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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
So why are they taking the wand down? Is it to re-vamp SE? Or did they never have the intention of keeping it up permanently in the first place? Is it going back up at all? Does anyone think they're gonna do something even more special for Epcot's birthday next year? Phew that was alot of questions. . . . Just curious about what everyone thinks. And I know brad will have all the answers.
I believe that the wand was originally put up for the celebration of Walt's 100th birthday. As for why it's being removed, I wonder if it's perhaps because there are quite a few guests who never appreciated it much (me included) and felt that it detracted from the overall beauty of the original Spaceship Earth structure.
Joy
__________________
1968 - Disneyland
1976 - Offsite
1984 - Offsite
February, 2003 - All Star Music
August, 2003 - Animal Kingdom Lodge & Wilderness Lodge
December,2003 - Wilderness Lodge
December, 2004 - Beach Club Villas
August, 2005 - Port Orleans, French Quarter
November/December, 2005 - Old Key West
July/August, 2006 - Disneyland Hotel
January, 2007 - Boardwalk Villas
I have no idea why they chose now to remove it - just before Epcot's 25th birthday. I doubt they'll put anything up for the anniversary, as it's only two months away now.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
they're actually taking the wand down for Epcot's birthday. it's been considered an eye sore for many since it was constructed. it actually was never meant to be permanent (so they said), it was constructed as part of the millennium celebration in 1999 (it used to read 2000 before it was changed to Epcot).
it really does make the most sense to get rid of it. afterall, there's no giant wand with the words Magic Kingdom over the castle. personally, i kinda like it, but i can see the argument for removing it. it's been there for only less than 1/3 of Epcot's life anyway.
the mgm hat was constructed for the 100th birthday of walt (it used to have a '100 years of magic' logo in front of it). and that has plenty of haters too. the earful tower was (and is) considered by some to be the park's icon, the hat blocks the view of mann/grauman's chinese theatre and also disrupted the hidden mickey that was the MGM park.
I love the wand and am going to miss it dearly. I think it adds to the geoshere and it will look very plain without it. I hope they put something else up eventually.
I will miss the wand myself, but to be honest they could take out that whole structure and I wouldn't be sad. I have never been a fan of SE, but my wife and DD love it dearly.
I think there might be many reasons why the wand and hand are finally coming down after 8 years.
It was never meant to be permanent, so the structure may not be completely sound any more. It's been through 8 hurricane seasons instead of the 3 it was meant to go through, and since it's a cantilevered structure that's hanging many tons of dangerous dead weight over the more fragile structure of the geosphere, if the wand's support tower was becoming less stready they would have to remove it for simple safety reasons. The ground beneath the base might not be holding up to the continued stress, either - the wand could be settling unevenly like the Tower of Piza, making it a hazard to the geosphere or to other nearby buildings.
Secondly, Spaceship Earth got a new sponsor last year - Seimens - so Disney may have gotten some of the demo funds from the sponsorship, along with money for the new exit area and impending ride rehab. Removing it might have been part of the plan all along, but Disney has been shortchanging Epcot on maintenence funds for years, and the loss of the previous sponsor, AT&T, might have removed funding earmarked for the removal of the wand several years ago.
Thirdly, restoring SSE to its original glory might be part of the preparation for Epcot's 25th anniversary. Besides making the geosphere look the way it did originally, there might be other reasons like additional laser effects during Illuminations, or even a whole new new laser show on the geosphere. Who knows? I haven't heard any concrete plans for the 25th celebration. God help us all, some idiot Imagineer might be planning on painting it pink and putting birthday candles and a giant 25 on it.
And lastly, there may be reasons we haven't guessed at, like some new construction in the area occupied by the wand's base, or some permit that was issued when it was built finally running out (perhaps for the blinking aircraft warning light at the top).
I haven't heard any concrete plans for the 25th celebration. God help us all, some idiot Imagineer might be planning on painting it pink and putting birthday candles and a giant 25 on it.
Our 1st real trip to WDW with the girls...getting all excited to see the castle and it looks like a giant birthday cake Try explaining that to a 5 year old who has her heart set on seeing Cinderella's Castle (silly me wasn't as informed as I am now at the time I didn't know that it was a special year with a special twist put on the castle's decor )
As for why it's being removed, I wonder if it's perhaps because there are quite a few guests who never appreciated it much (me included) and felt that it detracted from the overall beauty of the original Spaceship Earth structure.
Quote:
it really does make the most sense to get rid of it. afterall, there's no giant wand with the words Magic Kingdom over the castle.
The wand was on a 10 year plan, I found that out soon after the wand went up. I was told that Disney wanted to spread the financial cost of it over a longer period of time. I didn't believe it at the time, 10 years! But it came close.
From what I understand, Siemens wanted it down. I don't know that Disney would have done it this soon on their own. I really don't think it matters what many of us thought of it. For years, I've thought it was an eyesore, but nobody paid any mind to that! Yay Siemens!
About This Page: 
Phew that was alot of questions. . . . Just curious about what everyone thinks. And I know brad will have all the answers. 
Danny and I at Epcot 8/14/08
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Try explaining that to a 5 year old who has her heart set on seeing Cinderella's Castle
(silly me wasn't as informed as I am now 
at the time I didn't know that it was a special year with a special twist put on the castle's decor 
)
Yay Siemens!
until it comes down. When Spaceship Earth is done, I will be 
and 
!
Linear Mode
