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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am thinking about another trip in a year or two. We just returned yesterday. I definitely would like to plan a trip next time during a period of cooler weather and lower crowds. My perfect scenario would be low crowds and weather that is sunny and in the mid 60s to high 70s. Not asking for much, right?
Any thoughts about the best time of year that would be close to this? We definitely learned that crowds and high heat are something we would like to avoid in the future.
Thanks
I have read that January is a good time to go. Low crowds and nice weather. We are going in Jan. 2012. Will let you know how the crowds and heat are but I have been told it is great. Hope they are right.
I love December for all the Christmas decorations but it sometimes can be chilly. October is great if you want to use the pools so I guess it depends on what you would like to do.
I have read that January is a good time to go. Low crowds and nice weather. We are going in Jan. 2012. Will let you know how the crowds and heat are but I have been told it is great. Hope they are right.
We went in January a few years ago and had the best time! The crowds were low and weather was great. We were planning to go this January but the weather where we are (winter storms! ) prevented us from going - that is really the only possible reason I would be hesitant. People will tell you that the park hours are shorter in January (true) and some rides close during this slower time (also true) but the low crowds more than make up for that, IMO. You can do so much more that it doesn't matter to us - it was a great experience and I can't wait until we will be able to plan another January trip!
If you're interested in the nity grity, try touringplans.com. They have crowd calendars that will help give you an idea of what to expect on particular days. Really, these people spend A LOT of time figuring out the "science" behind it all.
We like October/early November, as it's still warm, but not unbearable. Once you get into December, it can get very chilly (we've had highs in the 50s and lows in the 20s before now! )
We went in January a few years ago and had the best time! The crowds were low and weather was great. We were planning to go this January but the weather where we are (winter storms! ) prevented us from going - that is really the only possible reason I would be hesitant. People will tell you that the park hours are shorter in January (true) and some rides close during this slower time (also true) but the low crowds more than make up for that, IMO. You can do so much more that it doesn't matter to us - it was a great experience and I can't wait until we will be able to plan another January trip!
Thanks for the info. I am hoping that this winter won't be as bad as the last. I am from MA and was so tired of the snow storms like many people up here. We are driving down so hopefully we get lucky. We'll see.
My favorite week for low crowds paired with excellent weather is the week before the Thanksgiving week.
The crowds are so low that I've had Cast Members from Peter Pan's Flight *beg* me to come on the ride because they hadn't had anyone in line...
And the skies are blue, with puffy, white clouds... zero humidity. Warm enough to swim!
The only drawback is that park hours are fairly short, but... you get so much done in a day, that you don't really need them to be longer! And you finally have the time to spend in Downtown Disney, or at La Nouba, or in DisneyQuest...
.....I would imagine that ANY time you're at WDW...is a great time to be there!!
.....but...having been there "all 4 seasons"....I'd have to say that fall was the best time...and the reason we went so many times during that time-frame. We loved the last week of Oct into the first week of Nov...because the weather was great...hurricane season is ending......the Food & Wine Festival was still going on.....we could catch Mickey's Halloween Party......Christmas decorations started going up.....and the crowds were lighter than when we went in the spring.