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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi everyone. Apologies for the length of this post.
PassPorter is my favorite WDW community and because of the wonderful people here, I decided this is the only place I’m posting. Been debating for a long time whether anyone would find this helpful, but it seems that I’ve seen several people dealing with plantar fasciitis lately. My intention is not to advocate for a particular product (I don’t work for the company or get a kickback or anything), but simply to help others who might be having the same problem. You could say I’m paying it forward for those who did the same for me.
Plantar Fasciitis (PF) is no joke even if you don’t walk a lot, but when you walk for days on WDW concrete it can really affect your vacation. I’ve tried everything – prescription orthotics, corticosteroid shots, braces/splints, therapy. Nothing worked, and my podiatrist was out of ideas.
For years, I’ve dealt with this malady. On our 2012 and 2014 WDW trips, I nearly ended up in a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk any longer. By the 2nd day of both vacations I was in agony. It’s really difficult when you plan (and pay) for 14+ days at WDW and feel crippled before you make it into the parks. I remember crouching in a corner on the balls of my feet at Hollywood Studios, tears streaming down my face because I was in so much pain. It puts a damper on your holiday, and affects your family too.
In 2014, we went to Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs) and I had to – again – make my family stop and let me sit on a bench due to pain. I wasn’t even in Florida for 36 hours and my heels felt like a hammer had been pounding on them! A nice couple from Arizona happened to sit near me on the same bench and they had the strangest looking shoes – instead of a heel, it was a big ol’ spring! Being nosy…I mean, curious…I asked them about their shoes and they told me it was for their PF. I was excited that someone else understood what I was going through! They told me about their shoes, called Z-Coils. You can find them on the internet and now on Amazon. Or you can PM me and I can help you link to them.
My friends, I’m not gonna lie, Z-Coils are a bit pricey (between $200-300), and I was hesitant to spend that kind of money on shoes. It was a risk. Frank (my significant other of 13 years) said, “Andrea, you're hurting. How much would you pay to be out of this pain?” and I dipped into my savings to buy them. I was so desperate for relief that I called the store that moment from Downtown Disney and had them overnight the shoes to POFQ. (Customer service is outstanding.) Z-Coils cost a little more than high-end sneakers – I paid nearly the same for fancy New Balance shoes that didn’t help me at all. I wore my Z-Coils every single day for the next 2 weeks. I can honestly say that those shoes saved my vacation, and I didn’t even have a blister to show for it.
Z-Coils worked so well for me, that over the past 3 years, I’ve purchased 2 more pairs so I can alternate shoes during my trips. I’ve used them for vacations and outings where I had to do a lot of walking, especially on concrete, and have been pain free! They’ve held up amazingly well and look like new.
Everyone’s situation is unique, and we all respond to different therapies in our own way. Z-Coils might not work for everyone, but if you are struggling with PF like I was and think you’re out of options, this might be something to consider. Heck, I didn’t even know these things existed until some nice couple sat next to me out of the blue. Their kindness in sharing their experiences with a stranger all those years ago has helped me out tremendously – and I can only hope that my experience may help someone else too. My only regret is that I didn’t get their names so I could thank them!
Thanks for sticking with me throughout this post. If this helps even one person, I’ll be happy!
PS - I just found out that Z-Coils are now being sold on Amazon Prime, and a lot of people (me included) collect Amazon gift cards through things like Bing Points, Swagbucks, or even as gifts. That might reduce the financial sting.
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Thank you for sharing that. I have had PF twice already and it really does suck. After 2 shots in my heels I gave up on the shots. It hurt more to have the shots and it didnt work for me. I will definately have to look those shoes up. I dont have it at the moment but I do know if I walk a long distance my feet do start to hurt more than just your usual hurt and Im always afraid I will get it again.
Connie - I had the same thing. Corticosteroid shots can work, but often not for long. For me, the pain of the shot was worse than the PF pain, as the needle has to go through that huge tendon strap in your heel. I'm usually ok for walking the first day and then the pain comes. By the next morning, I'm a wreck.
And for as much as our WDW trips cost us, I think of these shoes as an investment and insurance too. $250 is a small price to pay, if it will save a vacation that cost my family several thousands that we diligently saved up for.
These shoes really did it for me, because more than cushioning your heel as you come down on it, it reduces the shock by a LOT. I have done my share of serious marching this year in Washington DC, on pavement, for 10-12 hours at a time, and as long as my Z-Coils are in, the most pain I feel is from my out-of-shape leg muscles.
