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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 was wondering if anyone here has ever been to WDW over the Xmas holidays. I plan on going between December 28- January 2. Is this a good time to go? How are the crowds? How is the weather? Are the decorations still up?
Hi! Been there three times for Christmas and will again for the fourth time this December.
Crowds....well, to put it nicely, will be humongous. If you take advantage though of early entry, fastpass and some insider knowledge, you'll be fine. Yes, it's usually packed, but we love it.
The decorations will still be up..they start taking them down Jan 1st.
The weather is usually nice during the day, rather chilly at night (esp. if it rains). I'd say like 70's during the day. It's really quite beautiful. The pools at Disney are heated too..so you can always go swimming!
The holidays at Disney are just magical. New Years Eve is a blast. There are all kinds of special events, decorations and celebrations during this time. I'd highly recommend it. However, if you are expecting light crowds, I doubt you'll find that. On Jan 1st though the crowds are usually light in the parks, esp. in the morning (due to the fact that everyone is usually up late the night before).
We were there same time last year and are returning this year. We loved it then and the crowds are heavy, but we have been so many times that we can be a bit selective if the wait is prohibitive, Holiday stuff is wonderful and we make sure to hit all the special stuff(CP, MK x-mas show in Tomorrowland, etc). We are staying at Swan with teacher discount(club level is $214, but I think standard is $139). We went to Epcot NYeve and it was pouring, but fun(make a PS as early as you can for whatever park you will be in). Jan 1 on is less crowded. Just think its WDW!
Connears [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]
We've been to Disney twice at Christmas and I'd agree about the crowds - yes they are big! Having said that, if you're prepared to get up early, particularly on the day you're going to MK, you should be able to hit some of the big attractions without too much of a wait.
Christmas is the most magical time of the year to visit - be sure to see the Candlelight Processional, it really is wonderful. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
For New Year's Eve, we went to Epcot last year and although it tipped (torrential rain from 7 p.m. until we left just after midnight), it was an amazing evening - Illuminations was out of this world, we've never seen fireworks like it! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
And I can also vouch for the fact that the crowds are very light on 1 January in the morning. We found the crowds a bit lighter as well on 2 and 3 January, as it seems a lot of people leave on New Year's Day.
I was there at that time last year and I loved it all decked out for Christmas. The crowds were quite large, but if you plan appropriately and expect them it doesn't seem as bad. And I have pictures of the MK from Jan 2 where there is not another person in sight as far a the camera could see. The weather was kind of cool, but that was out of the ordinary. I have to say that it really is one of the most beautiful times to be there and you'll have a great time then. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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