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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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1) I am trying to decide whether or not to plan on Crush's coaster, I understand it is mostly in the dark (?) which means motion will feel intensified. If anyone has ridden this - what did you think? For a comparison, DD & I love BTMR, however, I did not like the squashed (G force) feeling when EE at Animal Kingdom went backward. DD loves to spin and I like it too as long as not continuous though whole ride. I've read that lines are very long and since it has no FP, if I decide to ride that should be the first ride of the day at the studios correct?
2) What are your top 3 rides/attractions at each park that you never miss?
3) Where is the best/your favorite place to watch the parade? The night time show?
4) What was your favorite non-ride thing to do or some little known area/sight that you really enjoyed?
5) Where would you never eat again at DLP/WDS?
6) What is your best advice for a 1st timer, about DLP/WDS?
1) I am trying to decide whether or not to plan on Crush's coaster, I understand it is mostly in the dark (?) which means motion will feel intensified. If anyone has ridden this - what did you think? For a comparison, DD & I love BTMR, however, I did not like the squashed (G force) feeling when EE at Animal Kingdom went backward. DD loves to spin and I like it too as long as not continuous though whole ride. I've read that lines are very long and since it has no FP, if I decide to ride that should be the first ride of the day at the studios correct? I did Crush's Coaster and hated it. I can stand Big Thunder and I've done Expedition Everest twice - admittedly after the second time, I did say never again, but Crush was just way too intense for me to handle and it did a real number on me.
As far as the first thing to do when you enter the Studios, for me that would be to get a Fastpass for Ratatouille, as unless things have calmed down in the last year (and they may have), the lines to get Fastpasses are insane! I don't remember what time we got over there, maybe half an hour or an hour after park opening, and the line just went on and on and on and the return time was already something like 3:00pm!
2) What are your top 3 rides/attractions at each park that you never miss? Disneyland Park: Haunted Mansion (it's such a classic), Pirates (as before) and then the dragon under the castle - just so brilliantly done. We also love Alice's Curious Labyrinth, as it's unique to that park.
Studios: Ratatouille (but see the above answer as well), Cinemagique and Animagique.
3) Where is the best/your favorite place to watch the parade? The night time show?
The last time we watched the parade in the Disneyland Park, we were in the square at the entrance and that worked fine. With the evening show, you normally need a good view of the castle. We couldn't see everything in the water (I think they're getting a new show for the 25th anniversary, so this may have changed), but honestly it really didn't detract from our enjoyment at all.
4) What was your favorite non-ride thing to do or some little known area/sight that you really enjoyed? Probably the dragon in the castle and Alice's Curious Labyrinth (as above), but definitely spend some time in Adventure Isle, as there's a lot to enjoy there, and I also love 20,000 leagues - it's only a walkthrough, but again great attention to detail.
5) Where would you never eat again at DLP/WDS?
Hmm... never? That's tough. I don't think I'd ever say never to anywhere, as anywhere can have an off day. To turn it around, we love Walt's in the Disneyland Park, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show with Mickey and Friends in Downtown Disney, Bistrot Chez Remy at the Studios and Inventions at the Disneyland Hotel.
6) What is your best advice for a 1st timer, about DLP/WDS?
Be prepared for it to be a different culture. For example, alcohol is freely available (not so much of a big deal now it's available in some places in the Magic Kingdom, but a couple of years ago, that was a big different). Equally, you may find some of the guests and Cast Members less than magical. I appreciate it can happen anywhere, but we've certainly had experiences there with the French being a little less than welcoming than we're used to at the American parks, shall we say? It's very similar to Disneyland, in that you can walk between the parks and it's still got the old Fastpass system, which I quite like. In that respect, it's now very different to WDW. Try to visit during the week and out of school holidays, as crowds will be lighter.
Just to add a couple of things in (we returned last week from a 5-day trip to DLP) :-
1. Crush's Coaster - we rode this in 2015 and although DH didn't mind it, I HATED it. I love Big Thunder, really like Expedition Everest, and have done Rock & Roller Coaster in the past, but this one was, to me, horrific. It is more of a very fast switchback coaster, plus the car you are in spins at the same time, I just found it too fast and disorientating. It was dark in there, but I could still see enough to see what was coming up, which I didn't like! There is supposed to be light projections of bubbles and things, but we didn't see them at the time we rode.
