Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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07-15-2003, 03:56 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Plano, Texas
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 848
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BRWombat\'s belated list of DO\'S and DON\'T\'s
After I completed my trip report from our March trip to WDW and a 3-day cruise on the Disney Wonder some time ago, some of you suggested I put together a list of DO’s and DON’T’s to post here. Well, it was a while in coming, but here it is. And because so many things went so well on our trip, there are a lot more “DO’s” than “DON’T’s.” I know, it’s a nice problem to have! Enjoy!
DON’T bother standing in too many long character lines at the parks if you are going on the cruise or have a character meal scheduled. You’ll get plenty of character time on the ship or at the restaurant.
DO carry notepaper and take lots of notes during the day – not just of what you did when, but of funny/memorable things that happen and comments people make. Then you can create a detailed trip report for us and a memorable scrapbook for your family!
DO make your group stand out: wear matching shirts and name tags – you’ll get tons of extra attention! (We had embroidered shirts given by my parents, but you can make your own for much cheaper with that iron-on paper you can print on your computer printer.)
DO book your own airfare, even if you still use Disney’s ground transfers. Because our self-purchased tickets were cheaper, we were able to leave a day earlier, at a reasonable hour, and pay for the extra meals and the night’s hotel stay for LESS money! Plus we were at the parks quicker the next day! In parallel with that, …
DO arrive in Orlando the day before you hit the parks. Getting a good night’s rest from the travel is wonderful!
DO prepare yourself and your kids well in advance. Renting Disney movies is good, but even better is to get several CDs of a variety of Disney music. Aboard the ship and in the parks, those familiar songs are everywhere, and our kids felt right at home at every turn. Plus they’re just great songs! Most economical: the 5-CD "Classic Disney" box set, an Australian import, available on Amazon.com. You get 125 Disney songs for under $45! (Compare the current "Disney's Greatest" CD's, which sell for $18 in the Disney Store and have only 20 songs each.)
DO stop off at City Hall in Magic Kingdom (and perhaps other Guest Relations desks elsewhere?) to get an “It’s My Birthday!” button for ANY member of your party whose birthday it is. Again, the birthday boy or girl (or man or woman!) gets lots of extra attention.
DON’T plan out in advance every ride and event you will do in order. I know a lot of people swear by precise touring plans, but we enjoyed the freedom and flexibility of our method. We prioritized attractions in advance as “must-see,” “would like to see,” or “don’t care,” and then took them as they came.
DON’T let your kids (or adults) go into the parks thinking that they’ll get to see or do everything they want to. There’s no way. Instead,…
DO have the attitude that you’ll enjoy whatever you get to do, rather than worry about what you don’t.
DO get a digital camera. You can snap LOTS of pictures and then keep the best ones at the end of each day. (It is tough deleting any of them, though!) Our low-end, relatively cheap ($200 then, probably cheaper now) Sony model fit in my pocket and captured almost 400 great pictures during the week (even with tossing out the bad ones at the end of each day)!
DON’T miss the Adventurer’s Club and the Comedy Warehouse on Pleasure Island!
DON’T let bad experiences ruin your whole day. Our day at Disney/MGM Studios started with my oldest son getting scared and backing out of Tower of Terror, followed by a poor server at 50’s Prime Time Café. But we were flexible and changed our plans, with my oldest and I staying at the park when the others went back to rest, and it was a great time! It more than made up for the slow start.
DO treat yourself to reserved seats for Fantasmic by booking the “Fantasmic Dinner Package.” Our party just ate at one of the restaurants for supper –- Hollywood and Vine, with its delicious buffet -- and were given passes to the special seating area. (The seats are to the right of center in the amphitheater, but you can still see everything.)
DO try to ride up front in the monorail at least once.
DO get up early aboard the ship at least once, grab a cup of coffee and a donut, and sit by the rail and watch the sun rise over the ocean. (Whether you follow that, as I did, with shooting hoops on the sports deck with your father-in-law is up to you.)
DO spend some time exploring your resort and the ship, just wandering the hallways. As you can see from the picture in my signature below, you never know who you’ll run into!
DON’T miss Disney Dreams on the last night of the cruise. There is nothing else like it!
Oh, and one more...
DO get upgraded to a Category 3 suite aboard the cruise ship like we did. I have no idea how to tell you to do this, but if it happens, you’ll love it! |
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07-15-2003, 11:52 PM
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#2
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Mrs. Jack Sparrow
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Aboard the Black Pearl
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 21,228
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Re: BRWombat\'s belated list of DO\'S and DON\'T\'s
Great advice Brad. Thanks for shareing. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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08-14-2003, 09:33 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: SE Texas!
Posts: 4,882
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Re: BRWombat\'s belated list of DO\'S and DON\'T\'s
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
[img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Michelle
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08-25-2003, 09:42 AM
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#4
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 4,613
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Re: BRWombat\'s belated list of DO\'S and DON\'T\'s
Thanks for taking the time to post these. They are all good tips. You've motivated me to start looking into digital cameras.
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08-26-2003, 06:29 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 5,094
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Re: BRWombat\'s belated list of DO\'S and DON\'T\'s
Awesoem tips! Thanks so much for sharing them with us [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] And I love the pic in your signature [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]
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