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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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, so I just realized that the Princess 1/2 Mar. will be taking place the first few days I am there (weekend at end of Feb.). anyone have experience with this event? Meaning how are the parks during that time etc...? It looks like they run through the MK on that Sat. so luckily I wasn't planning a MK day at that time. Also, just wondering how jam packed and overextended the resorts will be? Thanks in advance for any replies!
I ran the Princess half last year (although it was the first weekend in March, they just switched it this year) and didn't find the crowds to be that bad at all. We took a first timer along so I was concerned about waiting in too many lines - but it didn't happen! We utilized FastPasses everywhere we could and pretty much got everything accomplished. Although, it was a rather chilly weekend with highs only near 65 each day, nights around 40, so maybe that kept away the locals. We stayed at ASMu and the food court was crazy crowded. So we only ate their once. As I recall, there also was some sort of cheerleading/football thing going on at the resort - did not notice too many teens at the parks though.
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We just got back and the marathon was being run last weekend. I didn't find the crowd in MK large at all on Sunday and it was evening EMH. Monday we went in to the DHS and again - there were lots of people wearing really good running shoes and wearing their medals but it didn't adversely affect the line ups at this slow time of year. A CM I spoke with said that everyone running had been offered a free park day on Monday so that the crowds would have been higher than normal, but it's still such a slow time that it didn't have a big impact. He commented that the weekdays when it is cooler are always slower because locals don't come. Weekends are busier but still very manageable. If you are actually going to be there during the run then I might suggest avoiding the park they are running in (which you are already) and you should be good. The resorts did not seem busy at all, BTW. We stayed at POR and there were lots of empty rooms. It did fill up though towards the end of the week with lots of Spanish speaking tour groups - they were EVERYWHERE! our last day was Thursday the 13th and it made a big impact on the line ups at MK. Things would be just fine and suddenly a crowd of 25 people would swoop into line ahead of you...they really stuck together and all following a leader with a flag held up in the air. It was kind of amusing to watch, but we were heading home so it didn't interfere with many of our plans - we just didn't get to ride Peter Pan. It would have been frustrating to deal with for our whole stay, I am sure. There was also a cheer leading or dance team heading in to the park as we left to catch our DME bus - the one teen who spoke as we went by was from a Southern state judging by her accent, so maybe they had just won a competition and headed down for a school trip. If I'm not mistaken most of the cheerleader groups are out and about in March - not this early.
I think I have read somewhere on the boards that most of the group bookings are in the All Star resorts - where are you staying? Maybe someone else knows if that is true?
We also just got back from a trip during the WDW marathon weekend. We didn't go to a park the day of the 1/2 because we ran it and then decided to just relax the rest of the day, but we did go to MK the day of the marathon. What we did though was have a late bfast at Whispering Canyon (like 10:30) and then head to MK. By the time we got there, any evidence of the race had been removed and the crowds were quite low. I think the crowds will also be low at the end of Feb. My best advice would be to get a late start on the day of the 1/2 marathon, unless you are sure that the route to whatever park you choose will not cross the race path. Traffic was backed up BIG TIME getting to MK and Epcot early in the morning on race days, but like I said, by about 10 am it had cleared up to almost nothing. Good luck!!
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
The Princess Half in actually on Sunday morning - so the runners will be in Magic Kingdom that morning. The 5K through Epcot in Saturday morning.
The races are both before the parks open so should not impact you much. Ths biggest problem is dealing with the road closures if you are driving to the parks.
thank you, that is very usful infomration. I plan to be in Epcot on Friday 1/25, so there shouldn't be an impact in that park and on sunday my plans are to be in DHS. As far as large groups of people from foreign countries in tours that cut you in line...now that is another story. I will not handle that one too well. OMG I expect some rude people whereever I go, but not large groups of rudeness.
thank you, that is very usful infomration. I plan to be in Epcot on Friday 1/25, so there shouldn't be an impact in that park and on sunday my plans are to be in DHS. As far as large groups of people from foreign countries in tours that cut you in line...now that is another story. I will not handle that one too well. OMG I expect some rude people whereever I go, but not large groups of rudeness.
I like that...large groups of rudeness!
I remember reading posts about it on the PP boards and there is an anachronism for them, so I know that it is a common occurance at a particular time of year. It's not even so much that they cut in front, just that they STICK TOGETHER so instead of having a family of 4, say, enter the FP just ahead of you, there is now a family of 27.... One thing that made me was that the tour leaders held up these flags all day so that the group could find them. Quite a few were made with the long swirly suckers that you can buy at the parks. Just in case they got hungry and tired from holding their arm up in the air all day...
thank you, that is very usful infomration. I plan to be in Epcot on Friday 1/25, so there shouldn't be an impact in that park and on sunday my plans are to be in DHS. As far as large groups of people from foreign countries in tours that cut you in line...now that is another story. I will not handle that one too well. OMG I expect some rude people whereever I go, but not large groups of rudeness.
We did find a high number of foreigners to be present marathon weekend this year (probably more non-English speaking people than English speaking people it seemed like at times), but we didn't personally experience any rudeness. I did see a couple times when people would try to play with the CMs and act like they didn't understand a direction or instruction, but the CMs were very firm and didn't let people get away with anything. (The ones I saw anyway) It wasn't really a problem for us.
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
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was that the tour leaders held up these flags all day so that the group could find them. Quite a few were made with the long swirly suckers that you can buy at the parks. Just in case they got hungry and tired from holding their arm up in the air all day...
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