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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Are there ride lockers for the Gringotts ride similar to the FJ ride lockers? We are going to US/IOA for the first time in April and the only ride I want to ride is Gringotts. I will be taking pictures in HP areas the rest of the time so I will have my big DSLR camera. I hate to have to put my camera in a ride locker for just one ride.
... I've heard they aren't free. Or rather, they start out free, but after some time limit you have to pay to get your things back. And it doesn't matter if the time runs out because the ride is delayed, or the line is just that long.
Something to be aware of, so you aren't blindsided, yeah?
The ride lockers are THE major issue that I have with US/IOA. Frankly, I think they overuse them. In my opinion, they just aren't necessary on Men In Black, The Simpsons, and some others. The amount of time given is based on the current wait time for your chosen attraction, and we've never had an issue getting our things within the time frame allotted, but I am still annoyed every time I have to stow my things. I think next year I'll just use a wallet that will fit in my pocket while I'm in the parks.
The time limit for free use is usually twice the ride wait time at that moment. If something happens and delays the ride and you go over the time a TM will open it for you for free. You can't just leave your things in and come back after doing more than a ride.
I actually saw a family pay $20 to get their things out, but it was because they used the locker like a regular locker and kept there thing in it for a long tome. (At the Mummy ride).
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And yes, I also saw lots of people with phones and staff members really didn't seem to care. I considered it the second time I went on because I think it would be safe enough in your hand or pocket but I couldn't be bothered with the faff. I actually quite liked using the lockers in that sense but again I can imagine it being stressful when it's busy.
The time limit for free use is usually twice the ride wait time at that moment. If something happens and delays the ride and you go over the time a TM will open it for you for free. You can't just leave your things in and come back after doing more than a ride.
I actually saw a family pay $20 to get their things out, but it was because they used the locker like a regular locker and kept there thing in it for a long tome. (At the Mummy ride).
This is correct but I did get the impression from the rental screen that you *could* chose to use it for longer than your ride and come back as long as you were happy to pay. It gives you the free time then several other time / pricing options. I'm not sure I would do it but I can see how this might be worth it if it was really busy and you were doing several rides close to each other.