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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
I have always wanted to go to Disney for the holidays but never was able to. It looks like this year will be the year! I am so excited but really have no idea where to even begin. Can anyone give me some Disney during the holidays tips? I will be traveling with my boyfriend so there are will be no kids..well except me..
I am going in Dec. also. I got alot of info in the Passporter. Also asking ???s on the boards is really helpful.The value season is from after Thanksgiving until the week before Christmas. Everyone says that Dec. is the best time to go. Your get to experience all the holiday hoop la.
Do you have dates picked out yet? Are you actually going to be there for Christmas Day? If so, as the above poster said, it will be crowded. This is one of the most crowded times at WDW. We are going the first week of Dec. and it's not as crowded, but the crowds have reportedly beginning to increase as the popularity grows.
If you want to go to a park on Christmas Day, I have heard that Epcot is the one to go to. Because it's big and spread out, it doesn't seem crowded even if it is. MK has been known to fill to capacity on Christmas Day, so I think I would avoid it. I've also heard that New Years is a blast, but crowded!
We went last year from Dec. 17th till the 20th and everything was amazing!! We were able to walk onto every ride and all the Christmas decor is wonderful. Some things we enjoyed were MVMCP, the tree lighting ceremony at Epcot, the different santa storytellers around the world showcase, the Osborne Spectacle of Lights at MGM, and unfortunately we missed the candlelight processional but we have it in our plans for this year! What dates have you picked out??
First of all, Welcome to the Boards--we're glad you joined us. Second you will love Disney at Christmas. We went last year and we're returning this year. The decorations are great, MVMCP, CP and the MGM Lights are great. The parade is fabulous. The best thing to do is pick your date, then decide on your resort and what PS's you want and keep asking questions. The boards are a wealth of information. Have fun planning.
Christmas is our favourite time to visit Disney, as the decorations are beautiful and there are just so many wonderful events taking place - check out the Holiday Happenings at All Ears Net page It's full of useful information.
As others have said, it does get very busy at Disney between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, but through most of December, it's lovely - crowds levels are very low and only start to build in the last few days before Christmas.
[ QUOTE ]
First of all... Disney as Christmas... WOW. You will love it. Just be ready for BIG CROWDS!!!
[/ QUOTE ] We were there the day after thanksgiving (the xmas decorations are up and festivities are in full swing) and there were no crowds!!!!!!!!! It was awesome, u will love it!!
This will be my first year going to Disney at Christmas also. I am very excited. One thing that has helped a lot w/ planning is watching the boards. There are quite a few posts about all the happenings. I have already gotten a lot of great info. thanks to everyone.
Thanks all for your help and suggestions. We haven't decided yet on dates. I am thinking maybe about 2 weeks before Christmas. This will probably just be for 3 or 4 days... along weekend type of thing since we already have a WDW trip planned for July! Is there and specific hotel that we should stay at around the holidays?
Our dates have changed as work schedules do. We will no be in FL the week between Christmas and New Years (I know..crowds...) Are the Christmas decorations still up then?
we just booked pop century for Dec 17 thru 24 and the CM told me to make sure we hit the big stuff early in the week she said about the 23rd crowds start getting huge.
Disney during the holidays is really something special We LOVED it!
We were there Dec. 17-22 last/this year and had a ball! The crowds weren't bad IMO. From everything I've read it is the week b/w Christmas and New Year's Day that are awful
I recommend the biggies like Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) and Candlelight Processional (CP) - do the dinner package!!
The decorations and festivities will make your trip so much fun!
Where are you planning on staying?