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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 know I'm jumping the gun here....(only a little ) since Burke is only seven weeks old. But I'm already dreaming about his first trip to Walt Disney World.
In 2008, my DH first trip to WDW, he found all the strollers a bit overwhelming and proclaimed that " we are never bring kids here until they are ten yrs old and can walk by themselves".
I`m thinking.....WHAT.... are you kidding me!!
I personally think that ten is way too late to experience your first visit. I just don't see a kid at that age running up to give Mickey a hug as enthusiacially as someone younger.
On our vacation to WDW last Sept I was 20 weeks pregnant. I had been thinking the whole trip about bringing our son back here in the future, but wondered when that might be. On our last day as we were leaving MK and taking our silly, pouty, waving good bye to the castle pictures, I noiticed something I had not seen before. DH was wiping tears out of his eyes. Naturally I starting getting misty as well, but I knew right then and there he was a Disney convert. Yessss, we got him!!
We sat for a bit and composed ourselves and I asked ``when do you think we might make it back here again.``
He replyed maybe 5 yrs. Well that is 50% better, we are making progress. Still 5 yrs seems so far away.
So my question to all of you is what age did you find was the perfect age to take you kids to WDW for the first time. I so wish we were going again this yr, but we are not, so I just have to dream.
ttfn
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I brought Alexander when he was 5 months, and we all got something out of the experience. He loved the fireworks, all the sounds, the stimulations, and the different interactions. He's gone at various ages, and each one has been good for him -- I've noticed positive changes in him after each trip.
I brought Alexander when he was 5 months, and we all got something out of the experience. He loved the fireworks, all the sounds, the stimulations, and the different interactions. He's gone at various ages, and each one has been good for him -- I've noticed positive changes in him after each trip.
I took my son for the first time when he was 2 and my daughter for the first time when she was 4 months old. I am so glad I did their first trips early. Both of the first were a magical experience even with our daughter only being 4 months old. She loved the movement of the rides, the characters, the fireworks, the music, the parades. She really got a lot out of that trip. We are so happy we took her then because just a few months after that trip she started having seizures and now at 4 years (almost 5 years) old she is severely delayed with multiple disabilities and she got much more out of that first trip than any other time we have been since. In recent years we have not been able to go at all because she is currently not able to handle traveling. Don't feel like you have to wait until they are older. They will love it at any age. Also, having the strollers in the parks is not that bad. We like being able to put our bags, snacks, etc. in the stroller and having our arms free.
DS was 2.5 when he went for the first time, and he loved MOST of it. He was terrified by the fireworks, and he and DH spent all of Illuminations locked in a bathroom stall (the farthest from the door) in Norway! We still tease him about that whenever we're at the world (he's now 14.5)
DD was 15 months old on her first Disney trip - but it was to Disneyland. That is actually a great first Disney trip locale - especially with some of the Fantasyland rides that are not at DW (like the Storybook boat ride).
Whenever they go for the first time, there will be good things, and maybe not so good.
You are working in the right direction,though, getting him from 10 down to 5 yrs! Maybe start showing him some of the videos on the Disney site with the little ones interacting with the characters?! That may give him some ideas about how short-lived childhood is!
The week in which they turn three. They experience it like a three year old, but if you check in before their birthday, they're free!
That is great advice!!! And perhaps something to remind the OP's DH - it is pricier to take kids as they get older. Once they're 3, they have to pay for a ticket.
And worse? Once they're 10 they have to order ADULT MEALS!!
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We took DS for the first time when he was 22 months and it was great. He never had any fear of the characters and loved seeing all of them. Plus, at that time he was facinated by lights, so while we watched Specto he was sitting on my lap and kept turning around and giving me kisses and saying I love you. For me that has been the most magical moment at WDW.
So I don't think any age is to young. Each year DS has had a great time and I have been surprised at what he has remembered about the previous trips. He will bring things up on his own. Today he said he wanted to see Mickey fight the Dragon again. So Fantasmic is a must do for us in October.
We took dd to Disney Land when she was 14 1/2 mths and she had her first actual tantrum at 15 mths (sneaked it in just before it happened). Also when she took her first bite out of an apple that dh was holding...it was cute. Ds was 5 at the time and he rode all the roller coasters with dh. It was a good time. Don't listen to people who say it otherwise.
DS will be 9 1/2 (actually his birthday is in June so we squeek in just before he is charged for an adult). They are both excited about it. Anytime is great. Just be prepared. Young kids won't necessarily like the big fluffy characters, and I can't imagine my 9 yr old hugging Pluto but instead I will do it
My advice: you know when it is best and don't listen to others that tell you otherwise and try to discourage you as they did to us.
aww, thanks guys. Great advice. I agree the third birthday rule is def. something to keep in mind. DH said that he ( DS ) won`t remember any of it. Maybe my motives are a little selfish, but I want to enjoy watching him experience all these amazing thing...I`ll show him the pictures later! To Tabitha... I love the photo. So fun, that is what I`m afraid we`ll miss if we wait too long. To Diana...have you gotten Zoey to the world yet? P.S she is adorable, can`t believe how big she is now.
Walt said he wanted a place where parents and children can do things together. Based on that definition, there's something for children of nearly every age.
There also different ways to look at "what's the right age?" What's the right age for parents to have the easiest time? What's the right age for parents to enjoy being with their children? What's the right age for kids to understand their experience? What's the right age for kids to be stimulated by the experience? And I'm sure you can think of a few more.
I took my daughter Allie there for the first time when she was four years old. Overall it was a great trip, because it was the trip that proved to us that PassPorter was a good idea. If we'd had a bad time, then we probably wouldn't be here talking about it.
For a while after that, I believed it was best to wait until a child was at least two, and had some understanding of his/her surroundings. But I forgot a very important thing. It's not just about the child's experiences. It's a family experience, and nearly any age is the right age for a family to vacation together.
Many first-time parents choose to bring their infants. Certainly not because their infant will be affected at all. In part, I believe it's part of a rite of passage - "Today, we are parents!" Their own memories of trips to Disney with their parents make it a multi-generational tradition. In part, it's because this is where they want to create their family memories. Baby may not remember the trip, but he/she will grow up looking at the pictures and hearing the stories for a very long time.
The Disney experience is such an integral part of the American family experience that for some (or even many), it's no different than the first trip to meet the grandparents/visit the ancestral home.
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Our oldest is now 12 and our youngest is 3, and when our little one was born, we were going to start saving then, so we could go when she turned 2, but it fell through. Now she will be 4(or already 5 depending on when we go, and I think I'm glad we waited even though it's going to cost a little more, I am hopeful she'll enjoy it more. My oldest daughter will be 14, and she and I can enjoy the rides!
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) since Burke is only seven weeks old. But I'm already dreaming about his first trip to Walt Disney World.
. Naturally I starting getting misty as well, but I knew right then and there he was a Disney convert. Yessss, we got him!!
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Also, having the strollers in the parks is not that bad. We like being able to put our bags, snacks, etc. in the stroller and having our arms free. 
We still tease him about that whenever we're at the world (he's now 14.5)
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