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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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07-21-2016, 05:40 PM
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#1
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PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Feature Article: Adjusting Your Expectations for Your Walt Disney World Vacation - Part Two - A Walt Disney World Planning Article
Adjusting Your Expectations for Your Walt Disney World Vacation - Part Two - A Walt Disney World Planning Article
by Susanna Bucci
In October 2015, I wrote an article on adjusting one's expectations when things don't go quite as 'magically' as you planned during a Walt Disney World trip.
I touched on some things such as room readiness, being prepared for crowds, and FastPass selections. About 2-3 weeks after the article ran in PassPorter, I headed off for my third trip with my mom, keeping those 'adjusted expectations' in mind. However, I experienced some things that I hadn't thought of before, and decided to do a follow up article to include them.
Flight Delays – During the winter in most of the U.S, delays are inevitable. Snow, rain, and other weather issues can mean the difference between arriving at the Polynesian in the morning, and not getting there until 11 at night. In the days leading up to my October trip with my mom, it didn't occur to me that our flight might be delayed. Why would would it be? We were flying out of Philadelphia in the middle of autumn, and the weather was perfect! Yet, ten minutes after I woke up, I received an alert that said our 8am flight had been delayed 6 hours. Whether it's the end of July or the beginning of December, ALWAYS be prepared for a delay. Bring an extra battery pack and charger for your phone, some games and toys if you have kids, and keep your My Disney Experience app open so that you can make changes as needed. This brings me to my next point...
FastPass+ Part Two - For pete's sake, make them late! I always make FastPasses for at LEAST three hours after our expected arrival time at our resort. This gives us time to settle in and not be worried about getting to a park before our FastPasses expire. If you get delayed, simply change your FP times or cancel them. This happened to us, and we had to cancel one FastPass because there were no more times that we could move it to. Frustrating, but we made up for it by getting to ride Soarin' multiple times in a row before it closed for the night!
Getting a 'Sub-Par' Room - We have always asked for a room on the second or third floors of our resort, believing that the ground floor would be noisy with guests coming and going with suitcases. But when we arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter, that was our only option for the building we wanted. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our assumptions were unfounded. We slept like rocks, and began to wonder if anyone was even in our building due to how quiet it was! If you are offered a room at your resort that you have tried before and had problems with, then by all means, speak up. However, don't assume you won't like a room or building if you've never tried it before.
Ponchos - During our stays in 2013 and 2014, we hadn't needed rain gear because it simply hadn't rained during the day (shocking, I know). Our luck ran out in 2015 when it began pouring down rain in Hollywood Studios. When I say pouring, I mean it was 'grab the animals and set sail in the Ark' kind of weather. We carefully made our way from The Great Movie Ride to Muppets 3D without getting soaked, and hoped the rain would stop when the Muppets show was over. Unfortunately, we were wrong. My mom and I looked at each other and laughed, threw up our hands in defeat, and proceeded to buy the famous Disney ponchos. Bring rain gear, even if you don't think you'll need it.
There are probably millions scenarios that you could prepare for when embarking on a vacation to a Disney park, but the truth is, something will always take you by surprise. A flight delay means you'll be late, rain means you'll get wet, on and on the list goes. The best tip I can give anyone is to just roll with whatever comes at you. The way I see it, you have two choices: be grumpy and ruin your vacation, or smile, 'keep calm and carry on.'
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 07-15-2016 10:07 AM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
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