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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're going to Disney again this year and once again, I will be getting Abby the GAC - now DAS. I've explained to her how it works and she gets it, and she's fine with it. What I'm trying to do though is use FP+ as well (I know Disney wants us to attempt to use it) but Abby isn't getting it. As a matter of fact, she just said to me "mom, what's the point of a fastpass?" How do I respond to that? As far as Abby is concerned, her DAS is a FP without time constraints (which is great IMO). She doesn't understand why I would want to get a pass that has to be used only during a certain time frame. Looking at it from her point of view, I can understand the question - what's the point. Now I'm left wondering if I should even bother with trying to get FP+. I don't have a good way to explain it to Abby and I now forsee Abby getting very anxious as the start time comes around - to the point that it may cause a meltdown if we're not at the ride by that time.
Another thing to keep in mind - Lenny will be using a scooter as well which means for some rides, we should get a wheelchair pass as well.
Should I just save myself the aggravation and just skip the FP+ and stick to the regular queues where we can and DAS/wheelchair time where we can't? Thoughts/experiences welcome. TIA
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I have no experience with FP+ to offer advice. Can you schedule FP+ without telling Abby so you have it to use if you need it? Would that help avoid her getting upset while ensuring some short lines?
I think I would go ahead and make some for her favorites and try to be in that area at the right time without saying anything also. That way if you don't make it it won't be too much of a problem hopefully. It is a hard decision though, only you know what will work best for her. Good luck and glad to see you managed to get a trip planned for this year!
My understanding is with the DAS is that you can only get one at a time (or rather you can get another one after the first one's time window has begun, or something to that effect). Using the FP+ would allow you scheduled times in addition to the ones you've used with the DAS.
I haven't used it, but someone I'm good friends with used the DAS and they said the combo of that plus the fp+ allowed them to do everything with very minimal wait!
I'm sure you'll be fine no matter what you choose to do!
My son is also on the autism spectrum. One great thing about the Fast Pass + is that you can scheduled them ahead of time or during your visit in the park. When we went last year, we got to participate and it worked well for us. It was nice to have the ability to change them if needed. We also learned that morning hours or late evenings were best in terms of stand-by lines. Also the fast pass plus can be used for shows and parades, which is really nice.
Can you schedule FP+ without telling Abby so you have it to use if you need it? Would that help avoid her getting upset while ensuring some short lines?
Lenny and I were talking about this when we went grocery shopping today and this was a solution we too came up with. Of course with Abby having an iPad with MDE on it, we have to remember to keep us logged out though so she doesn't see them. I'm still in the learning process of MDE and while I know I need to put my account in to see all our plans, if there's anything else we have to log in for (wait times, things not specific to use) I'll use mom's account so Abby doesn't see the FP+ times.
I love it when I come here and ask a question and I get the "great minds think alike" answers like this one.
You can only have one 'active' DAS Return Time at a time; you must use that one before you get another.
So, using DAS, the process would be:
Obtain DAS Return Time, wait until the time has passed, go on the attraction.
Obtain DAS Return Time, wait until the time has passed, go on attraction.
Just keep repeating.
Using Fastpass Plus allows you to go on something else during the wait for the DAS Return time.
We used Fastpass Plus times as kind of a framework and then filled in the times between Fastpass Plus with DAS Return Times and shorter attractions. Some days we didn't use DAS at all because Fastpass Plus was enough.
For those few attractions with a separate wheelchair entrance, using DAS or Fastpass Plus, you will enter without any extra wait.
Without using DAS or Fastpass Plus, you may get a wheelchair return time which works like DAS. If it is not busy, they may not be giving out wheelchair return times, but you won't know for sure until you get to the attraction.
I can understand how Abby might focus too much on what exact time you "have to be there" for FP+.
I still laugh about our walking past Pirates on our last trip when I noticed there was no line at all after seeing that the Standby time was 5 minutes. When I said to DH why not hop onto Pirates now, he said, "But our Fastpass is 15 minutes from now."
You can really get the idea in your head that your Fastpass time is like an appointment, no sooner and no later possible. I found myself thinking we had to get to the attraction at the time our FP range began instead of being able to get to it any time within the hour.
I can sure understand why FP+ times would be something Abby simply wouldn't get.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
The above advice is correct, but just so you know there are no longer wheelchair passes--wheelchairs are either allowed through the regular standby line (where possible) or given a return time like a DAS card.
The above advice is correct, but just so you know there are no longer wheelchair passes--wheelchairs are either allowed through the regular standby line (where possible) or given a return time like a DAS card.