First thing to do in the Studios is definitely get FastPasses for Ratatouille. Even though the ride has now been open for a little while, the queues have not got shorter and are still insane lengths! It is trackless technology and such an excellent ride!
2. I agree with Chezp, but Cinemagique closes tomorrow for at least a year, so I have no idea what will be going in there next year. Animagique is no longer the show it was in 2015, a new show was put in there last year for a short time and this may well return, but when we were there two weeks ago the theatre was dark, and had been for some time.
6. The only other thing is still, unfortunately, the smoking. It is probably 75% better than it was, there are now clearly marked specific areas for smokers, slightly off the beaten path, and bins everywhere with ashtray-type tops, but there were STILL guests smoking as they walked around 2 weeks ago. Cast Members are still not admonishing guests or doing anything to stop it. Signage is increased too, not that some guests took any notice of it.
We also encountered a handful of rude and un-magical CMs, although most are a lot better than they used to be. I had one CM actually tell me off for wearing a guest badge that I bought years ago in MGM Studios, and which looks a little like a CM badge - she told me off for wearing it "when you are not on duty!" I've never encountered this before, despite wearing this badge every time I go to any Disney park, and, annoyingly, it didn't occur to me until afterwards to tell her that I work for an insurance consultancy in the UK and am nothing to do with Disney!
There is also still an abundance of selfie sticks, again despite signage everywhere telling you they are banned. We didn't witness any CMs telling guests they couldn't use them.
Oh, and also be prepared for quite a lot of the attractions to be narrated in French only! Haunted Mansion, Backlot Tour (if it's open), etc.
Other than these minor niggles though, it really is a pretty place to be, and the 25th Anniversary celebrations are lovely, all dark blue and silver decorations with Tinker Bell everywhere! Have a brilliant time!
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Just to add a couple of things in (we returned last week from a 5-day trip to DLP) :-
1. Crush's Coaster - we rode this in 2015 and although DH didn't mind it, I HATED it. I love Big Thunder, really like Expedition Everest, and have done Rock & Roller Coaster in the past, but this one was, to me, horrific. It is more of a very fast switchback coaster, plus the car you are in spins at the same time, I just found it too fast and disorientating. It was dark in there, but I could still see enough to see what was coming up, which I didn't like! There is supposed to be light projections of bubbles and things, but we didn't see them at the time we rode.
Thanks, we had been leaning toward trying Crush but with both of your experience it's sound like a sick making experience rather than a fun one.
First thing to do in the Studios is definitely get FastPasses for Ratatouille. Even though the ride has now been open for a little while, the queues have not got shorter and are still insane lengths! It is trackless technology and such an excellent ride!
One of my goals is to watch the movie since we haven't seen it to better understand the ride since it seems so popular.
2. I agree with Chezp, but Cinemagique closes tomorrow for at least a year, so I have no idea what will be going in there next year. Animagique is no longer the show it was in 2015, a new show was put in there last year for a short time and this may well return, but when we were there two weeks ago the theatre was dark, and had been for some time.
I was reading yesterday about shows for the 25th anniversary that begin after March 29th for both of those places so hopefully they will be good.
6. The only other thing is still, unfortunately, the smoking. It is probably 75% better than it was, there are now clearly marked specific areas for smokers, slightly off the beaten path, and bins everywhere with ashtray-type tops, but there were STILL guests smoking as they walked around 2 weeks ago. Cast Members are still not admonishing guests or doing anything to stop it. Signage is increased too, not that some guests took any notice of it.
That's too bad.
We also encountered a handful of rude and un-magical CMs, although most are a lot better than they used to be. I had one CM actually tell me off for wearing a guest badge that I bought years ago in MGM Studios, and which looks a little like a CM badge - she told me off for wearing it "when you are not on duty!" I've never encountered this before, despite wearing this badge every time I go to any Disney park, and, annoyingly, it didn't occur to me until afterwards to tell her that I work for an insurance consultancy in the UK and am nothing to do with Disney!
How horrible, I am a polite person and to have a rude CM is definitely not magical.
