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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We leave for WDW in about a week and in making our plans we keep coming back to the question of "what about innoventions east and west?". We have attempted innoventions numerous times but just have not found the draw. Can anyone give us suggestions on how to get the most out of Innoventions. Any suggestions of "not to be missed" exhibits? Perhaps we have not approached this exhibit with the right mindset previously and hope to try it again. Thanks!
Innovations is mainly a walk through for us - somewhere to get out of the heat and sun for a few minutes. However, they really do have some neat things. I don't remember what side they were on, but DH loves the musical robotic arms. I had to literally drag him away last time.
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What are the age ranges? Sum of All Thrills is very cool....design your own coaster and then take a virtual ride. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure is pretty cute, too. Where's the Fire is informative and has great safety tips. There is a Design and Star in a Video Game (can't remember the name) but my DD 8 gets a kick out of it.
We really enjoy Innoventions...
danielle
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Way back when these buildings were considered Communicore we went in because it had the huge gift shop inside and all the nice cold benches on the outside by all the windows. There was nothing else worth going in for IMO. Now that it's Innoventions, I know the gift shop is gone (been replaced by Mouse Gears) and I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of the benches are gone so even less reason to go in, but that's just my opinion.
Haven't done this myself, but isn't there a Segway experience in one of the Innovention bldgs?
Yup, it's in the West building, it's right in front of where Disney Visa members can get their free photo with the characters. My freinds did it last time we were there and said it was neat. I didn't try it out because there's a strict weight limit (min and max) and I was over.
I almost never get into Innoventions because I feel the the majority of the activities are geared towards kids. I mainly go in to get my free pic done and the last time we stopped and had a green screen photo done (I think in West as well) that was pretty neat.
We usually just wander through and if we see anything that takes our interest, where the lines aren't too long, then we get involved. Otherwise, it's a walk through for us.
Thera are benches inside and it is airconditioned! It is geared towards kids IMO however there are plenty to do. There is Storm Struck, a info "show" 3D what would you do in a severe storm kinda thing real neat, you decide how you would build your home,m the materials etc. Then they show you if you did it your way what would happen, and you sit!! There is Sum of All thrills, a simulator where you create your own ride. There is lots of informational stuff all over for the kids and parents. Please correct me if I am wrong but isnt the House of tomorrow thing is in here too? Not sure of the name It is a walk through of a home of the future. It is neat to see what people create and come up with. Too many things to mention but I love to stroll through and see what is going on, have a seat in the air for a few minutes and enjoy the DS enjoy themselves.
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Tessa Tilli
Last edited by tessatilli; 06-24-2010 at 01:50 AM..
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We're always so busy heading to Test Track and Soarin and off to World Showcase that we've missed this.
I haven't done Innoventions in years. Last year we spent 3 1/2 days in Epcot and still didn't make it to Innoventions. just wasnt high on the priority list
My 9 & 8 year olds liked starring in their own video game and playing the Playstations, both in Innoventions West. ( I couldn't believe they wanted to use up park time with Playstations--something they could do at home!)
Please correct me if I am wrong but isnt the House of tomorrow thing is in here too? Not sure of the name It is a walk through of a home of the future. It is neat to see what people create and come up with.
We did that too. I think it was called House of Innoventions. They also have the recycling demonstration in that building. We didn't go through that but the recycling truck was hard to miss as we were walking through.
Both of these buildings are a great relief from the heat as you are walking from one side of FW to the other. And if we were in the mood to slow down for a bit there were some good exibits to walk through. There are also bathrooms in each building!
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if nothing else, this is a great place to get out of the heat for a little while. we did do sum of all thrills last time and had a good time designing and then "riding" our own coaster. my little ones loved the fire house (the CM there was really great). not a must do, but again as I said, a good place to catch a few air conditioned waves and pass the time (if waiting for your FP time for Soarin or Test Track).
We went to the one with the music robots and the segways last year but a lot of things weren't running.(to be honest we were hot and wanted somewhere with a/c to walk through) I keep hearing about the one where you design your own coaster, is it like the one in DD?