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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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OK, I know that July is the most crowded time to go to Disney, but this time, there's no way around it or we'd be going in off season. I've got sunscreen, aloe, hats, sunglasses, and mister fans for everyone. I know it's going to be PACKED with people and HOT. We're planning on doing indoor stuff and taking advantage of the evening EMH when we can to do the more popular rides. Oh, and it's all a secret, so I'm trying to pack a little at a time without anyone but DH seeing me doing it. What am I missing?
Feet. It's hot and sweaty, and your feet get that way too!
In the summer, I like to take extra socks and change them out half way through the day. The additional heat seems to contribute to blisters for me, so I always pack mole skin, scissors to cut it, a lighter and some needles (yes, I pop my blisters, if I don't they hurt forever!).
Portable water bottles for everyone? You'll find you wont be as hungry as usual, but you will need to be hydrated.
Ponytail holders: anyone with hair will want these.
Bandanas: you can wet them down and put them on your neck to help cool things down.
A list of all meds and illness for each person. This means that each person has a list on them! If you're separated and something happens, the staff needs to know these things.
Feet. It's hot and sweaty, and your feet get that way too!
In the summer, I like to take extra socks and change them out half way through the day. The additional heat seems to contribute to blisters for me, so I always pack mole skin, scissors to cut it, a lighter and some needles (yes, I pop my blisters, if I don't they hurt forever!).
Portable water bottles for everyone? You'll find you wont be as hungry as usual, but you will need to be hydrated.
Ponytail holders: anyone with hair will want these.
Bandanas: you can wet them down and put them on your neck to help cool things down.
A list of all meds and illness for each person. This means that each person has a list on them! If you're separated and something happens, the staff needs to know these things.
Teresa, these are some awesome ideas. I've got a pack of Bandaid blister thingys in the first aid kit, and will probably want to buy another one, or some of the tape before I go. Moleskin,,,,,,I know I have here somewhere, but I will look for and add it to the first aid kit, too. I've got a small pair of scissors in there already to cut gauze if I need to.
Ponytail holders.....DD5 calls them "haircuts"....since she has hair to her rear end, I have hair halfway down my back, and DS and DH are both growing their hair out for Locks of Love (I am so proud of them!) they are a necessity, Although DS's hair may be cut by then. He's got 10 inches now, and I promised him a haircut by my birthday......maybe in the MK barber shop? Maybe not...they'll be really busy that time of year.
Socks are going to be tricky for DD5, but not undoable. She wears braces on her legs, and here socks are the water wicking kind that are very long. I may be able to afford another couple pair before we head to Florida. (They're $10 if I buy them through the WONDERFUL man who does her braces. He sells them to us at his cost, and then he pays the shipping on top of that. They're anywhere from $15-$25 if we buy them anywhere else. Oh, and that's per pair, not a pack of socks. And the insurance will pay for a total of 2 pair every 6 months. Seriously....who wears only 2 pair of socks in a 6 month time frame? And you have to have them for the braces or try to find a pair of thigh high socks for a 5 year old that aren't nylon)
Water bottles are already taken care of, although I forgot to mention them.
I had thought about something like bandannas, but couldn't figure out what to use other than wash cloths, so that's a great idea, too!
I have a list of meds and medical conditions for DD5, but I will work on them for the rest of the family, and get DFIL to do one too.
Thank you so much!
We always bring laundry stuff - even though I HATE doing it on vacation. We go through lots of clothes in the Florida summer! Either we're soaked through from rain, or it's so humid, we're 'moist' the second we walk out the door, so I'm all for fresh clothes even if it means doing the wash
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Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
Drink lots of water and take a lot of breaks! Drink even when you don't feel thirsty yet - your body does not tell you it is dehydrated until it's too late. I pack wet wash clothes in ziploc bags with ice and we carry them in the backpack.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Go to the parks early, head out by lunch (esp at AK) swim/nap and return to parks around 4 or 5 pm remember to fast pass what you can. We usually do our TS at dinner because during the day when it is hot we are not very hungry. My son got sick at AK during our July visit...MISERABLE...so remember if someone starts feeling icky, call it quits and rest at the resort for a while. Just remember to take it slow and alternate indoor attractions with those that you are out in the heat for. Drink lots of water and a little gatorade or even soda to replace the salt you loose through sweating.
Rain Gear! We have gone the last 5 years in July, and if there's one thing that's predictable, if's the afternoon storms! They usually don't last long, but the rain is torrential! I recommend getting nicer quality rain ponchos for your bodies and cheap throw away ones ($1 at Target in the camping section) for your stuff! We would whip out a $1 one to cover our strollers, then toss them daily. But, we found them too flimsy for ourselves, because the downpours seem to soak right through!
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Read all about it in my TR, "Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!" Jill Phil. 4: 13
Get a few of those spray misters- they sell them in the parks and at other places too (and cheaper than at WDW).
I personally would never wear socks at WDW or anywhere in July. I wear sandals (so my feet are open to the air- socks would make me feel hotter). BUT they have to be ones that are comfortable and won't cause blisters. My kids also have worn sandals- and crocs are pretty comfortable too.
I've been to WDW in July when I was five months pregnant. The heat was not that bad (if you are prepared for it and have a plan). can't speak for the wait on most rides as I wasn't able to do the really popular ones. We took frozen grapes to the parks and those were great to eat once it started to get how (but we had a rental car that trip and could drive to a local grocery store).
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I've been many times around the 3rd week in July. Our plan was to arrive at opening (if onsite, an EMH if we weren't too tired) leave after having lunch and head back for a swim and nap. Everyone took naps , as the heat just drains you. We would head back to the park for an early dinner and parades, fireworks etc. I don't do well in the heat and this plan worked very well for us.
As for crowds, while busy, I never found the lines super long except for rides like soarin, TSMM, etc. that are always busy. The only time I encountered really bad crowds was on July 3rd. We left DHS after lunch as it was just crazy. Otherwise, the waits were under an hour and we used Fastpass for the waits the were longer than that.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
We were there last July and are going again this July... It's the only time we can all go. It was hot, but didn't feel as humid as home (Arkansas). The daily shower or cloud cover helped to cool things off. We like to sleep late... I have 2 teenage daughters... So we would stay out until the latest EMH was over... Last year it was 2 a.m. a couple of nights. Then we were so tired that we would sleep until noon. The only bad thing about that is that we missed housekeeping a couple of days and had to call down for towels.... No biggie, they brought them right up. Next time we get a late start, I think I'll call down when we are leaving the room, instead of when we get back... so we can just fall in bed. We usually ate our Table Service around 2-4 when it was really hot outside, so we could take a break and cool off. Then we would try to alternate the inside and outside attractions to keep cool. We had a wonderful time even in July... so much so that our girls picked Disney over many options for vacation again this summer! I might add that they didn't have to twist my arm to go back either...
Be prepared for rain! The heat isn't such an issue for us as we live in New Orleans and the climate is pretty similar, but make sure you stay hydrated!! I highly recommend getting up early and being at the parks for opening and touring early in the morning and going back for a break in the afternoon, having dinner and then going back to the parks in the evening! Grab some FPs before you leave the parks in the afternoon and use them in the evening!
It will be crowded I suggest using a tried and true touring plan from Walt Disney World — The Unofficial Guide / TouringPlans.com. We're traveling the third weekend in July this year--which we would normally never do, but its my 30th birthday and I insisted! Use the crowd calendars and unless you are going to be there for the morning extra magic hours--avoid that park!
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