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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 do not know how to swim and am only 5'1". I have only been to the Water Parks once and that was Blizzard Beach so my questions are:
1. Do you have to know how to swim to ride the rides?
2. How deep is the water at the parks and how deep is it where the rides let off at?
Sorry if these questions seem silly but I just want to make the most out of my visit to the Water Parks in May. I have been to Blizzard Beach once and on the rides I went on had no issues (I might be mistaken but I think was about four foot deep on the rides I went on) but I was wondering about the other water park and the couple of rides I have not done at Blizzard Beach. Again sorry for the questions just want to make the most out of my visit to the park.
Suggestions and feedback welcome.
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Last edited by Feisty Fairy; 03-23-2011 at 09:34 PM..
Breathe. . . you'll be fine. Most water slides have reasonable height limits such as 48"--due to the depths of the splash pools that catch riders. You are over the height limit and therefore will be OK. Most of the lazy rivers have depths of 36"-50". If you're not sure, ask a cast member and there is no shame in grabbing a life jacket if you want one.
When we were at Aquatica, we all had life jackets for the "not so lazy river" that doesn't allow tubes, but does allow life jackets. Floating along was great fun for all of us!
Have fun! And, after your trip, see if a local pool offers swim lessons for adults, as many of them do. Just a few lessons might give you more confidence in the water.
Breathe. . . you'll be fine. Most water slides have reasonable height limits such as 48"--due to the depths of the splash pools that catch riders. You are over the height limit and therefore will be OK. Most of the lazy rivers have depths of 36"-50". If you're not sure, ask a cast member and there is no shame in grabbing a life jacket if you want one.
When we were at Aquatica, we all had life jackets for the "not so lazy river" that doesn't allow tubes, but does allow life jackets. Floating along was great fun for all of us!
Have fun! And, after your trip, see if a local pool offers swim lessons for adults, as many of them do. Just a few lessons might give you more confidence in the water.
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks. Just curious what areas are the life jackets allowed in or on? And thanks.
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You can wear life jackets on the tube water slides, the wave pools, and the creeks. Not sure if they are allows on Crushin' gusher or not. And, you can wear a lifejacket in Sharks Reef at Typhoon Lagoon--I'm a seasoned swimmer and still wore a lifejacket in Sharks Reef--I wanted to concentrate on snorkeling and viewing the fish instead of swimming.
I think it's mandatory to wear life vests at Shark Reef.
We went to Aquatica too, and wore life vests in their lazy river, made is much easier to float along! Great fun.
At the WDW water parks for sure you can wear a live jacket in the pools! I can't remember any slide that emptied into deep water, so you should be fine. Have DH go down first, and wait for you to come down the slide. You can stand in the lazy rivers, and they have tubes, even double tubes, so you can share one. But if you're more comfy with a jacket, get one. The Lazy rivers are so fun, and you want to feel relaxed.
I have a friend, who didn't swim when we went to Hawaii. We were snorkeling in 3 or 4 ft of water, and she started thrashing around, momentary panic- we just yelled at her to stand up then we all had a good laugh.
She has since taken adult swim lessons, and is now comfy in the water.
I understand your concerns. I am 5'2" & I don't swim. DH,DD, & DS are like fish & they love the water parks. We always do a day at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon when we come down. Although I won't do the biggest slides, I ride a lot of things especially the rides that involve a float. I really enjoy the lazy river & some of the rides with floats that several people fit in. I discovered the hard way at Typhoon Lagoon to stay in the shallow area in the wave pool because those waves are huge!. I was only out about waist deep once when the waves started. I began running to the shallow area but still was knocked down & underwater. Now I stay very shallow & watch other people learn the hard way too.
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