Just to clarify - we are talking about the same thing.
Most lines at WDW are wheelchair accessible and wheelchairs can go thru the regular (standby) line without a DAS or anything other than just the CM seeing the wheelchair.
For attractions where the line is not accessible and there is a separate wheelchair entrance (like Small World or Jungle Cruise), guests using wheelchairs will possibly get a wheelchair return time. That is similar to a DAS return time, in that you come back later at a time similar to the wait in the Standby Line.
Whether a guest gets a wheelchair return time or not is going to depend on how busy it is. When we were at WDW last October and November, it was not busy and we did not get any wheelchair return times. We are here now and have gotten wheelchair return times on several attractions because it is busy. If you have a DAS Return Time, you don’t also have to get a wheelchair return time.
One difference with wheelchair return times is that the time is written on a little card, similar to the cards that used to be used for Fastpass before the switch was made to Fastpass Plus.
The other difference is that the wheelchair return times do have a window of time in which they can be used. This is different than DAS Return Times which can be used at any point after the wait time haas elapsed.
I am so sad that things have changed so much because of people cheating.
Who suffers? The disabled people..
This new system sounds so confusing & frustrating to me..
We won't be able to go to WDW till late next year & I am all ready stressed about it.
I am so sad that things have changed so much because of people cheating.
Who suffers? The disabled people..
This new system sounds so confusing & frustrating to me..
We won't be able to go to WDW till late next year & I am all ready stressed about it.
me, too. We're now planning our trip in Sept.....and I'll be using a ECV again. We'll see how it works out for us...but...I'm beginning to feel as if it's just "not worth" it trying to get into some of the rides.
I can no longer do any "moving walkways" so I'm limited anyway....but I have done and seen most all the rides/attractions in previous visits...so I just except what my limits are now and enjoy myself in what I still can do.
As one who has used both the DAS and FP+ in combination, I can tell you that I firmly believe that it's better to utilize both. It does, however, both frustrate and annoy me that my kid now has to adjust to a whole new system because of cheaters and abusers. It has changed our touring style. We much prefer to go with the flow on vacation, passing by those with too-long lines and doing what we want as we go. However, the new system(s) requires us to greatly regiment our schedule.
But again, I'd recommend a combination of DAS/FP+. It's the way to experience more attractions.
Another vote for using both. The beauty of FP+ is you can book it for the busiest times of the day and know you will have something to go on with minimal wait. The other thing I discovered was that if you go to a kiosk before the end of your window you can change it. We had FP+ for a ride that just wasn't going to work out for me at the time and I was able to reschedule it for later in the evening. It was really the least stressed we have ever been. My husband would go and get a time and I would take my much needed breaks. The FP line was so much shorter than it had ever been and everyone could just relax, soak in the sights, have a snack while we awaited our time. It was very rare that we didn't have a time waiting shortly after we got off a ride or attraction. It is a great excuse to pace yourself. I think we got on more with the new system and enjoyed the parks a lot more too.
I've been to WDW now twice for 2 week trips using DAS/Fastpass Plus for my daughter and can honestly say it works better than the GAC did.
Yes, with GAC if you had a stamp for alternate entry, you often entered the line right away. But, there was often a long wait in that line. By having guests who don't need that access not using it, the lines are shorter.
I am talking about things like entering the handicapped ramp for Small World or Toy Story Mania with no one else or one - two groups in that line waiting.
With GAC, we often waited there up to 45 minutes.
It may sound confusing on paper, but is actually very easy to use.
And with Fastpass Plus, you can pre-schedule 3 attractions.
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and once again, I will be getting Abby the GAC - now DAS. I've explained to her how it works and she gets it, and she's fine with it. What I'm trying to do though is use FP+ as well (I know Disney wants us to attempt to use it) but Abby isn't getting it. As a matter of fact, she just said to me "mom, what's the point of a fastpass?" How do I respond to that? As far as Abby is concerned, her DAS is a FP without time constraints (which is great IMO). She doesn't understand why I would want to get a pass that has to be used only during a certain time frame. Looking at it from her point of view, I can understand the question - what's the point. Now I'm left wondering if I should even bother with trying to get FP+. I don't have a good way to explain it to Abby and I now forsee Abby getting very anxious as the start time comes around - to the point that it may cause a meltdown if we're not at the ride by that time.
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me, too. We're now planning our trip in Sept.....and I'll be using a ECV again. We'll see how it works out for us...but...I'm beginning to feel as if it's just "not worth" it trying to get into some of the rides.
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