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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Anyone here a Dollywood fan? When we went camping with friends earlier this month, they wanted to go to Dollywood. I refused to spend $55 per ticket for a single day and instead decided to fork out $85 each for season passes. It ended up being a great decision, since it rained the entire day we were there and we ended up going back for a few hours on the last day of the camping trip, just to get to ride any rides at all!
Long story short, we are going back to Gatlinburg this weekend to get a bit more out of our season pass, but will have only one park day (plus maybe a couple hours on Sunday). Assuming weather is good, we want to hit the "best" rides while we're there. (We've seen basically all the shows we want to see, on the first day we went.) Both kids are tall enough for any of the rides; DS will try anything at least once but DD won't ride the big roller coasters. We'll plan to spend some time on the rides for younger kids (in the Village, if I remember right) and will do some parent swaps to let DS and the adults ride some "big kid" rides.
So the question is, what are the "best" rides? If you've been to Dollywood, what are your favorites? And why? Can you recommend a coaster that would be above the kiddie level but maybe easier for a little girl (age 6) to handle? She wants to try a "big kid" ride but so far has been too afraid of anything but Splash Mountain in WDW.
Also, have you ever purchased the Q thingy that is their version of FastPass? Was it worth the cost?
Thanks for your suggestions!!
__________________
DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
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.
There is a newer attraction I think it is called Battle Boats. As you enter the park go to the left, up the hill to the wooden roller coaster and behind it is where you will find the ride. It is a water ride. You shoot other riders as well as by standers looking on, but beware you will get soaked even if you try to shoot the riders from the outside edges of the ride. It is fun and the kids will love it.
There is a newer attraction I think it is called Battle Boats. As you enter the park go to the left, up the hill to the wooden roller coaster and behind it is where you will find the ride. It is a water ride. You shoot other riders as well as by standers looking on, but beware you will get soaked even if you try to shoot the riders from the outside edges of the ride. It is fun and the kids will love it.
We saw that from the train on our last visit, and thought it looked cool! I'll add it to our list of must-do rides!!
I guess I should tell what we have been on already, though it's a very short list:
the train
the carousel
Tennessee Tornado
the 4-D theater (Journey to the Center of the Earth)
several shows
__________________
DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
We were there last weekend and my ds is only five so we didn't ride any big rc's however I would recommend the Blazing Fury, it is a Dollywood classic, indoor roller coaster, just three hills and it is nice and cool, indoors. Just go up toward where the eagles past the church on the right and it will be straight in front of you. Any others would be the wooden roller coaster in Timberland or whatever that is called (new section), it isn't bad, just jerky.
Also, if you haven't been this year the new show Shakonhai (sp?) in the Celeberty Theater is great. I agree with nutterbutter Blazing Fury is fun. It is a mild roller coaster. I like all of the water rides but the lines can be long. There is a ride called the Mountain Slidewinder up behind the Dreamland Forest. It is a bit of a hike to get to the top and sometimes the line is long but it is fun and mild.
Also, if you haven't been this year the new show Shakonhai (sp?) in the Celeberty Theater is great. I agree with nutterbutter Blazing Fury is fun. It is a mild roller coaster. I like all of the water rides but the lines can be long. There is a ride called the Mountain Slidewinder up behind the Dreamland Forest. It is a bit of a hike to get to the top and sometimes the line is long but it is fun and mild.
We did get to see Sha-Kon-O-Hey on our last trip. It was very good! We also went to the Zoboomafoo show, the Skippy John Jones play, and Dreamland Drive-In, which I loved.
We tried to ride Blazing Fury, but it closed for technical reasons right as we got there. We'll be sure to check it out, along with the Slidewinder and the ride Nutterbutter suggested.
Thanks to all!
__________________
DD and DS, May 2008
"I am purple today; Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air." -Kira Willey
Daredevil Falls is similar to Splash Mtn. It is on the left above the crafters village on the way to the eagle sanctuary and Tennessee Tornado. It is much shorter that SM but the drop is similar.
About This Page: 
and instead decided to fork out $85 each for season passes. It ended up being a great decision, since it rained the entire day we were there and we ended up going back for a few hours on the last day of the camping trip, just to get to ride any rides at all!
DD and DS, May 2008
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
