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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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So I saw a post on Facebook from a Disney page that stated that starting on 3/17, Fastpass return times will be strictly enforced. Anyone else hear this? The only thing that doesn't pass the sniff test is that it said the window would be 5 minutes before. (It also stated 15 minutes past).
Not sure where I stand; historically we always try to go back right at the start of the return window (which is why the 5 minutes before doesn't pass the sniff test - we are often waiting for the clock to tick to our exact time) on our many trips to WDW, however, we are going to Disneyland for the first time over Spring Break, and just purchased RideMax, which takes advantage of the flexibility in return times (coming back later than your return time)...
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Hmmmmm I have heard rumors of this, but didn't think Disney would really enforce it. I have always gone back within the window printed on the Fastpass. I wonder if they are really going to start enforcing it???
Big changes coming to FASTPASS in March
Feb 06, 2012
Some big changes are expected to be implemented at all FASTPASS attractions next month. Starting March 7 2012, it is expected that the FASTPASS return windows will now be actively enforced, with a 5 minute early arrival and 15 minute late arrival to be allowed. Anyone arriving outside of those times will not be allowed entry to the attraction. The new validity windows will be required for the future roll-out of more advanced NextGen FASTPASS systems, which will require much tighter control of FASTPASS entry than what the current system offers.
The current FASTPASS system does not allow early arrivial times, but does allow late arrivals up to the end of the day. Many guests make use of the late arrival tolerance with the current system, so the new enforcement will be a significant impact to those guest's park touring plans.
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This is terrible for us. We have access to a GAC for our daughter but we prefer to use and collect fastpasses. I guess we are some of the reason that WDW is changing the system...we would collect passes in the morning hours while we took advantage of short lines. Sometimes we would leave the park for an afternoon break and use our fastpasses in the evenings.
The reason we found out they did not really have an end time was on our first trip when a restaurant was running terribly behind schedule. We were seated very late for our ADR. I was hoping to get the service to speed up by showing our fastpasses. The restaurant CM then informed us of the "secret."
I could imagine restaurants who are running behind would face the wrath of guests with non-negotiable return times...
It will definitely make things more challenging for us if they start to enforce the end times, especially because we frequently combine fast passes with the baby swap.
I think it's a positive change. I have never tried to return past the time on my pass, it never even occurred to me to try. Maybe it will even things out in the lines a bit more
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It won't bother me either way. I never knew you could go after the posted time. Does this NewGen FastPass mean that we'll be able to get perhaps more then 1 pass at a time?
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IMO it's only fair - and about time they did it. What's the point of giving a FP with a "window" of time if you can just use it whenever? Disney should have just put a starting time on it at that rate, not a starting and ending time. And yes, we are a family that uses the FP only within the time stamped on it.
Big changes coming to FASTPASS in March
Feb 06, 2012
Something went goofy with the way the post showed the link to the source your quoting, so I'm including it again so people know the source of your quote:
I haven't seen this confirmed by Disney (yet) but have seen this pop up on other sites (Undercover Tourist is one). I was told that part of the reason is the next generation of the Fastpass system might have scanned tickets, making it harder for CMs to take in late riders. I have also heard that the window might get bigger (possibly up to three hours). This is all rumor/hearsay but kinda makes sense to me.
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Does this NewGen FastPass mean that we'll be able to get perhaps more then 1 pass at a time?
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