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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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06-18-2004, 01:50 AM
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#1
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 344
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Italy Showcase
<font color="blue">Anyone know why Masquerade was taken out? Have they replaced it with anything? Why doesn't Italy have an inexpensixe restaurant like the other countries? All they have is the formal sit down restaurant. A stand selling pizza, calzones, etc would be nice. I think that Italy needs to be improved.... suggestions anyone? </font>
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06-18-2004, 01:53 AM
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#2
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Italy Showcase
I was very disappointed too when they took Masquerade away, especially as the last show was only a few days before our last trip.  I agree, it really did add something to that country and I like the idea of a counter service there. I think the architecture is beautiful there and there's a lot of space there, but it was only recently that we discovered all that space, as there was nothing there to bring us in. Something else is needed. |
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06-18-2004, 02:05 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 5,064
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Re: Italy Showcase
I think a stand with pizza and breadsticks and calzones and stuff like that would be a big hit! I wonder why they haven't done one of those, too.  |
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06-18-2004, 07:41 AM
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#4
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Italy Showcase
[ QUOTE ]
I think a stand with pizza and breadsticks and calzones and stuff like that would be a big hit! I wonder why they haven't done one of those, too.
[/ QUOTE ]
 Would love to see that too! |
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06-18-2004, 08:25 AM
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#5
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Massachusetts
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 719
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Re: Italy Showcase
Wait, pardon my ignorance here, but what was Masquerade?
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06-18-2004, 03:18 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Traveler
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 344
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Re: Italy Showcase
<font color="blue"> Masquerade was a show in the Italy showcase that featured CM's dressed up as  Jesters that would perform and interact with guests. They would be on the ground level, the mini-stage and on top of the building. It was really nice at night with the lights and the bubble machine they used. Sad to see it gone   </font> |
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06-25-2004, 09:09 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Traveler
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 344
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Re: Italy Showcase
<font color="blue"> I think that they really need to refurbish and upgrade the Italy showcase... It is sooooooooooo small, not much to see, no big attraction, other than the restaurant. </font>  |
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06-27-2004, 10:45 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Longfellow's "Jewel by the Sea"
Posts: 14,165
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Re: Italy Showcase
I agree.
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06-28-2004, 09:22 AM
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#9
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
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Re: Italy Showcase
[ QUOTE ]
I think that they really need to refurbish and upgrade the Italy showcase... It is sooooooooooo small, not much to see, no big attraction, other than the restaurant.
[/ QUOTE ]
I certainly agree with this observation but I would even go so far as to expand on it and express a desire to see more cultural type content be included at most of the W.S. countries. Ones such as Japan, England, Germany, and Italy are really not much more than beautifully themed shopping districts with restaurants thrown in. If they would install some cultural exhibits of some sort, I think that would add so much to the overall experience.
Joy
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06-28-2004, 10:34 AM
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#10
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Lansing, Michigan
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 4,890
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Re: Italy Showcase
[ QUOTE ]
If they would install some cultural exhibits of some sort, I think that would add so much to the overall experience.
[/ QUOTE ]
China and Japan both have "museums", as does Morocco (not very exciting) and Mexico (sorta).
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06-28-2004, 03:33 PM
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#11
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
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Re: Italy Showcase
[ QUOTE ]
China and Japan both have "museums", as does Morocco (not very exciting) and Mexico (sorta).
[/ QUOTE ]
Carol, I've seen the "museums" in China, Morocco and Mexico but somehow I managed to miss the one you mention in Japan. I was probably having another one of my infamous "blonde days." Whereabouts would you find it?
Joy
Joy |
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06-28-2004, 04:41 PM
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#12
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Sacramento, CA
Concierge Level: 2
Posts: 917
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Re: Italy Showcase
Joy,
Head towards the very back of the Japan Pavillion (the department store will be on your right), go through the gates, across the bridge, and you'll find yourself in the exhibit area. The current exhibit is REALLY neat, it is called "Tin Toy Story" and is filled with fantastic tin toys from the 1940s-1990s.
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06-29-2004, 02:19 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Winter Park, FL
Posts: 4,276
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Re: Italy Showcase
how about a gondola ride sorta of like the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas it could be indoors like the Mexico ride...i would love fast food italian...great idea.
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06-29-2004, 06:01 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: IL
Posts: 760
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Re: Italy Showcase
[ QUOTE ]
The current exhibit is REALLY neat, it is called "Tin Toy Story" and is filled with fantastic tin toys from the 1940s-1990s.
[/ QUOTE ]
I agree. It was a really interesting display. The Pixar guy (what's his name?) said this type of toy was his inspiration for Toy Story
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07-05-2004, 10:03 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
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Re: Italy Showcase
Barbara, thanks so much for the heads up on where to find this exhibit area. I hope the display you mentioned is still there come December as it sounds really interesting.
Joy
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