Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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07-07-2000, 11:58 AM
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#1
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: The Colony, Texas
Posts: 2,019
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Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
I am taking my parents to WDW this Dec.!  I am so excited. My father, who had a stroke a couple of years ago, will have his own wheelchair. He can walk with a cane, but for the long day he will need his chair. My mother is really worse than my dad. She has crippling arthritis and burcitis (spelling?) and she can't walk very far or go up and down stairs, etc. She will probably be renting an ECV. (We don't dare let my dad on one of those-he can't see very well after the stroke and he would run over people!  )
So, if we rent an ECV from another place and have it for the whole trip... what about riding the busses to the parks? I know the ECV can get on the bus, then should we fold the wheelchair and let my dad walk onto the bus?
What about at the rides. I guess my dad can just walk onto the rides, too. I am a little concerned about leaving his really nice wheelchair at the rides. Maybe my mother could get in his chair and leave her ECV at the rides!
We will have a time playing musical wheelchairs!  It is just my 8 year old and I going with them. So, we needed the ECV, so my son doesn't have to push a grown-up up hills and such at the parks.
Thanks for any help or advice you can give to make our visit more enjoyable! (BTW, we are staying at ASMo and we are getting a transfer bench for the tub. That is what my parents have at home. We also requested Toy Story bldg. closest to the bus stops, in case we don't get the ECV until we get to the park.)
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Michelle, who loves Eeyore because he needs love so badly.
July 1976 - off site
May 1984 - off site
June 1987 - off site
May 2000 - All Star Movies
Dec. 2000 - All Star Movies
March 2001 - Ft. Wilderness Campground |
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07-07-2000, 03:27 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Cape May Court House NJ USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 11,259
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Re: Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
Michelle, have you checked out dwills site? There is some Wheelchair/ECV information with some trip report expierences. The information looks pretty good from what I read so far.
I think it is great that you are going to take your parents!
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Take Care & "Remember the Magic!"
debe-nj |
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07-07-2000, 10:10 PM
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#3
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: The Colony, Texas
Posts: 2,019
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Re: Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
Thanks Aurora and Debe for the advice. I will check out dwills site...I've read everything there, but I must have ignored that part since it didn't apply to me at the time! I will check out the guides, but I noticed on my recent trip many wheelchairs in line with the rest of us for the rides. That would be a nice trade-off if we got to skip a few lines. I don't want to cheat anyone that's in line, but having two wheelchairs can really slow you down! Thanks again.
Am I right that only one wheelchair can get on the bus at a time?
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Michelle, who loves Eeyore because he needs love so badly.
July 1976 - off site
May 1984 - off site
June 1987 - off site
May 2000 - All Star Movies
Dec. 2000 - All Star Movies
March 2001 - Ft. Wilderness Campground
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07-07-2000, 11:43 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Pleasant Valley, NY, USA
Posts: 2,398
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Re: Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
Hi michnash!
I would call WDW-Info and ask them about the busses. On one of our trips my DH was in a wheelchair and that was before they had the busses that could accomodate wheelchairs. Whenever we went to the parks, we called a certain number and they sent over a wheelchair van. If I remember correctly, these had room for more than one wheelchair. They may still have them in service.
Also ask them to send you the special literature for disabled guests. You will get park maps that are geared to wheelchair accessibility.
Good luck!
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Cruella šoš
"...where the young at heart, of all ages, can laugh and play and learn, together!"
[This message has been edited by Cruella (edited 07-07-2000).] |
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07-08-2000, 12:20 AM
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#5
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Lambertville, NJ
Posts: 706
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Re: Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
Hi Michelle!
Really enjoyed reading your trip report!
With regards to the wheelchairs: a couple of years ago, we had one for my sister, who had recently had knee surgery! I hate to say it, but probably the best time at Disney because we didn't have to wait in one line!
When you go to the parks, check with I think Guest Relations, and they will give you a map of the park and how to access each ride with the wheelchair. On most rides, we entered by the exit, and had no waits at all!
Hope this helped a little bit!
Kim |
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07-08-2000, 01:59 AM
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#6
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 14,427
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Re: Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
Michelle,
From what I've seen, most buses can accommodate 2 wheelchairs, or even 2 ECVs (although the driver and other passengers will be most appreciative if your Dad can board under his own power, as it can take a while to load two ECVs/wheelchairs). I wouldn't endanger his safety just for other folk's convenience, though. Do what's best for him.
If both your parents stay in their conveyences I suggest you phone Disney transportation before leaving your resort, to be sure they dispatch a bus with space for both of them.
As to rides and attractions, it will depend on the attraction. I happen to know you have PassPorter 2000, and we note whether rides can accommodate wheelchairs and/or ECVs, whether guests must transfer from ECV to wheelchair to ride, or whether they must leave their conveyences behind. In nearly every case for rides where one must transfer from ECV and/or wheelchair they'll be able to remain seated right up to the loading area, and if you must leave their conveyence(s) behind they'll be waiting for you right at the unloading area.
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Co-Author, PassPorter Walt Disney World
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/ |
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07-08-2000, 05:32 AM
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#7
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: The Colony, Texas
Posts: 2,019
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Re: Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
Thanks, Dave! That's a great tip about checking with transportation, but like you said, I think my dad is fine to load and unload the bus- so that's just one wheelchair to get on. I found the information in the new PassPorter! (I love it, BTW!) Again, before I wasn't paying any attention to it because it didn't apply to me.Thanks, again. Now all I need to do is call CARE and Walker and others in the area to price renting from them vs. renting at the park. (The only problem with renting at the park is if we hop to another and there isn't one available. Will they substitute a wheelchair in this case?)
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Michelle, who loves Eeyore because he needs love so badly.
July 1976 - off site
May 1984 - off site
June 1987 - off site
May 2000 - All Star Movies
Dec. 2000 - All Star Movies
March 2001 - Ft. Wilderness Campground
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07-08-2000, 06:48 PM
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#8
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 14,427
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Re: Help with two wheelchair guests at parks and on busses?
Michelle,
The big advantage to renting an ECV from Care or Walker Mobility is that your Mom will have the ECV at all times, not just when she arrives at the gate to a major theme park. She'll have it for travel around your resort, for the trip from the bus to the front gate of the park, and at places like Downtown Disney.
Although I haven't price them myself, my understanding is that a multi-day ECV rental from the independent companies can cost less than daily rentals at the theme parks.
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Co-Author, PassPorter Walt Disney World
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/ |
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