From no trip to celebrating 20 years together… planning it all in less than 100 days! LIVE UPDATE 3/10 - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Yes, I don't understand how their computer system is so messed up. It's interesting how things can work differently on the desktop vs. ipad vs. smartphone! You can get different results with each one. Very weird. Glad you could finally get it sorted over the phone - the old fashioned way!
Lots of great plans for the other parks so far too.
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I agree with you on how frustrating the Disney website can be at times! I'm glad that you were able to get your annual passes through member services though. You never know in March how warm it going to be in Florida, as we have been there when it's warm and beautiful and other times we're bundled in layers, so hopefully this time will be the sunny, warm weather and you'll get the chance to swim at Sea World! Your plans sound like a lot of fun!
I see that your FUN planning experience continues. Your analysis of ticket pricing is right on. Judy and I have had APs for several years. We chose not to get one last year since it was a year of major construction at WDW. We had special 4 day tickets for our trip in November but when we found out that the new 45th anniversary AP would be for 13 months we jumped on it. One advantage for us is the free parking since we typically do not stay on property. Our last full year with an AP was 2015. We used the free parking 56 days for a savings of $1120. I do not remember what the price of the AP was then but it was around $700 for a total of $1400. Makes sense to me. Another big advantage was the addition of the Photopass. In the past, we pay the $169 for each trip. That was usually 3 or 4 times a year. Even with the price increase, we still come out ahead.
I like your information on the Sea World parks. We typically do not do water parks. However, that does look like a lot of fun. You mentioned Summit Plummit. When we had our then 15 year old grand-daughter with us in 2013, she wanted to go to Blizzard Beach. I took her and got in the queue for Summit Plummit. After 3+ hours on line, we were # 1 & 2 for the plunge. It looks a lot more scary when you are at the top. The plunge takes only a few seconds from the top to the bottom----NO time to be scared. We both arrived at the bottom with swimsuits intact and proceeded to the lazy river for the rest of the time at the park. Would I do it again? That is a big maybe and only if the queue was much shorter. Judy does not do water parks at all.
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Plans continue to look good! And now you'll be able to do Rivers of Light - just announced it will debut February 17! I can't wait to see your pictures, as I'm not sure when we'll fit in a WDW trip.
I agree with you on how frustrating the Disney website can be at times! I'm glad that you were able to get your annual passes through member services though. You never know in March how warm it going to be in Florida, as we have been there when it's warm and beautiful and other times we're bundled in layers, so hopefully this time will be the sunny, warm weather and you'll get the chance to swim at Sea World! Your plans sound like a lot of fun!
I think quite a few of us who'll be there at the same time are all hoping for nice, warm and sunny weather. That would be perfect.
I see that your FUN planning experience continues. Your analysis of ticket pricing is right on. Judy and I have had APs for several years. We chose not to get one last year since it was a year of major construction at WDW. We had special 4 day tickets for our trip in November but when we found out that the new 45th anniversary AP would be for 13 months we jumped on it. One advantage for us is the free parking since we typically do not stay on property. Our last full year with an AP was 2015. We used the free parking 56 days for a savings of $1120. I do not remember what the price of the AP was then but it was around $700 for a total of $1400. Makes sense to me. Another big advantage was the addition of the Photopass. In the past, we pay the $169 for each trip. That was usually 3 or 4 times a year. Even with the price increase, we still come out ahead.
Wow, you certainly did - those are some great savings.
Quote:
I like your information on the Sea World parks. We typically do not do water parks. However, that does look like a lot of fun. You mentioned Summit Plummit. When we had our then 15 year old grand-daughter with us in 2013, she wanted to go to Blizzard Beach. I took her and got in the queue for Summit Plummit. After 3+ hours on line, we were # 1 & 2 for the plunge. It looks a lot more scary when you are at the top. The plunge takes only a few seconds from the top to the bottom----NO time to be scared. We both arrived at the bottom with swimsuits intact and proceeded to the lazy river for the rest of the time at the park. Would I do it again? That is a big maybe and only if the queue was much shorter. Judy does not do water parks at all.
Wow, you are much braver than me - there is no way I'd ever do Summit Plummit!
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Plans continue to look good! And now you'll be able to do Rivers of Light - just announced it will debut February 17! I can't wait to see your pictures, as I'm not sure when we'll fit in a WDW trip.
I know - Laurie (lauriep) just highlighted that to me in an email, she's more on the ball than me. I'm busy rearranging our plans right now....
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Glad you were able to get all your tickers sorted and were finally able to get your APs. The Disney website can be so frustrating! I don't understand how a multi billion dollar company can't invest to improve their website.
Glad you were able to get all your tickers sorted and were finally able to get your APs. The Disney website can be so frustrating! I don't understand how a multi billion dollar company can't invest to improve their website.
I know - Laurie (lauriep) just highlighted that to me in an email, she's more on the ball than me. I'm busy rearranging our plans right now....
I just spent about an hour rearranging my plans and booking Rivers of Light dining packages at Tiffins on the two days we might possibly be at AK. I'll cancel one of them eventually! I'm so excited for this show!
I absolutely love Discovery Cove...been twice and cannot wait to visit again. 1st time we did the Dolphin swim & the second time I did trainer for a day. It was interesting but definitely a one & done thing. Truly looking forward to your photos from Discovery Cove to see the changes etc.
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I'm glad that you were able to get your annual passes through member services though. You never know in March how warm it going to be in Florida, as we have been there when it's warm and beautiful and other times we're bundled in layers, so hopefully this time will be the sunny, warm weather and you'll get the chance to swim at Sea World! Your plans sound like a lot of fun!
I can't wait to see your pictures, as I'm not sure when we'll fit in a WDW trip.
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I'm busy rearranging our plans right now....
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