There is also still an abundance of selfie sticks, again despite signage everywhere telling you they are banned. We didn't witness any CMs telling guests they couldn't use them.
Sounds like people do not follow directions very well
Oh, and also be prepared for quite a lot of the attractions to be narrated in French only! Haunted Mansion, Backlot Tour (if it's open), etc.
I expect that, I took French in high school and remember only a few basics but DD took French last year and is taking a college French class beginning next week and her accent is much better than mine. So even if I cannot understand what is being said I can still enjoy the ride
Other than these minor niggles though, it really is a pretty place to be, and the 25th Anniversary celebrations are lovely, all dark blue and silver decorations with Tinker Bell everywhere! Have a brilliant time!
I am excited to be visiting for the first time on the 25th anniversary. The decorations sound lovely. Thanks for your input.
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Interesting about Cinemagique and Animagique and potentially sad too. I'm off to read about what might be going in there, as we may be making a visit there later in the year....
Interesting about Cinemagique and Animagique and potentially sad too. I'm off to read about what might be going in there, as we may be making a visit there later in the year....
Everyone I read about raved about Cinemagique so I am sorry I won't get to see it but hopefully the new show will be good. You tend to travel to DLP in the quieter time of year correct? We will be there July 11-14th although the 11 & 14 are only partial days but we are arriving in London on July 14th and won't leave for NYC until the July 26th. I would love to meet you and Mark if you aren't traveling then and we can arrange it.
Everyone I read about raved about Cinemagique so I am sorry I won't get to see it but hopefully the new show will be good. You tend to travel to DLP in the quieter time of year correct? We will be there July 11-14th although the 11 & 14 are only partial days but we are arriving in London on July 14th and won't leave for NYC until the July 26th. I would love to meet you and Mark if you aren't traveling then and we can arrange it.
We're looking at going to Disneyland Paris in September (not for the running event, before anyone asks - just before it ), but it would be great to meet up. I'll have to have a look at the diary to see what's in there for July, as I can't remember off the top of my head. Drop me a private message to remind me!
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1) Crush's Coaster
I was the one who talked Chez into going on this ride with me and was so sorry when she felt sick afterwards From what you've told us, I'd probably recommend you skip this ride...
2) top 3 rides/attractions at each park
Disneyland Park: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Alice's Curious Labyrinth
WDS: RC Racer, Tower of Terror, Animagique
3) best/your favorite place to watch the parade/night time show
My personal favorite is still smack dab in the middle of the square in front of the castle, even if it's really crowded and you need to get there early
4) favorite non-ride thing to do or some little known area/sight that you really enjoyed
We like Adventure Isle (the rope bridge especially) at DLP. Oh, and I think the restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean is perfect for lunch (if open).
5) Where would you never eat again at DLP/WDS?
Some of the quick service places at DLP aren't all that great... If we need a quick bite to eat and have the chance, we prefer Earl of Sandwich at the Disney Village
6) best advice for a 1st timer, about DLP/WDS
Try not to compare it to the American parks all the time. Disneyland Paris has its own charm if you give it a chance - despite some of the annoying things already mentioned above (smoking, rudeness). I particularly love how Hotel New York, Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay Club are arranged around a lake, making for a beautiful background when you sit down on one of the benches by the lake for a break.
Yeah sorry about that. At the moment, plans are at a very early stage, but it looks as if we'll be leaving on the Wednesday....
Dang it! Amy and I will miss you guys too - we're arriving Friday. That's OK though. You will avoid all the crazy runners.
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Dang it! Amy and I will miss you guys too - we're arriving Friday. That's OK though. You will avoid all the crazy runners.
I did think about going later in the week, and trust me it was very tempting, but we're going to be taking a first timer to Disneyland Paris and I wanted to be able to show her the parks at the quietest possible time and I knew they just wouldn't be during race time.
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I don't remember what time we got over there, maybe half an hour or an hour after park opening, and the line just went on and on and on and the return time was already something like 3:00pm! 
to better understand the ride since it seems so popular.
), but it would be great to meet up. I'll have to have a look at the diary to see what's in there for July, as I can't remember off the top of my head. Drop me a private message to remind me! 
From what you've told us, I'd probably recommend you skip this ride...
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