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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I've always gotten hoppers, but I think I'm not going to our next visit. I've read that you are supposed to avoid EMH if you don't have them, but to me that seems silly.. We go the last week of Aug/first week of Sept. It's low crowds and free dining. Have any touring suggestions for not using hoppers??
We always used them because I was a teenager. Having 3 young kids, it's a pain in the rear. We did it on our trip last year. One park a day will be fine for us until they get older. I didn't get water parks either, because until they are teenagers the pool is just fine for them.
I just need some advice on how to plan out my days.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
We don't use hoppers and I can understand the idea of avoiding EMH. The EMH parks tend to get very crowded in the afternoons. We've done EMH once or twice and yes it gets very crowded by mid afternoon, but that's when we're heading back to the resort for a rest. Generally, when we go back to the park it's for dinner ADRs and so the crowds don't bother us too much.
This next trip (last part of August), I plan to avoid the EMH parks for the most part. I've looked at touring plans and the crowd numbers for each park and have used that to plan my days.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We've never used hoppers. Doing one park per day just seems to work for our family. We also do take advantage of EMH if it fits our schedule. We usually head to our park of choice for the day by mid- morning (we have yet to open a park ), stay until dinner ADRs (alot of our meals are at resorts). After dinner, we may return to the park or call it a night. We usually go in Feb, which is considered slower time of year (although I'm not convinced of that yet!), so the crowds are bearable. We consider PH every trip, but so far haven't done so, Good luck deciding!!
Thanks! I just find it hard to miss out on the morning EMH's. We get a lot done. We leave in the afternoon for a break also.
That's how we toured when the kids were younger.. go early, leave mid afternoon then head back. I agree - PH with kids is a pain so we have never done it.
I am odd man out in the EMH category here. It isour vacation so we sleep in and get to the parks around 9. Since our two DD's were 2 and 8 we have always traveled in mid Aug and always done evening EMH. We too take a mid day break to nap and recharge. We make a TS ADR for 630-7 in or close to the EMH park. Since dinner is late we do not get to the park until 8 or 830. By this time the sun is going down and it is cooler. We "get our glow on" and get out our light up toys. We LOVE touring at night. It is so magical to be in the parks at night. Our DD's love it because it is a real treat to be up past 9. Bedtime at home during school is 8pm. We do the less popular attractions until fireworks, hide during the mass exodus (lol) and then hit all the big attractions. One time we rode BTMRR 4 times concsecutively at midnight. We are sure to save a snack credit for a late night treat around 1030 for that sugar rush! As far as the hoppers I think you will be fine. just divide up your days by park and go from there. HAPPY PLANNING!!
This year will be our first trip without hoppers. I'm scared but I think we have planned well. We are travelling with a group of 16 and (for now at least) they say they do not want to split up. Only one other family has been to WDW before and that was prior to them having kids. My DH thinks I'm crazy for even considering not getting the park hoppers ("What if Fantasmic gets rained out? What if TSM is broken down?") I politely informed him we are saving enough $$ to pay for our MNSSHP tickets. He hasn't said a word about it since-lol.
There is always the opportunity to add the hoppers onto your tickets should you decide that you need them. Wait until then, then weigh up whether you really will get value. Good luck.
Our next trip will be without Hoppers. We used it one day out of the 7 we were there on our last 2 trips. So we all decided to do the one day at one Park our next trip.
our last few trips we have had hopper tickets,cause we got a deal on them through the wife's work. and new used the hopper option so we are just getting regular tickets for this trip.
we also like to sleep in and have never got to a park when it opens. So we get there around 10:30-11 and stay all day. We just bring a stroller so my daughter doesn't get wiped out from walking to much
__________________
"Raindrops taste like tears without the pain"
1186 miles from Home
it's funny we used to get ph when the kids were little. it worked out well because staying at BWV sometimes we would go to mk or ak then head over to epcot in the evening. Kids are older now and we like to save some $$$$$$ so we no longer get them, we did get the wp +more option last time as we stayed a bit longer than usual and it was August. Crowd levels were okay last august but we go before free dining.
planning is half the fun!!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
), stay until dinner ADRs (alot of our meals are at resorts). After dinner, we may return to the park or call it a night. We usually go in Feb, which is considered slower time of year (although I'm not convinced of that yet!), so the crowds are bearable. We consider PH every trip, but so far haven't done so, Good luck deciding!!
Susan
Deb
Linear Mode
