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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am relatively new to the boards and have been reading anything and everything. Thank you all for so much terrific info!
I am planning a land & sea vacation in October for myself, DH & DS (3 1/2 years old). MNSSHP will be going on while we are at MK and I am wondering if it is worth the $- DH has not been convinced thus far that candy bars are worth that much! I certainly don't want to miss out on something terrific while we are there- what's a little more $ at this point???!!!
Could someone please let me know what is different if you do get the ticket or if you don't, I'm not quite clear. I've heard you can go to the candy stations without a ticket.... Thoughts, comments, experiences would be SO appreciated.
If you do not get the tickets, you are out of the park! The park closes for the evening at 7:00 p.m. (usually) and only those who have the special tickets are able to remain. They get armbands to indicate that they have paid the money and are entitled to be there. The benefits are great, and much more than just candy! The fireworks are to die for - absolutely fantastic! The parade is one-of-a-kind. You get to dress up in costume (if you are so inclined, and I am!), and there are rarely any long lines for any ride.
IMHO, the money is worth it.
I did a Land and Sea last October with two of my DGDs, and spent the $$ for MNSSHP. All three of us felt it was well worth it, and we didn't even collect much candy
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Sharon - Kitty and me
2013 Scrapbook pages count: 631 / 350
2014 Scrapbook pages count: 60 / 250
to our happy home. I attended MNSSHP last year for the first time. I loved it. The parade was phenomenal as were the fireworks. You can collect a lot of candy (and you must be in the park with paid admission to get it). In addition the lines for the rides would be shorter with fewer people in the parks. Characters are quite frequent and you can collect a lot of autographs and cool pix of them in Halloween costumes. All that being said, it is still your call as to rather it is worth the money. In my opinion it is.
Welcome to the Boards! My opinion is that, yes, tickets to MNSSHP is worth it. There's plenty more to the party than just candy. There's special events, an amazing parade and fireworks show, the characters wear Hallowe'en costumes and of course the lines to rides are a lot shorter.
The Cast Members do check to see if you are wearing the party bracelet that shows you have paid for the party, and will point you towards the park entrance if you don't have one.
It's fun regardless of whether you dress up in costume yourself or not, but I recommend it!
We went for the first time in 2006 and loved it. It was a wonderful evening and worth every penny to us. Not only do you have access to the park for five hours - and that's only available to ticketed guests - you get to see the Halloween Parade, a special Halloween version of Wishes, which was awesome, and we also saw a lot of the characters out in Halloween costumes, including all seven dwarves. There are also Halloween decorations throughout the Magic Kingdom. It's a lot of fun.
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As Brad said, the benefit of getting into the park at 4PM means that you might not have to buy a park ticket that day (if you find other things to do that morning -- like shopping or pool time.)
I agree, the fireworks and the parades are incredible and well worth the money. The lines can be significantly shorter than at other times -- but know that the parties closer to Halloween and those on weekends tend to sell out, resulting in more people in the park.
One other benefit is that they have many more characters (and some "rare" ones) out for meet-n-greets or photo opportunities.
If you can't convince him, I'm sure you'll have a great time even without the party. If you can, I really think you'll enjoy the party!
Eileen
We went to MNSSHP in 2006 and loved it so much that we knew when we were planning our 2008 trip it had to be in Oct so we could do the party again. As many have mentioned, the ride lines are usually shorter and the special parade and fireworks are incredible!!! We met soooo many characters at the party, including some rare villians you may not normally meet. (After all, it is Halloween, it's "their" time to have fun!) It is truly worth the money! Good luck convincing your DH!!
Another vote for MNSSHP being worth it. Hallowishes is very cool, and the parades are a lot of fun. Having fewer people in the park is a huge pplus - cuts way down on waiting time. Last yhear, we rode BTMRR 3 times in a row - just walked right on