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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
You're certainly bringing back the memories for me with this - some good, like the sundae and others not so great, like those crowds and those awful character costumes. We were so lucky in that we got to Mann's Theatre about 8:00am on a Saturday and it was deserted. We went back later in the day and it was a complete zoo!
Very interesting about the characters down there. I had heard it was crazy crowded and not clean. The ice cream looks yummy! I love all the pictures and you did a great job considering all the people too!
Ah, Hollywood. My girls were totally shocked at how gross it was. They were not expecting it to be that way at all. They were really shocked at all the characters and how awful their costumes were. I told them that they wanted money too, to take pictures with them. They said WDW and DL were so much better!
Sounded like a good time though. I am just a tad bit jealous that you got to watch Frozen at the El Capitan. Can't wait for the review of that!
Oh my word the costumes were horrible! I think that helped curb Lexi's interest in taking photos with them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
What a great day at Hollywood so far! Well, minus the people trying to sell their products or services.
Thank you Mayra!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackid2
What a great way to start your vacation!! Can't wait to read more.
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
You're certainly bringing back the memories for me with this - some good, like the sundae and others not so great, like those crowds and those awful character costumes. We were so lucky in that we got to Mann's Theatre about 8:00am on a Saturday and it was deserted. We went back later in the day and it was a complete zoo!
I am glad I could bring back the good memories, it's a shame it comes along with not so great ones. If we ever make it back to Hollywood I may have to head down there early on, I really would like to see everything when it isn't so crowded but I have a feeling that doesn't happen often.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Very interesting about the characters down there. I had heard it was crazy crowded and not clean. The ice cream looks yummy! I love all the pictures and you did a great job considering all the people too!
I did some cropping of the photos and did a lot of standing there until people moved out of the way to get photos. That is why I have only one handprint photo...no amount of waiting would have helped in those crowds!
No worries about the updates, but glad you're putting those snow days to good use...
It looks like I may get in another update as early as tomorrow, I just got word that we have another snow day for tomorrow! I admit I am going a bit stir crazy.
It looks like I may get in another update as early as tomorrow, I just got word that we have another snow day for tomorrow! I admit I am going a bit stir crazy.
Oh good grief! Will this winter never end? Over here, it's rain, rain and more rain - not great when so many areas have been flooded out already.
You guys always get the brunt of the winter storms! How many days have you missed? Dylan is up to 7 now. Back in school today though - even though this morning it was VERY cold.
Looks like you did well considering the crowds that morning. Bummer those Christmas trees blocked the view to be able to see the Hollywood sign. Can't wait to hear about the movie going experience!
You guys always get the brunt of the winter storms! How many days have you missed? Dylan is up to 7 now. Back in school today though - even though this morning it was VERY cold.
Looks like you did well considering the crowds that morning. Bummer those Christmas trees blocked the view to be able to see the Hollywood sign. Can't wait to hear about the movie going experience!
You have us beat in snow days this year. We are up to 4. We had a storm hit us over winter break and a couple storms hit over the weekends, so that has helped limit the amount of snow days.
There was a very large line in front of the theater, but it was for general admission, which does not have assigned seating. I ordered tickets online for the “VIP” section which gives you an assigned seat and also includes a bucket of popcorn and a 20 oz drink. The line for ticket holders was much shorter and we hopped in that line. Soon the doors were opening and we were led to the concession area to pick up our popcorn and drinks.
The ceiling in the queue while we were waiting.
I loved the light fixtures.
We were on the balcony level, so we made our way up the stairs and were greeted by an usher that helped us find our seats. The theater was decorated for the occasion. It was gorgeous in there, the pictures don't do it justice.
The ceiling in the theater.
Before the movie there was an ice carving show that was fun to watch. It was a mix of music, lights, carving and a video. I will say that it was neat to see these ladies working with a chainsaw, but they did a very simple carving. Mind you, I would not be able to do this but I was just expecting something a bit more I guess.
After the ice carving show it started to snow in the theater...true Disney magic! Then Anna and Elsa came out to say hello. Lexi was thrilled! By the time the movie started she was bouncing out of her seat.
You can sort of see the snow in this picture.
It was now time for our glasses and the movie to begin!
This was our third time watching the movie and we loved it just as much as the first time. Frozen is now in my top 5 favorite Disney movies! After the movie we let the crowd thin out and then we headed back to our car. We had a 2 ½ hour drive ahead of us, so we needed to get moving. We found our car easily in the parking garage and made our way to the exit. The credit card machines were down, so they had attendants running around taking money from people. It caused a bit of a backup just getting out of the parking garage. Justin got our ticket validated at the El Capitan, so parking was only $3.
