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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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As I understand it--its movie opening that takes in less money then expected. Betty and the Skateboard Dude is projected to take in say $20 million dollars the first weekend in general release. However the movie only takes in $12 million dollars--so it has a soft opening. Does that make sense??
This refers to the attractions that are closed for rehab or are new under construction. There is a 'hard opening' which is an official date for which the exhibit will (re)open. The 'soft' opening is an unofficial test before that time. There are no set dates, sometimes it is just certain groups (DVC owners or AP holders, etc) other times its for just the lucky folks who happen to be in the right place at the right time. It's a test run, to see if anything needs more tweeking.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
This refers to the attractions that are closed for rehab or are new under construction. There is a 'hard opening' which is an official date for which the exhibit will (re)open. The 'soft' opening is an unofficial test before that time. There are no set dates, sometimes it is just certain groups (DVC owners or AP holders, etc) other times its for just the lucky folks who happen to be in the right place at the right time. It's a test run, to see if anything needs more tweeking.
Thanks for explaining that. So with TSM, they could do a soft opening, find out that Mr Potato Head doesn't quite work properly, do tweaking, then another soft opening, right ? So when is the official opening for this one ?
Yep on our trip, we were bummed because we could not go on spaceship earth, because it was closed for rehab during our entire trip. But we got lucky and caught a soft opening when we walked by it and got to try it out before the official "hard opening"
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Thanks for explaining that. So with TSM, they could do a soft opening, find out that Mr Potato Head doesn't quite work properly, do tweaking, then another soft opening, right ? So when is the official opening for this one ?
When they have soft openings, the attraction is usually "open" off and on throughout the day on quite a few (if not all) days leading up to the official opening. Like was mentioned before, sometimes the soft openings are only open for "preview" for DVC members, some days it may be only for AP holders and some days it may be for eall guests. Usually, if they are having a soft opening, there will be a sign of some sort that says it is just for DVC/AP holders etc and/or they may be a CM outside inviting peoplein to try it out.
The official opening for Toy Story Mania is slated for the end of this month.
I didn't know at the time but apparantly my ex and I hit RNRC during a soft opening on our honeymoon. We were kind of disappointed because it wasn't supposed to be open until 2 or 3 months after we went. But while walking from TOT we realized it looked open. We walked right on really - no one was over there.
The Cast Member soft opening are done before they do any other soft openings. These usually reveal the technical gliches or if something needs to be changed "technically" (as in the rumor that Mission:Space was toned down after CM soft openings.) CMs might see the ride under partial construction as well -- something they try to avoid when the general public is going to see a soft opening.
By the time AP holders get a soft opening, they are looking more for guest experience tweaking -- less on the technical changes, but that still happens.
Once a ride/attraction is doing soft openings for the general public, the "show" is pretty much complete and minor tweaking might be done. Because the tweaking means that they might have to take the ride down for stretches of a day, they don't do any announcements of the soft opening -- it's just suddenly open or they station CMs in front of the ride to snag a few lucky guests. (With Spaceship Earth's soft openings in December, they literally opened the big wooden wall and let a hundred people in before closing the wall again.)
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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So with TSM, they could do a soft opening, find out that Mr Potato Head doesn't quite work properly, do tweaking, then another soft opening, right ? So when is the official opening for this one ?
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