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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 stopped after Animal Kingdom. It felt like he was doing an inspection. You know how the food inspectors come in and try to find out what you are doing WRONG. Instead of sitting back and seeing what the place has to offer? I mean first off, he didn't mention the BEST attractions just the ones that are so so which baffled me. Now that I think of it, he said little on anything positive. He really went in there like this park sucks and I'm going to prove how it sucks! He needs to relax and enjoy the experience that compels us to make the pilgrimage all the way to our happy place. Then maybe he will be...well...happy. LOL
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Not long now....August 22-August 28, 2011. Fort Wilderness Cabins!
One thing I found amusing was when he critquing Tower of Terror because of the asthetics and storyline built around it. LOL, that's what distinquishes Disney from everywhere else, and why I love it.
It's not just the parks, or the resorts, or the eateries. It's the whole package!
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"If I've found one redeeming feature of the Disney World experience, it's the community spirit that's fostered when strangers all join together for a primal shriek of fear—or joy."
I don't think the whole article is negative. I thought it was well written. He's certainly entitled to his opinion! I know many people who have gone to WDW and though they didn't hate it, they are in no hurry to go again. They aren't weird or sad, they just didn't like it. What's wrong with that?
I don't understand why everyone is attacking this author! So what if he doesn't agree with you? Is that any reason to dismiss his views? What happened to the kind, accepting Passporters I know and love?
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poohmaine
Last edited by poohmaine; 04-04-2008 at 10:58 AM..
Reason: spelling
My DH actually found this article and sent it to me a few days ago.
He said, "Are we like this? Are we short-changing the kids?"
I was so sad. We had a big discussion about it and I asked DH if he wanted to go other places. He didn't - not yet at least. And I agreed. I don't believe we're short-changing the boys at all. I don't think for one minute that 6 and 4 yr olds will enjoy a trip to Germany or to Italy, but they sure do love swimming with Mommy and Daddy at a resort pool after a morning of taking silly pictures with their favorite characters and riding on some fun rides. We certainly enrich their lives in a plethora of ways - living in NYC it's really easy to do. We take them to museums, aquariums, zoos, ballgames, restaurants, car shows, parks, church, parades, and the list goes on.
I think everyone is entitled to their opinions. I also think some people view WDW differently once they've had children. I've always loved it - through each phase of my life - but watching my children squeal with delight or stare in uncompromised awe gives me a whole new look on WDW and it's treasures. I hated that this guy who obviously doesn't get the Disney "IT" made my DH and I feel bad for even a minute, but that was my fault for doubting myself. I think I'm rather well-balanced and cultured, knowledgeable and interested in a good array of things about the world, and my parents took me to WDW once or twice each year for good old fashioned QUALITY FAMILY FUN. That to me is the point of vacation - doesn't matter where it's taken or for how long.
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Gina Marie
Last edited by GinaButtrfly; 04-04-2008 at 01:00 PM..
I read the article (thanks for the link Pam). I agree that the author went to WDW with a VERY negative attitude. I know that Disney isn't for everyone, but to dis the people who love the experience is terrible. I know people who go on vacation overseas and complain the whole time about everything. This author is the same.(IMOHO). I think he sets himself up as superior to everyone else and uses his articles to demonstrate how higher up he is from the rest of us, especially when he comments on the lack of children, and overabundance of adults. What, adults don't like Disney? I think he is short sighted and closed-minded.
Remarkable how the little things that we all love about Disney are a real irritant to this writer. As a family, we go on various types of vacations including Disney. We always go with our eyes wide open...it's amazing how much you miss if you don't...maybe that's what happened to this columnist.
Awww.......c'mon.......we're being too hard on the poor man. He's probably a closet Disney fanatic who visits the World at least twice per year (maybe even a DVC member?!) and only wrote this aricle to meet expectations of his employer!
Seriously though, a friend e-mailed me this article a few days ago. While I wasn't overly offended by it, I did find it quite boring after a while - more of the same. My kids have been lucky enough to live and travel abroad as well as visit WDW. They'll be the first to say that they like both types of experiences for different reasons. Talk about being nerdy!
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I also enjoyed the article and while I don't agree, we've been to Disney many times, I think he made some valid points. One thing that bothers me is this idea that he's a sad, lonely. little man because he doesn't like Disney. Maybe he just didn't like it. When we went with my sister she didn't care for it and would be happy to never go back. And she is by no means cynical, jaded or hip. It just wasn't her thing. We don't really know what he was thinking before he went or how biased he was going in, only that it isn't a Vacation destination he would want to go to every year. Thats how I feel about Las Vegas and I know tons of people who go there every year. To each his own. At least he went, my biggest problem are the people who hate Disneyworld and have never been!!!
Isn't us thinking he's a sad little man for not liking Disney, the same as him thinking we're stupid, uncultured hicks for liking it?
I'm not trying to make anyone mad or offend anyone, just my opinion.
Just to clarify, I don't think that he's a sad,lonely little man becuase he doesn't like WDW. To each their own and more power to 'em. I think that he's a sad, cynical, little man because he has to denegrate that which he doesn't like rather than just accepting that different people like different things. I think that he's a cynical, wanna be hipster because he portrays those of us who like Disney as rubes or benighted simpletons. I know that attitude well as I used to be one of those guys.
So the fact that he doesn't like WDW is not why I have a problem with the article. His cynical, superior attitude is the problem.
I just thought it was funny that he described Hollywood Studios as "soulless". Well that actuallly describes Hollywood to a "T" doesn't it?? And what about his comments on the lack of "black people" in Animal Kingdom's Africa? Just because he didn't see many African (American or otherwise) tourists the day he was there was no reason for comment.
You get out of an experience exactly what you put into it. I'll agree WDW isn't perfect, but I can't imagine a place more devoted to giving you a happy experience. But, if you feel like not having fun, you won't no matter where you are.
Some people in the world are destined for greatness, others for grumpiness. Guess which catagory this poor man fits into. How does the old saying go? May the bird of Paradise fly up your nose.
It just proves what my grammy always said "ya get more flys with honey than vinager" maybe if he had a better disposition he would have had a better time.
"If I've found one redeeming feature of the Disney World experience, it's the community spirit that's fostered when strangers all join together for a primal shriek of fear—or joy."
It took him till the third day to find something good! How sad! Well, I will go every chance I get and if I could, I would be one of those selling my future leisure time to spend it in WDW every year!
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I know many people who have gone to WDW and though they didn't hate it, they are in no hurry to go again. They aren't weird or sad, they just didn't like it. What's wrong with that?
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