Justin's phone hadn't picked up a signal yet so the GPS wasn't working and we lost sight of Brian and Whitney. We stayed in the right lane as we were already there and traffic was heavy and turned right out of the garage. Of course once the GPS picked up we realized we were going in the wrong direction. We turned around easy enough and made our way to the highway. On the way we passed the WB studios and Griffith Park. I would have loved to stop at Griffith Park, but we just didn't have enough time. Once on the highway we hit a stand-still and crawled along for a good hour. Even with our hold up we made up time and it took just over 2 ½ hours to make it to Brian and Whitney's house in Yucca Valley.
It was dark when we arrived, so we just hung out at their house and ordered pizza for dinner. The next day was New Year's Eve and we spent the day being lazy, watching movies, and eating lots of yummy junk food. Justin and I also ventured out for a bit of shopping without Lexi. This tree was in their front yard and Justin became obsessed with the Joshua Tree, so I had to get his picture in front of the tree.
On New Years Day we headed to Joshua Tree National Park. There is an entrance about 10 minutes from Brian's house. We discovered online the night before that active duty military members can get an annual pass for free ($80 value). The pass allowed Brian plus three additional adults in for free, so it was perfect for us!
We stopped at the Joshua Tree visitor center so Brian could aquire his pass and we also picked up a map. The lady at the counter said it would take about an hour and a half to drive from the Joshua Tree entrance to the Twentynine Palms entrance, so we decided to take that route. With all of the stops we made it took us about 3 ½ hours to make it along that route. It was absolutely gorgeous and of course you can see why it is named Joshua Tree National Park as it is full of Joshua trees. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. I took a lot and tried to trim them down to post here.
Our first stop at a pile of rocks.
Lexi and Whitney
Lexi was on a hunt to find cactus and she wanted pictures when she was successful.
Our second stop:
Justin really wanted to see some wildlife, but we were told that you should come early in the morning or be there at dusk (which was after the park closed on this day) for the wildlife to become active. We were teasing about looking for animals when I saw Lexi's Furby toy that she got in her McDonald's happy meal earlier that week. It became a joke throughout the rest of our visit where the elusive Furby would show up. He made quite a few appearances while we were at the park.
Here was his first appearance.
Next he was spotted in a tree.
We then moved on to our third stop:
At this spot Lexi really got a taste for climbing all over the rocks.
Is that the elusive Furby??
Furby??
We found some professional rock climbers.
Gorgeous!
Brian made it to the top.
And what did he find up there? Why, is that Furby?
I would love to try this some day.
Our fourth stop was at a spot called Hidden Valley.
Peek-a-boo Lexi!
We stopped at Skull Rock, but didn't get out of the car, I snapped a couple quick pictures.
You can sort of make out the eye sockets of skull rock.
Off in the distance we could see the base where Brian works. I failed to get a picture though. We came out at Twentynine Palms and stopped at the Oasis Visitor center as I wanted to check out the gift shop. I wanted to add to my magnet collection. Lexi also picked out some post cards.
Joshua Tree National Park is gorgeous and if you ever get a chance to visit I highly recommend it. Of course we didn't even cover a fraction of the park, but what we saw was breath taking.
We left the visitor center at closing and drove back to Yucca Valley, which took maybe 30 minutes. We all went to bed early that night as we had an early morning ahead of us!
Oh wow - the theatre looks amazing and what a neat pre-show they had too!
How cool that you visited Joshua Tree - we were there almost a year to the day before you were. I think, if memory serves me right, we were there 28 December 2012.
Oh wow - the theatre looks amazing and what a neat pre-show they had too!
How cool that you visited Joshua Tree - we were there almost a year to the day before you were. I think, if memory serves me right, we were there 28 December 2012.
Now that you mention it I remember reading about your Joshua Tree NP visit in your TR.
Loving your report so far. I definitely have to add Hollywood to my places to visit. Never heard of Joshua Tree National Park before but it looks beautiful. I think I will add that to my list of places too
I'm glad I finally got some time to catch up on your report! The photos from Joshua Tree NP are amazing. Lexi is quite a little mountain goat and looks so cute with her front tooth missing! You did pretty well maneuvering around the sleezy crowds in front of the theater. Those "characters" would be funny if there weren't something creepy about them. Lucky you to have seen the Frozen show at El Capitan. There was something non-Disney there when I was there. Did you buy any of the Frozen merchandise? I'm at WDW right now and with the overwhelming demand people are pretty mad that there's not much around to buy. All the dolls are out of stock, and the playsets, too! The lines to meet Elsa and Ana are sometimes more than 2 hours long. I peeked in at them, and they do look wonderful. I loved that movie.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
and others not so great, like those crowds and those awful character costumes. 
We were so lucky in that we got to Mann's Theatre about 8:00am on a Saturday and it was deserted. We went back later in the day and it was a complete zoo! 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Linear Mode
