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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
On our first day in the Disney parks (Friday, July 22) we'll be spending the morning in the Magic Kingdom until around 1:30, heading back to the condo for a few hours, and then heading to MGM at around 6:00, arriving at around 6:30. We really want to see Fantasmic that night. That night there is only one showing at 9:00, and we won't be doing the dinner package, so what time do you suggest we get in line? I was thinking we'd go look at One Man's Dream and just walk around and stuff, and then get in line at around 7:30... do you think that it good? We'd really love to see this show, it's on our "not to be missed" list. If we happen to not get in on this night we have two other nights at MGM to try. However, I thought this would be a lot of fun to do on our first "Disney-night". So what time do you suggest for a Friday night in July??
Yep, I think 7:30 is a good plan. You could always have one person wait in line (if anyone is willing) and as long as you have cell phones and that person is willing to fight to keep your other seats saved, you can just meet them in there. I wouldn't make them save your seats for too long, but it would allow you to ride ToT or RNRC one more time!!
I think you could even wait as late as 8. I believe they open the gates one hour before the show. You won't necessarily get "front and center" seats, but you would still get good seats. I don't remember ever lining up more than one hour early and usually get seats more or less centrally located. It is a huge seating area and people will still be getting seated almost up until show time.
I would say maybe 7:45 for a Friday night in July! I think that's a good idea. Probably around 7:45. We walked in around 8 and got a pretty darn good seat in my opinion. I can't remember what night it was though. So personally I think that if you go around 7:45, you should be in good shape!! HTH!!
Happy planning!
I think your original plan of getting in line at 7:30 is a wise one. With only one show that night, it's bound to be packed so far better to be safe than sorry since you really don't want to run the chance of missing Fantasmic.
We're going to try to take a pretty laid-back approach to touring the parks, so after going on a bunch of rides in the morning at the Magic Kingdom we'll probably take it easy at MGM. We'll get on line and wait around relaxing. My mom and I will go off shopping, and my brother and dad will go off and do their own thing for a little while. Once we get into the actual theater we'll get snacks and stuff, so the time should go by pretty quick. Thanks for the tips!
Melissa, we went to see Fantasmic on a Saturday night (while the MK was closed for Grad Night) and I went at 7PM for an 8:30 show. They'd already opened the theatre and I got a great seat and was able to hold it for our entire group without any complaints from any other guests.
Don't forget to take something to use to "hold" the extra seats (if you're not all going to wait in the theatre.) I had everyone's pullovers and sweatshirts and I laid them out on the bench. By 8PM, about half my party arrived and were able to hold their own seats.
Good luck - I love this show now!
Eileen
PS - I personally recommend the "Mickey" section, which is dead-center, and a little higher up. The view is terrific, you don't get misted from the water and it's a quick exit from the theatre.
What we usually do is grab something to eat in the area around the entrance to Fantasmic. There is a Fairfax Fries (McDonalds) and a Toluca Legs Turkey Co. (Also, I believe there is a fresh fruit stand?) There are a lot of different choices in and around the theatre. We find eating is a great way to pass the time.
I think anywhere between 7:30 and 8 would get you great seats, the further you are from the show, the better it is! (It's harder to see a lot of the stuff if you are really close, and you get wet, but it's hot, so that's okay!)
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
