs that were in their lobby.
One CM checked all three of us in and then we took off for the Adventure Tower. I don’t remember why at this point (maybe Karen had stayed behind to have the car valet parked), but we must not have gone to our rooms at the same time. I do remember that when we walked in our room, we loved the size of the room, but what really blew us away was the phenomenal view that the expansive wall of windows gave us of DTD, DCA and DL. If we weren’t sleeping or getting ready, we were looking out at that view. It was simply incredible.
I say that we must not have gone to our rooms at the same time because I didn’t see Karen, Sharon or Zack until we were upstairs in the lounge a little bit later for some snacks and wine before dinner. Karen said something about the cool entryway into our room and I realized that she thought we were on one side of their room, but we were actually on the other side.
Karen, Sharon and Zack had to go through a set of double doors to an ante room that had doors to two separate hotel rooms. Karen thought we were in the other room since we had asked for connecting rooms. The funny thing is that we discovered that we really did have connecting rooms even though we weren’t the other door in the ante room. None of us really could figure out the purpose of that set up.
Anyway, back to the lounge. It was located on the 11th and we figured out that it was directly above our two rooms because we had the same view. Having someone serve you wine took a little getting used to, but you truly felt as if the CM’s were taking care of you. Our group could often be found in the corner where we had large round table, a tv, a computer and an outlet for Eileen to keep her laptop charged.
Eileen’s award ceremony was that night, so Karen asked the CM for three glasses of sparkling wine so that we could toast her and send the picture to her. It was a good thing that we weren’t drinking the wine each time we toasted or we would have been toasted because it took numerous tries to get just the right picture. It was all worth it in the end because I do believe that Eileen loved her picture from us (and made her miss us a little too ).
You got so much done at DCA! You did all the rides that made me dizzy just to look at. Guess that Bonine really does work for you! I love the way all those rides (including the crazy swings) look from a distance, but will never ride them. It's really true that the CS options are so much better at DLR. Your room sounds fantastic.
Wow! What a day! And you rode all those rides I don't ride.
Mary Devall is so right about the castle. After living in Florida, we couldn't get over the "squatty little castle" - and Disneyland is my home park. But I think of the Matterhorn as Disneyland's true icon. The first time I walked into the MK at WDW I was in shock and said, "Where is the Matterhorn?"
But wouldn't it be fun if "Soarin" changed up what place you soared over and you wouldn't know which one you were going to get until the ride started?
Enjoying your report. I like to think of the castle as "cute". Did the girls get a chance to do the castle walk through? Looking forward to reading more...
Or and the mattress coming off the truck, my worst nightmare something flying through the air towards my car from another vehicle. Scary
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Why did I not ever know that? 
You could stand inside the gate of one park and see the other park. This was about the point where Thom started to fall in 
with the Disneyland Resort!
And wouldn't it spoil the whole Disneyland atmosphere by having another park so close by? No way! I love that! It was especially awesome at the Food & Wine Festival when we closed down DCA at a private wine event and then walked over to Disneyland - a night to remember! 
PassPorter Guide Author
Holly: 
Both girls simply loved this ride . . . so much so that we got more FP’s after we rode it. 
Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta had all of the traditional Italian offerings. 
Karen and Maddie stayed behind to ride the Golden Zephyr and the Jumpin' Jellyfish while the rest of us headed to our doom . . . um, I meant headed to the really big roller coaster. 
From the moment we took off, I closed my eyes. I just didn’t want to know when the big loop was coming. This ride was so smooth that I literally had no idea if I had gone upside down or not. Sharon had told Mary Devall that her favorite part of the ride were the little bunny hops near the end, so I figured when Mary Devall screamed that those were coming up that I was safe to open my eyes. 
ride.
Mary Devall could have easily used her “Well, that’s just sad” comment about the old WDW Toon Town after seeing this one! 
One of the monorail drivers asked Thom if we wanted to ride up front with him, so off we went. In hindsight, Zack, Mary Devall and Sharon should have come with us because there was plenty of room.
The check-in desk was located in the Fantasy Tower and we spotted Karen at the desk as soon as we walked inside. The girls immediately took off for the really cool tea cup chairs that were in their lobby. 
It was a good thing that we weren’t drinking the wine each time we toasted or we would have been toasted because it took numerous tries to get just the right picture. 
).
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