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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 went last weekend. I hate to say it but I was disappointed. I liked the old one better. Don't get me wrong- it was nice- but I remember reading that it was going to have all these cool and neat things. It just looked like a bigger version of what we have in the mall. It carries all Disney Store items, not Disney World like the old store and I didn't find anything "different" about it. (Although it did have the Ride Makerz area). I was thinking I was being a little harsh but my sister in law went and though the same thing. On a good note though- it took my Disney store coupon so I saved 25%. But then again I also saved because I didn't spend anywhere close to what I expected since it was all the same stuff I could get online with the exception of a few NYC specific items.
Nancy and I are going to NYC for a day on Dec. 1st and plan on checking it out. I thought I heard it was pretty much a Disney store. We will still go and check it out though.
Nancy and I are going to NYC for a day on Dec. 1st and plan on checking it out. I thought I heard it was pretty much a Disney store. We will still go and check it out though.
I went last weekend. I hate to say it but I was disappointed. I liked the old one better. Don't get me wrong- it was nice- but I remember reading that it was going to have all these cool and neat things. It just looked like a bigger version of what we have in the mall. It carries all Disney Store items, not Disney World like the old store and I didn't find anything "different" about it. (Although it did have the Ride Makerz area). I was thinking I was being a little harsh but my sister in law went and though the same thing. On a good note though- it took my Disney store coupon so I saved 25%. But then again I also saved because I didn't spend anywhere close to what I expected since it was all the same stuff I could get online with the exception of a few NYC specific items.
Let me know if you have any specific questions.
I agree with Marisa. We went last Wednesday, and I was greatly disappointed, as was DH. It was so much smaller than the 5th Avenue store! Didn't really feel any different than the Disney store at my mall! I took some pictures. I'll see if I can upload them soon!
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NYC Disney Store
Our Party (Kelly-Mom, Chris - Dad, Brandy-19 yr. old)
Our Journey (Sunday evening 11/21/10 –it was dark by the time we arrived in Time Square)
When I heard that the new NYC Disney Store would be in the old Virgin Record Mega store location I thought, ‘that will be one massive Disney Store.’ I guess the LOCATION was the part I missed. So if you were familiar with the layout of the prior Virgin Records Mega store you will recognize it when I talk about the new adjacent Forever 21 store with the soaring three or four floors and center escalators. In the Forever 21 store, there was a confetti covered Taxi on the bottom floor. Still in Forever 21, much beautiful, open space in the middle-bright lighting and wide-open spaces gave us ample room for browsing and shopping (including room for strollers).
While in the LOCATION of the Virgin Records Mega store, the new New York City Disney Store takes up what I would guess would be 1/6 of the location with the rest being Forever 21 store. In the NYC Disney store I could only find two stories. Aside from the amazing guest service by happy Cast Members, and Mary Poppins silhouettes on the walls, the magic was lost in the crowd on me. Pedestrian traffic inside the store was reminiscent of the original Hershey’s Times Square location. Oh, however, if you like ICE, be sure to look at the chandelier behind the castle walls on the second floor. The swings with friends from the Hundred Acre Woods felt even more cramped than the Robot Elevator had in the toy store across from the Plaza. Upstairs, I thought my husband had stopped to see Buzz Lightyear while my daughter and I went to Jasmine’s Castle, but he was actually wondering when Disney bought the rights to Marvel Comics and Spiderman.
My daughter noticed that there were no films for sale. The art from the Fifth Avenue store was not to be fond by me, neither was a restroom. There was a sign that said to check out Disney Theater, but I didn’t tolerate the crowds long enough to find that. I do not remember hearing any music. The shape of the store was what we would have called a ‘shotgun house,’ but may not feel so tight if you were never familiar with the original Virgin Record Mega store.
The one unique item that tempted me was a red NYC Mickey Mouse metal water bottle-full size. In other designs, they had the child sizes as well. Of course there were the ‘Mickey Mouse meets the Statue of Liberty’ plush dolls, which seemed to delight the cast member displaying it, and regular NYC merchandise we had seen in the previous Disney store, but I found no collectible pins. Lotso from the most recent Toy Story film was there in grand size and my husband was amazed that they were selling a ‘dirty’ bear. Plush displays have been rivaled elsewhere, and I have had more fun recently in the Rockaway and Willowbrook, NJ Disney stores. I don’t believe that any stroller would have gotten through any of the aisles with the crowds that were there much less to the elevators at 6:00 on a Sunday night. However, the store is newly opened, and this was two days after the first gridlock alert of this Holiday season. I am hoping to hear some more chipper trip reports from those of you going at a much more desolate time.
We missed our usual pre-trip to Trump Towers for hot chocolate on our way down 5th Avenue and went to an off-Broadway play after our visit to the Disney Store instead of to Central Park, although my daughter did get to shop at one of those clothing stores that I cannot pronounce. We followed our trip with a drink and appetizers at the Hard Rock Café and were in and out of the Bar within an hour and arrived for our play with time to spare. We saw my friend in a One-Act-Play and he did an awesome job!
Trip Highlights: Look UP on the walls for the silhouettes. A Great stop before seeing Mary Poppins. Be sure to walk around behind the castle walls!
Thanks for the review Kelly! The magic was lost on us as well. Although we did find out that you could use the restroom (on the second floor), you just had to find a CM to let you past the locked door!
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Nancy and I liked it. Yeah, the merchandise was like the regular Disney stores, except for the NYC merchandise. But I liked the Castle you went through to get to the Princess stuff, the chandelier and stuff. I did like the older store much better, but when it comes to a standard Disney store, I liked it much better.
Well, at least better then our Disney store here in Ma. ours just has sheets hanging on the wall with some Characters on it.
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Didn't really feel any different than the Disney store at my mall! 
I took some pictures. I'll see if I can upload them soon!
Deb
be sure to look at the chandelier behind the castle walls on the second floor. The swings with friends from the Hundred Acre Woods felt even more cramped than the Robot Elevator had in the toy store across from the Plaza. Upstairs, I thought my husband had stopped to see Buzz Lightyear while my daughter and I went to Jasmine’s Castle, but he was actually wondering when Disney bought the rights to Marvel Comics and Spiderman. 
However, the store is newly opened, and this was two days after the first gridlock alert of this Holiday season. I am hoping to hear some more chipper trip reports from those of you going at a much more desolate time. 
in and out of the Bar within an hour and arrived for our play with time to spare. We saw my friend in a One-Act-Play and he did an awesome job! 
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