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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Location: Davenport, Florida 20 minutes from the mouse
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GAC and new fast pass changes
I was wondering how it will work with having a GAC with the new fast pass return times being enforced. I usually have mine with an alternate entrance. Already having anxiety about the changes and I won't be going back to WDW until either 2013/2014.
Not looking for any debates... just wondering how it will work so I know what to expect.
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We have a GAC to use for ASD DD but we try to use FP and regular lines as much as possible. I cannot imagine how the FP changes coould affect GAC? Either you go through FP lane or you use an alternate entrance...
We use GAC for both our kids (AD/HD, anxiety and ASD) and at first would get FP's for the rides that had FP. One CM told us since we had the GAC we did not need to use FP, just to show the GAC at the FP entrance. This would free up those FP's for other guests who needed them. This has worked very well for us because we often would get FP's and not even be able to get to the ride because we had to leave the park for a meltdown. If we had a short window to return my son would never get to ride some of his favorite rides.
I don't think the FP changes will affect how the GAC works.
I was at WDW and the new rule does not affect the GAC user. If you have to use a fastpass line it is merely a shortcut for the disabled rider thus not under the limitations of the FP rules. I used the FP line on Jungle Cruise with no problems.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
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The reason I asked is that I read on another forum that the CM at the fast pass entrance was writing up a FP for a guest with a GAC. It was timed for an hour later. I don't think it would bother me. I just have a lot of anxiety, but it might not be great for others for various conditions or reasons. Just curious as to how this will all play out.
Thanks for the replies and putting me more at ease.
I hope they don't change the GAC to having to come back later. That is exactly what would trigger my son into a major meltdown. I have to be able to say clearly what we are "riding" next, that way he knows what to expect. If we get there and they say come back in an hour he will be very frustrated (as will I).
Once we are in a line he does better, but his wait limit is about 10-20 minutes depending on the theming of the queue.
Hope this isn't the direction Disney goes as it will make the park very unaccessible for my son.
That would not work great for us either. My daughter would not like it at all if we headed to her favorite ride then turned around and left that ride without getting on. She would not understand.
WHOA!!!
What you all are discussing is an option for disabled guests. Disneyland has done that for at least 3 years. Normally the guest walks up and is sent to an alternate entrance, asked to set on the side, or join the regular line. Sometimes guests cannot or do not want to wait in line so CMs issue a special fastpass.
Sorry but I just got home and my sugars are a mess and I need to sleep.
A special need child can ask for the FP and come back later. They can go to a special waiting area, or they can wait in line. \\ There is no policy change, this has been around for years.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
WHOA!!!
What you all are discussing is an option for disabled guests. Disneyland has done that for at least 3 years. Normally the guest walks up and is sent to an alternate entrance, asked to set on the side, or join the regular line. Sometimes guests cannot or do not want to wait in line so CMs issue a special fastpass.
Sorry but I just got home and my sugars are a mess and I need to sleep.
A special need child can ask for the FP and come back later. They can go to a special waiting area, or they can wait in line. \\ There is no policy change, this has been around for years.
Agreeing with mechurchlady (smile and wave).
That has always been one of the options at WDW too.
It has happened to us at times at WDW - one reason it may happen is there were too many with special needs already in line and they can't handle any more.
It does not matter if you have a GAC or not, if there is not room, there is not room.
It is important to know what the possibilities are - Socisl stories with all the possibilities are quite helpful at preparing to minimize meltdowns.
That has always been one of the options at WDW too.
It has happened to us at times at WDW - one reason it may happen is there were too many with special needs already in line and they can't handle any more.
It does not matter if you have a GAC or not, if there is not room, there is not room.
It is important to know what the possibilities are - Socisl stories with all the possibilities are quite helpful at preparing to minimize meltdowns.
We have never experienced where we were told to come back at a later time, or told to get a FP. We do travel exclusively during the slowest times of year to avoid the heavy crowds in the first place, so maybe that is why we have never seen this.
We have used social stories and I do not like them at all. It is impossible to write a social story for every possible scenario and outcome. Of course, the one thing we didn't think to mention is the one thing that happens. My son was in a social skills group using social stories and when one of the other kids did something that wasn't in the "scrip" my son was confused and went into a major meltdown and required hospitalization. Had they not been using the social stories I don't think he would have melted down as it was a situation that he had handled many times before. He did what was in the social story and when the other child didn't he was completely confused and didn't know what to do. We have since scraped the stories and instead are working to teach him methods to calm himself when frustrated so we can talk to him and work through the frustration.
Please don't think I am upset. I know social stories work really well for other families with autistic kids, they just do not work for us. As for the GAC I hope they just continue to keep it the way it has been. I guess I'm glad I found out here that they may issue a FP if alternate lines are too long, having never experienced that could have set us up for a major disaster.
We have never experienced where we were told to come back at a later time, or told to get a FP. We do travel exclusively during the slowest times of year to avoid the heavy crowds in the first place, so maybe that is why we have never seen this.
We have used social stories and I do not like them at all. It is impossible to write a social story for every possible scenario and outcome. Of course, the one thing we didn't think to mention is the one thing that happens. My son was in a social skills group using social stories and when one of the other kids did something that wasn't in the "scrip" my son was confused and went into a major meltdown and required hospitalization. Had they not been using the social stories I don't think he would have melted down as it was a situation that he had handled many times before. He did what was in the social story and when the other child didn't he was completely confused and didn't know what to do. We have since scraped the stories and instead are working to teach him methods to calm himself when frustrated so we can talk to him and work through the frustration.
Please don't think I am upset. I know social stories work really well for other families with autistic kids, they just do not work for us. As for the GAC I hope they just continue to keep it the way it has been. I guess I'm glad I found out here that they may issue a FP if alternate lines are too long, having never experienced that could have set us up for a major disaster.
We have never experienced being told to get a FP or being issued a special one to come back an hour later either. Social stories do not work for us. That doesn't mean they won't in the future but our DD is just not developmentally ready to even begin to understand them. She also would not understand coming back later. I guess we will just stick to the slower times and hope for the best.
The reason I asked is that I read on another forum that the CM at the fast pass entrance was writing up a FP for a guest with a GAC. It was timed for an hour later. I don't think it would bother me. I just have a lot of anxiety, but it might not be great for others for various conditions or reasons. Just curious as to how this will all play out.
Thanks for the replies and putting me more at ease.
This is what they did at Disneyland, I found it annoying. I also found Disneyland harder to navigate than WDW. I hope WDW doesn't follow this practice.
BTW, Disneyland guest services refused to give me a GAC.... I will stick to Florida!!!!!!!!!!
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I don't see where the new FP policy would affect GAC's at all.
I know social stories work really well for other families with autistic kids, they just do not work for us. As for the GAC I hope they just continue to keep it the way it has been. I guess I'm glad I found out here that they may issue a FP if alternate lines are too long, having never experienced that could have set us up for a major disaster. 
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