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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're back from our first DL visit. I am not a trip report writer, this post is just a few bullet points.
Disneyland
* Disneyland is * adorable* - if you're accustomed to the scale of Walt Disney World, DL will feel very different.
* DL Fantasyland is awesome. It feels more immersive somehow.
* Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
* Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln made me cry.
* Walk in Walt's Disneyland Footsteps tour doesn't have information that any diehard fan won't already know, but it's a fantastic tour. Walt's apartment was closed the day we toured (this news actually brought me close to tears), so we visited the Dream Suite instead. The Dream Suite was *amazing*, though, and did not disappoint! I attached pics of the parlor (that mirror behind us is magical) and the master bath.
* I can highly recommend the experience of riding in the Lily Belle when it's on the DLRR train set. See my husband aboard in the attached photo.
* You can ride in the front of the Monorail at DL.
* The Monte Cristo at Blue Bayou is: a) deep fried and very heavy, not my favourite thing. b) enough for two, and possibly three, people. Pay the plate sharing fee and share. The ambience is great, get a waterside table.
DCA
* Carthay Circle is worth every penny.
* Do attend the free 10:30AM tour of CC.
* WOC, for us, did not at all live up to its hype.
* On advice, we visited Radiator Springs for the first time at night. I recommend this strategy, it's really cool to have your first look be at night.
* Racers was great fun. We walked on three times in a row through single rider with less than 60 second waits.
* Check out the wine tastings at Alfresco Terrace. All their wines are somehow connected to Disney. The Chappelet Zinfandel is a big, full bodied red and was my favourite.
Misc.
* Trader Sam's at DLH is a not-to-be-missed experience.
* If you're staying at a convention center hotel, walk to the Toy Story lot for the shuttle. It's free and runs continuously, never a wait.
It sounds like you had a great time! I did the ABD Backstage Magic tour and got to do the apartment (you'll just have to do the "Footsteps" tour again sometime so you can do this!), the Dream suite and the Lily Belle. All were memorable, wonderful experiences. Your photos of the suite and train are so much better than mine-- thanks!
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.
I enjoyed reading your bullet points! You've got me wondering what the plate sharing fee is... A trip to the Blue Bayou was a very special treat during my DLR trips as a child.
I actually bowed out of an ADR here last year after looking at the prices compared to the reviews. But then I ended up going in at the end of the meal and finished my Sis's mashed potatoes and sourdough.
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