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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So I got home last night. We had a great time. Instead of doing a trip report I thought I would share some observations.
I have decided I do not like March for a trip. I guess I have been spoiled by September. Almost everything had a wait of 30+ minutes. If we didn't have 6 days at the parks there would have been some big attractions that I missed because I wasn't standing in line for over an hour. Even the line for fast passes to Toy Story mania was over an hour. So many people were in line for fast passes that the wait for the ride said 60 minutes but we got thru in 30 minutes. Even rides that I have never seen waits for like the Maelstrom in Norway and The Backstage Tour at Hollywood Studios had long lines.
I was chosen to be in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, again. That is my second time. Its fun.
Cinderella's horse has been removed from the Carousel. i guess this is because its the Princes Carousel now, but I was disappointed. Luckily I rode it last Sept.
The flower garden festival was nice.
We went to Islands of Adventure for a day to see the Harry Potter Park. Words can not describe how awesome the forbidden journey ride is. I ran back there right at park opening and had a 20 minute wait. The stores were packed and by afternoon all the stores had lines just to get in. I didn't get to go to Ollivanders Wand shop, the line was 2 hours long. I rode the Hungarian Horntail dueling dragons coaster very cool. I don't think that IOA is worth $83 to get in. I would rather pay for a 1 day hopper go to just Harry Potter Part of IOA and then spend the rest of the day at Universal Studios. Especially if I travel with the rest of my family, who are not rollercoaster people like me. Also my mom is extremely closterphobia and would not have lasted 3 minutes in the Harry Potter Park.
We stayed at the Wyndam Bonnet Creek. Very nice resort. I had no issues with the transportation to the parks. Shuttles were never that crowded. It would be nice if there was a decent place to eat. There are 2 poolside bars that serve food but they get busy and there is no where to sit. We ended up eating in our room. If i stay there again i will order groceries and have them delivered.
The weather was not fantastic. I should have packed more jeans and long sleeved items. I wore a coat most days. Thursday and Friday were down right cold and we didn't get out of the 70s. I was shivering on Main Street during the Electrical Parade and fireworks.
The new show at night on the castle is amazing. I loved it.
Thats all I could think of at the moment, if I think of anything else i will add later. I will post a few pics soon
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Welcome back! Sounds like March is pretty busy, and I have a feeling my trip in April will be too....Sounds like you still had a good time though. Looking forward to some pics!
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Offsite May 2005, POR September 2006, POR August 2007, POFQ December 2008, POR February 2010,
Pop Century April 2011,
Welcome back! Yeah, March can be crazy. . . we've been to the World twice in March. Waiting an hour just to get Toy Storia Mania Fastpasses--Wow! We hustle there after rope drop and get them then ride. . . but never had to wait an hour!
Your pictures are beautiful - thanks for sharing them. And thanks for IOA observations, my family is "making" me do Universal for 2 days in October LOL
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We went on our honeymoon in March. Given that it was my first real trip (my only other trip was as a 9 year old, so I'm saying that doesn't count because it was like going for the first time all over again), and my husbands first trip, we didn't have anything to compare the lines to, so we were thinking "Wow, half hour for everything, that's not bad!
Then, we went this last September and hardly ever had to wait longer than 10 or 15 minutes to ride. Most stuff was a walk on. So, I totally hear you on that!
Loved the Garden Festival though. Thanks for sharing your pictures, I don't think we'll ever get there during March again. It's so much cheaper in September, and less crowded.
I thought of something else. Its a small World is in bad shape. the soundtrack is horrible. You can barely hear the song being sung in other languages and a lot of the dolls were not singing etc. In some places dolls were missing all together. It was closed for refurb when I was then over Labor Day last year and I was very disappointed at how bad it was. We rode it 2 times. One of those times was just because the line was short and it was a warm place to go.
A very nice cast member over by Star Tours told us while we were in line to meet Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers that Darth Maul would begin making appearances on 3/12. He would also be added to the Jedi Academy Show
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Jen
Last edited by tylerdylansmom; 03-13-2011 at 12:54 PM..
Reason: one more observation
i like the photos of the topiaries at epcot. i went last year but did not go this year. is it possible that you could send me via email photos of the topiaries you have from 2011
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the soundtrack is horrible. You can barely hear the song being sung in other languages and a lot of the dolls were not singing etc. In some places dolls were missing all together. It was closed for refurb when I was then over Labor Day last year and I was very disappointed at how bad it was. We rode it 2 times. One of those times was just because the line was short and it was a warm place to go.
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