Are they difficult to walk in. I cant not walk in heels, I am way to clumsy
Totally understand that question. I was worried too.
I am also a bit clumsy - ask anyone how many toes I've broken because I'm a klutz. It took me no time to walk in these. They feel just like any other tennis shoe, and the heel pad is so wide that you're almost MORE stable. The spring doesn't move side to side, just up & down when you step on it.
However, unless you get the covered coil version (which looks stupid on tennis shoes), I wouldn't drive with them. remember that the heel coil is open. The coil can also get caught in bar stool railings if you don't pay attention. Other than that, I can't even tell I'm wearing anything other than regular shoes.
I'm sorry to hear you had such pain but glad you found something that helps you. I find doing the stretches and using the orthotics that the doctor recommended works for me. Granted, at Disney it does tend to act up but if I start taking Mortin right away, it doesn't get too bad.
A running friend of mine has these and it's been a game changer for her. Totally worth the investment. So glad you found some relief! I think it was fate that those folks sat next to you at Disney Springs.
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I'm sorry to hear you had such pain but glad you found something that helps you. I find doing the stretches and using the orthotics that the doctor recommended works for me. Granted, at Disney it does tend to act up but if I start taking Mortin right away, it doesn't get too bad.
ooooh I am a little bit jealous, but in a good way! <<hugs>> I'm so happy that orthotics worked for you! Like I said, there's never a one-size-fits-all fix for ailments. for a lot of people, orthotics, stretches and splints work wonders. Just didn't happen for me. Then again, I have duck feet..so flat they're nearly concave! LOL
A running friend of mine has these and it's been a game changer for her. Totally worth the investment. So glad you found some relief! I think it was fate that those folks sat next to you at Disney Springs.
The Z-Coil folks told me that they have a LOT of runners who love their shoes, which goes to show that they're pretty stable.
I've often said that the couple that happened to sit next to me at that very moment in Downtown Disney were heaven sent. Someone was looking out for me, I think. I wish I would have gotten their info. I owe them a lot!
I wish they had cuter styles. I like colorful sneakers. My favorites are my purple and pink pair I have right now.
They do have fuchsia & grey sneakers and a white/light blue sneaker - granted, not as spiffy as Under Armour or Nike, but I'll take no pain over looks!
I'm wishing these were sold somewhere in Anchorage...I'll be checking a couple of the high end shoe stores. I would love to try them on before I actually buy any. I don't have a lot of issues on a day to day basis, but all the walking at Disney sure makes the tootsies hurt. I wouldn't mind having them for vacations and such.
And I agree...wish they were a little cuter, but no pain over style...yeah, I could live with that.
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I know what you mean. Im just so close to my trip I dont have the extra money to spend almost $300 on shoes at the moment but maybe in the future I can get a pair and try them out.
Jennifer - they don't sell Z-coils much in stores at all - a handful across the lower 48, and those are tiny specialty stores. This is why they're doing the Amazon thing. I don't know how much more it would cost them to ship to Alaska.
Connie - the cost is what threw me too. It's an awful lot of $$ for shoes. I would suggest that if you can make it through your trip without, that's great! Maybe save up some gift cards at Amazon or something like that so it doesn't sting as much over the next year or so...try them out. I don't know if they have a money back or trial period because once I used them, I kept them. You may want to call them to see what your options are!
Jennifer - they don't sell Z-coils much in stores at all - a handful across the lower 48, and those are tiny specialty stores. This is why they're doing the Amazon thing. I don't know how much more it would cost them to ship to Alaska.
Luckily, we can quite often get the free shipping thru Amazon and we do have access to Amazon Prime like the rest of the US. But you are correct in that we usually get shafted when it comes to shipping from a lot of companies!!!
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Originally Posted by DisneyWitch
Connie - the cost is what threw me too. It's an awful lot of $$ for shoes. I would suggest that if you can make it through your trip without, that's great! Maybe save up some gift cards at Amazon or something like that so it doesn't sting as much over the next year or so...try them out. I don't know if they have a money back or trial period because once I used them, I kept them. You may want to call them to see what your options are!
I did see on the ZCoil website they do have a money back guarantee - wear them for 30 days...return if unsatisfied - regardless of how much the shoes were worn!!! You can find that info at the bottom of their home page.
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
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Maybe save up some gift cards at Amazon or something like that so it doesn't sting as much over the next year or so...try them out. I don't know if they have a money back or trial period because once I used them, I kept them. You may want to call them to see what your options are!
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