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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Thanks! Yes, the trip is settling in my mind, and I'm enjoying reflecting on what we planned and what we actually did.
Huntermom, you are right. Touring is WORK. There is a ton of walking, including just the 1 mile from hotel to gate. Trying to go 3 days in a row was a mistake.
TR:
I had a hard time adjusting from the intended trip (girls trip with son and grandma along, but having separate experience) to what came to be, a mom, son, and grandma trip.
Personality-wise, I would be the natural leader in our group. I have a strong personality and strong opinions, but I'm happier when someone else takes the lead. No such luck on this trip.
My mom is not a leader. We tried to give her "choice time" but she rejected it! She wanted to go on Pirates, and that was her only request.
My son would be happy to lead, but the entire trip would be spent sitting at the lego store while he played. I'm not kidding.
Day 1 am plan: Rope drop PP, do Fantasyland attractions, iasw, then toon town.
Day 1 actual: I got in the wrong line to exchanged my ticket for vouchers (I wanted to do this the night before, but it was not to be). We arrived with plenty of time, but ended up pretty far back at rope drop due to the long ticketing wait. We decided to try to rope drop PP on Sunday instead. The rest of the plan went well.
DS was really excited to go on Gadget's Go Coaster. He is new to rollercoasters and felt ready for this one. He did go on it, but did not like it. It was a one-and-done for him. He did enjoy exploring all the houses in Toontown, and we enjoyed meeting Mickey with minimal wait.
Sounds good for day 1 with the exception of getting in the wrong line to exchange your ticket vouchers! Will be interesting to see how the trip unfolds.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I found the ticket voucher exchange line to be very slow at DLR, which messed up my first day plans a few years ago. I like how you are showing planned versus actual!
The snafu was that we got in line on the DtD side. I had seen that lines were short and moving well on the Harbour side, should have gone there. We got in line behind someone that was having a very unmagical experience, and it was taking forever to sort out. By the time I got back to my mom, she was at the turnstiles with all our stuff, letting people pass her. Probably annoyed a bunch of folks. On the plus side, DS is old enough, he could run around between the two of us and didn't get lost. That was great.
Day 1 Plan continued: After toon town, head to TL for star tours and other attractions, then either stay for parade or head back to hotel.
Day 1 actual continued:
DS didn't want that much time on Gadgets (once was enough), but we made up for it by visiting Mickey's house and him playing around while DMom and I rested and did some texting with friends and had a generally good time. I forgot to mention that I had picked up FP for fantasmic at 9pm as well as Star Tours. ST is a DS fave, and I love it too. One of my goals was to ride ST a bunch of times to see as many scenarios as possible.
After leaving TT, we had a little time before our FP for Star Tours was up, so we wandered toward NOS. The line for Pirates was reasonable, and DS was getting testy about this time. I decided that I was going to take the reigns, so I popped us in line. I'm guessing it was a 20 min wait. Pirates is a great line for people watching, so I set us up with a game. I had a clicking knitting row counter with me to make counting things fun, and the challenge I set was "Disney T-Shirts without Mickey or Minnie on them." We did count Marvel and Star Wars in this, and we found quite a few. It was a fun challenge.
When we got to the boats, DS flipped. He didn't want to ride. We managed to stall until it was too late for him to get out. He's ridden this before and liked it, but the initial dark area spooks him. I'm sorry, he's 9 1/2. He can freaking go on Pirates!
After the intial drop, he had a great time, but until then, he complained loudly, totally making me crazy. You all would have hated us if you were in the same boat with us!
Good idea for the POTC line to pass the time and keep your son occupied. Sounds like a good day overall.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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I'm glad you got DS to ride and he at least enjoyed it for some of the time....
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