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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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06-25-2003, 01:08 AM
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#1
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Texas
Posts: 914
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Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
Background:
My mom took a nasty fall exactly 3 weeks ago Thursday. We went to her orthopedic surgeon last Wednesday and he ordered MRIs. So, we went today for the results of the MRIs and lo and behold there is a tear in one part of her rotator cuff. Her arm is extremely sore even 3 weeks later, but it is improving so he's hoping it will heal on its own. 2-3 months' time will tell.
Well. We brought up the notion of needing "special assistance" in Disney World to him, based on her need of an ECV for at least some part of our stay, and definitely extra assistance boarding some rides. We didn't exactly know what to ask him for, except a doctor's note explaining her assistance needs. You know what he did?! He tore off a "certificate of medical treatment," signed the bottom, circled his name at the top in the list of docs in that office and handed it to us! He said "Fill this out as you see fit and get the assistance pass or whatever. Chuckle." That's it!! Ha!
Well. What do we write on this little doc's note for Disney? Do we actually obtain the "special assistance pass" with this thing? Or just ECV rental?
We by all means do not want to abuse this trust we've been handed with this signed doctor's note. We have a party of 4 stout, able bodied teens and twentysomethings and don't want to abuse the special assistance whatever thingy. But, we also want Mom to be comfortable getting on and off the rides and into and out of the shows, however shy she may be about being "singled out."
Help me here guys! Only 30 days to go!
Thanks!
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06-25-2003, 04:22 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 4,169
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
If you get the SAP (special assistance pass) up to 6 members of your party can board the attraction via the wheelchair or fastpass entrance. It doesn't matter if it's your whole party with a need or just one person, the whole family can go with the person with the special need. Now with that said. Hmm..that's a weird thing for a doctor to do. Nevertheless, Just write on it that she tore something in or around the rotator shaft and blah blah blah. Now you might need it to back up you wanting to use an ECV or wheelchair, and you might need it to back up wanting a SAP. Hope this helps.
Kristin
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06-26-2003, 12:48 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: NY (just north of NYC)
Posts: 1,269
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
Sorry to hear about the injury [img]graemlins/cry2.gif[/img]
I am not sure what is needed for a special assistance pass. From what I understand CMs are not allowed to physically help guests on and off rides anyway. I think the pass lets you use special entrances or sit in special sections. I hope others can confirm this however.
I don't think you need a note for an ECV at the WDW parks. Plenty of other posts from recent visitors have confirmed that. The real problem might be in getting one if they are all rented for the day.
Why not look into one of the rental agencies in the area like Walker Medical (the one I used in May) or Care Medical. No note is needed. They drop off and pick up at the WDW resorts and many hotels in the area. In case of a malfunction (very rare) they come right out to repair or replace it, unlike WDW where you are stuck without one if they are all rented.
This way you are sure to get one, the rates can be cheaper than at the parks and she can use it 24 hours a day if needed. |
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06-28-2003, 12:23 AM
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#4
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Indiana , USA
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 26,527
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
We went to WDW in the early part of this month. I went to get a SAP and was told that they do not require a Dr.'s note, it would mean nothing to them- they are not trained as Dr.s and therefore, can't read them. This answer was at MK and MGM, since we lost the first SAP from MK. The pass is good for all parks, the entire time of your stay. I recommend taking a sandwich baggie to put it in, as it is paper and gets wet easily.
And, you also do not need a note for the ECVs. Just get there early or rent one, which is what I did for my dad- really easy!
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07-05-2003, 07:51 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Texas
Posts: 914
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
Thank y'all so much! Her shoulder is getting a little better, but it is still very stiff and painful.
I just read the doc's notes provided us as we "checked out" of the last visit, on the bill, and copied them onto the note. Even if we don't need it, we'll have it just in case. The SAP we're going to look into getting, being very careful not to abuse it. I'll include our sitch on our trip report from a weird angle of 4 young adults and special-assistance-mom.
Thanks again, guys. We're getting mom to Disney World with a little faith, trust and pixie dust!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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07-08-2003, 12:38 AM
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#6
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 473
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
Definately go to the guest relations desk at one of the parks on your first morning there and get the pass. The last thing you want to do is interrupt your day if you find that she needs the special entrance. I have had the pass the last 3 times I have been there due to unrelated things (an illness, a high risk pregnancy, and a fractured foot). It was wonderful to have, and you must remember that your mother's injury may cause her to tire more easily, especially if it hurts. Therefore, the less time she spends standing in lines, the happier she will be. One last thing - the staff at each ride never seemed to care why I had a pass. They are too busy with everyone else and making sure that the ride moves efficiently. They were always very polite to me and my companions, and let us enter the rides through the special access gates as soon as they spotted us.
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07-08-2003, 12:46 AM
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#7
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Texas
Posts: 914
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
Well, thank you very much, Lilyian! She does hurt badly most of the day, even during the night and you're right about the tiring out thing. I think we will get the pass and Mom will just need to suck up the whole "I'm disabled" thing for now, won't she?! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] At least for the Disney trip, because she will be so much happier and it will allow us to take more frequent breaks and still fit in the rides. Thanks again!
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07-15-2003, 07:59 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Sightseer 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 87
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
Hello BuzzNWoodyFan,
One thing to consider with the use of an ECV is which chair arm the directional controls are on. Problems may arise if the controls are on the same side as her injured shoulder. Even though she would not be moving her shoulder much, the constant muscle tension could greatly increase her discomfort. If you will be renting from one of the equipment companies listed above, you may want to contact them to inquire about the controls. Hope that your mother has a speedy recovery. Have a great vacation!!!
Crissy
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07-15-2003, 08:16 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Sightseer
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 87
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Re: Blank, Signed Doctor\'s Note. . .What Do I Put On It??
Hello again. Looked at the web sites for the above listed companies. Scooters seem to be very popular. (I had in my mind electric wheelchair). Walker did not have rate prices listed. Care Medical did, 45.00 a day for electric w/c. The standard wheelchairs were more economical, if you do have several adults in your party to assist. Take care.
Crissy
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