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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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08-23-2004, 09:22 PM
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#1
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Tulsa, OK
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 21,627
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Yuletide Fantasy Tour
Has anyone done this tour? Was it worth the money? I know what Passporter says but tell me more, please. We never taken a tour and we're thinking of doing it in December.
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08-24-2004, 03:41 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 212
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Re: Yuletide Fantasy Tour
<font color="blue"> šoš Hi, Linda.
šoš I've never been on the Yultide tour, but I bet that it would be great.
šoš Or maybe you could design your own tour for free. One year, we had an early dinner at the Wilderness Lodge resort and came a little early to admire the huge WL christmas tree in the lobby and other decorations in the VWL. Then we strolled down by the pool and lake to see the WL gyser. And then took a great boat launch from the WL to the MK. Of course, we getting on the monorail was a must. And then we toured the CR, the PR, and the GFR which also had a christmas tree in the lobby as large as the Wl resort.
šoš We chose a night that they were having MVMCP and watched the huge fireworks display that circled the MK park. It even came out over parts of the lake. One year we watched it from the beach of the PR, another time from the GFR on the porch of their restaurant on the lake. My favorite spot was from the CR California Grille. You could actually see where the some of grand finile fireworks lifted from somewhere on or near the lake in front of the MK and encircling the MK park it self.
šoš I planning the same thing in the EPCOT area either before or after Illuminations or after the MGM Fantasmic show and Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. It is so easy to take the boat launch from MGM to the Dolphin (which has a huge poinsetta christmas tree in the lobby with a large train circling the 2-3 story tree) to the BCR, to the BWR, and to the EPCOT International Gateway entrance. The boat launches go both ways depending which park that you are at that evening.
šoš And don't miss an evening at the Downtown Market Place. It's a wonderful site by the lake to have dinner, shop or look around and listen to the high school choirs. And if you are staying at the POR, you can take a boat launch back and forth. This is a very relaxing ride.
šoš So many things to do...lol.
šoš The AKL is a bit out of the way, so one evening we planned the nightly free, guided tour of the AKL lobby with its huge christmas tree and decorations. Then they took us to both of their restaurants, before they were open and told about all their food and wine and let us taste the food. The AKL Boma restaurant is where we ended. And we planned a dinner at Boma's opening time. It was very nice as the guide and chep explained what each one of the foods were that night as they were preparing them. This way, everyone new what to choose before dinner.
šoš Have a great time Linda, what ever you decide to do.
šoš Oh...one more thing...I've always wanted to tour the WCG and time the view of their petting zoo, the Hoop-Dee-Doo-Muscical-Review, the marshmellow cook out by the outdoor fireplace, and then the outdoor evening Disney cartoon or movie. Then walk to the WCG pier and watch the Lake Electrical Parade pass by, or take the boat launch to WLR or MK and then the GFR or watch the WISHes fireworks.
šoš I hope this helps. šoš
šoš Sincerely, Ray šoš </font>
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08-25-2004, 09:26 AM
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#3
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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: Yuletide Fantasy Tour
We took the Yuletide Fantasy tour last year and loved it - I highly recommend it. Of course, you can do your own do-it-yourself tour of the decorations at the theme parks and resorts but this tour takes you places that guests are not normally allowed to go. For example, on one of your stops, you tour through a deserted World Showcase before it is open to the public while your tour guide explains some of the different Christmas customs of the various countries. You're also taken by tour bus to two of the resorts where your guide gives you some inside information on how Disney achieves the wondrous effects they do with their Christmas decorations. After touring and viewing the most memorable of the Christmas decorations in the theme parks with your guide again giving you lots of inside info and tips, the tour ends with my favorite stop - a look inside the Disney Christmas workshop and warehouse. This is where all the Disney decorations are made and stored. The place is enormous and fascinating. After donning special protective goggles, you're taken right inside the workshops where you watch Disney artisans at work creating Christmas masterpieces. At the very end of the tour, you're given two gifts: a Disney Christmas ornament for your tree and a lovely collectors' pin. This tour is well worth doing and I heartily recommend it to anyone.
Joy
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