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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi everyone! I know that I haven't written a trip report since I moved to Orlando, so it's been a little more than a year!
Tomorrow is my birthday and in true Disney Geek fashion I'm celebrating with the Mouse. How big of a Disney Geek am I?
Last year on my birthday I lucked into a last minute lake view studio at Bay Lake Towers. That was the first of the lucky birthday news. It ended up being a slightly unusual birthday, because the first thing I did was go on a job interview downtown. After two months of job hunting I'd get the job I interviewed for on my birthday! A year later I'm still with the same company! I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Magic Kingdom by myself and had dinner with Pooh and Friends at the Crystal Palace. The waitstaff took pictures for me and someone even videoed my cupcake candle blow out.
I walked back to Bay Lake Towers and watched the fireworks from the Top of the World Lounge. I spent the whole day by myself. I didn't know anyone in Orlando yet. It was a magical day, but sad--it was my first birthday without my Mom. I cried buckets during Wishes, not sure I had made the right decision to move to a city without a support system and having lost the woman I talked to every day about everything.
Fast Forward a year . . . several vacation plans fell through at the last minute and I started scrambling for ideas. I went back to last year and decided to make it a "tradition." I started looking for a DVC room . . . next to nothing was available at less than a month's notice at the height of summer. When my options were Saratoga Springs or nothing, I decided on nothing. I'd figure something else out. A few days later I tried again and someone must have canceled a vacation because a Bay Lake Tower lake view studio was available for my birthday. I booked it immediately!
Then I began tossing around dining ideas. I didn't want to do a park restaurant because none of my new friends are Disney Geeks and no one has an annual pass. My favorites came to mind: Sanaa and Citricos. I decided against Sanaa because of it's distance from Bay Lake. I ultimately decided on Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge because I'm in love with the beet salad on the current menu and thought it would be fun to take the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge from the Contemporary. Citricos went out the window because I ate there last month and while the service was absolutely stellar, I'm not pleased with the current menu. I've had really good food and great service on my last two visits to Artist Point and both of those things are really important because everyone I know in Orlando works in the service industry!
Next I had to get some friends on board! My soon to be roommate Santiago was first on the list. My first girlfriend in Orlando was next, she doesn't work with us anymore and I haven't seen her in awhile, but she'll be there. Rounding out the group are Ray, a good friend and coworker and Bacon, the gentleman I've been dating recently.
Then I got a phone call . . . from DVC member services. I didn't answer it and when I got the message to please call them back, I panicked! Oh no, was my room a mistake? Turns out it was good news!
I've been selected to test out the new Magic Band and Fast Pass Plus system for DVC owners! So I confirmed with DVC and got on the website to fill out all the forms and make my FP+ selections--and I ran into some trouble. The new website My Disney Experience refused to link my annual pass. So I called tech support . . . and then I called tech support again . . . and again. I finally got Bernie on the phone and he spent a frustrating but magical hour and a half fixing my problem. The website had my AP expiring in 2022. While that would have been great, it was not to be! Bernie was so patient and fantastic that I filled out the survey, wrote a letter to guest services and a note to the big boss. (I don't know if Bob Iger reads his emails, but Marriott Int makes a really big deal about customer service letters to Bill Marriott.)
Glitch gone I proceeded to the Fast Pass Plus website and designed my Magic Band, it's pink and has my name on it. Then I got to pick the three Fast Passes I'd like to have reserved. I went with the big ones, having seen how busy the park has been lately! I've got FP+ reservations for Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. (Other options at this time include character meet and greets with Mickey, the Princesses and Ariel, Enchanted Story Time with Belle, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Philharmagic, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Barnstormer and Under the Sea)
I decided to go to Animal Kingdom--it's my favorite park--on the day after my birthday. There are less FP+ attractions at AK: Everest, Kali, Safari, Dinosaur, Primeval Hurl, Festival of the Lion King and It's Tough to Be a Bug. I was surprised that Finding Nemo the Musical wasn't on the list.
I want to let you know about what attractions will have FP+ at the other parks even though I'm not visiting them this trip! (although I've been allowed to make FP+ reservations past my stay dates so I'm going to Epcot on Friday--we'll see if it still works)
At DHS: Disney Junior, RnRC, Star Tours, ToT, TSMM, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid
At Epcot:Living with the Land, Maelstrom, Mission Space, Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Those of you who have APs who are curious about how FP+ will change your plans, we will be able to make FP+ reservations starting at 60 days out. And for everyone who is wondering how the system actually works . . . I picked my three attractions for the day and then was given 4 different time plans for those attractions and picked the ones that worked for me.
I finished out my birthday last year with breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe
I may do the same again this year!
I'm looking forward to hearing how the Magic Band works out for you, as being a bit of a technophobe, I don't really get the whole thing and I'm waiting for people to try it out and explain it to me!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Wow, the fact that you even got a studio at BLT on such short notice is like an extra birthday present! Sounds like you'll have a wonderful couple of days-- such a difference a year makes with all the friends joining you for your birthday dinner. I'm glad you got a great techie to iron out the glitches and once he did it sounds like it wasn't too hard to book the fast pass + rides. I'll be so interested to hear what you think about it and to see a photo of your magic band! I'm still a bit worried about having to schedule rides in advance, but for a few key rides I guess it would be worth it not to have to worry about it.
Sounds like there was a little birthday pixie dust at play, getting your BLT room on short notice, and then being selected to test out FP+. Very Have a great birthday trip!!!
What a great tradition to continue this year. Can't wait to hear all about it!!!
__________________
Tanya
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Sounds like the perfect birthday tradition to me! So happy you were sprinkled with a little pixie dust and got your studio at BLT. Saw the beautiful view from your room on FB, and can't wait to hear all about your celebration! Have fun!!!
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Aimee
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