Questions about the history of DIS boards!

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Those are some neat-o links of the old DIS! I probably came on board in the second or third incarnation. The original pages don't look familiar to me at all, but I did recognize the other forum pages.

I can't remember exactly how or when I found the boards. I started planning out 1999 trip in late 1997. I think I made the decision in September, figured out how much $ it was going to cost and spent all of my time on the web searching for information on Disney as if there weren't other websites to look at. I probably stumbled on the WDWINFO site through a broad search using Webtv. I didn't completely understand Favorites and bookmarks back then so once I found a site I ended up searching all over again to try finding it.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Just bumping for the memories here for the oldtimers and a bit of history for new folks.

AHHHH, the Disney Information Station. I used to think that was quite cool. I have been looking at a lot of those pages, very nice.

I found vacation countdown, our family trip was in there for late '99. http://web.archive.org/web/19991129033030/www.disneyinfo.com/countdownlist.cfm A great memory for sure.

Take a bit of time and look at some of those links on page one of this thread from Barb.

 

[Barb A.]

Wow, how cool. I've been here since the beginning even though my registered date doesn't say that. This was the best site going at the time. Actually, it still is!!!!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

You will notice a lot of Aug, Sept, Oct '99 register dates. That was the first time we had to register, did not have to before that. Then when Pete moved from one server to another, Apr '00, some had to reregister. I think Pete and Alex have the Apr '00 date too. That was kind of a fun night, exciting.

And here is Lampwick's site now, Cass, I recall that from then too........

http://www.mkeray.com/lampwick/home3.htm

and old one

http://www.mkeray.com/lampwick/

 

[Hippychickali]

 

[buzzz1]

Not sure how long it's been here, but I have been reading it a LOOOONNNGGG time !! Sure is fun... thanks to all who work so hard at keeping this thing going !!

 

[rascalmom]

I lurked forever before I actually posted - it's neat how these boards have lasted so long & created so many friendships.

I think I may have first joined around the time of the first crash - I remember there being a LOT of discussion about it & folks upset that there post counts were messed up.

So, were the board started because of Dreams Unlimited, or just because Pete had an interest in WDW?

 

[shortbun]

Dreams Unlimited came later. I was around the DIS when Pete announced he was starting a travel agency for WDW. Must have been 98 or 99. Maybe even later but I think it was 99. Anyone know for sure? btw, my join date is as of registration being required. We've had several servers and formats since then. I've never asked that my post count be updated but there are loads of folks who have come and gone with many, many posts. Some of them are on this thread.

 

[tvguy]

Bumping up as this contains a lot of historic information about the DIS that current users may not know.

 

[Allison]

A lot has changed regarding the people involved since then.

 

[Sammy]

Also an "oldie" here; joined when I was planning our first family trip in 2000. I read wayyyyy more than I post! I remember the old boards and I lived through the crash and angst of lost post counts...lol. Have used the DIS boards for 24 years (yikes), and still love coming to get my daily dose of Disney

 

[tvguy]

Also an "oldie" here; joined when I was planning our first family trip in 2000. I read wayyyyy more than I post! I remember the old boards and I lived through the crash and angst of lost post counts...lol. Have used the DIS boards for 24 years (yikes), and still love coming to get my daily dose of Disney

I think I started lurking here about the same time you joined. Kind of interesting how Internet sites seemed more suspicious back then, which is why I didn't actually join until years later.

 

[leebee]

I found this site just after our first trip to Disney, in the late spring of 1999, even though it says September... I have memories of surfing from our rental apartment in MI, where we moved to in June of '99. I've been around a while...

 

[PollyannaMom]

I didn't join until 2006, so "the crash" was before my time, but it's cool to read about the beginnings!

 

[_19disnA]

This thread was started 20 yrs ago and many of those no longer participate here. I also belong to several other non-Disney forums and have no idea of their history and don't need to know that to be a participant. On some forums those who started it may be active participants, on others not so much.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Nice to see some of the old-timer names from the past. Thanks for the bump, @tvguy.

I just passed my 25th anniversary here on the dis, mid-March, 1999. Seems like yesterday, ha. Had to reregister in April 2000.

Here is another version of the boards from 2001, the main forum menu. Back then we used to do 7-8 pages of new posts daily on the CB. Today now, only about a page and a half.

https://web.archive.org/web/20010801142753/http://www.disboards.com/forums/

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[Dan Murphy]

Dreams Unlimited came later. I was around the DIS when Pete announced he was starting a travel agency for WDW. Must have been 98 or 99. Maybe even later but I think it was 99. Anyone know for sure?

DU started around September of 1999. My family was the first booking to take a WDW trip through DU. Not the first to book, but first to take a DU trip, early December, 1999. WebmasterCathyCanada (no longer active here) was my agent. Here is Cathy, on the left, running her own TA now, with WebmasterMichelle (also not active here anymore). https://www.starfish-travel.com/our-story.html


At the time, Pete had started a contest to see if any dis member could guess the 'momentous' announcement of something new coming to the dis back then. It turned out to be a tie. @PandyPaws (Donna, now deceased) and @charlie.nj won the guessing game. They both guessed a travel agency. I think they each got a dis mug.

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[AnnaS]

I also did a bit of reading/lurking before joining. I forgot how the board looked before. Thank you Dan.

 

[tvguy]

I found this site just after our first trip to Disney, in the late spring of 1999, even though it says September... I have memories of surfing from our rental apartment in MI, where we moved to in June of '99. I've been around a while...

I found the DIS because there was a link to it on Dave's Disney Cruise Line Forum. I don't think I realized that the DIS was a different site, I thought it was just part of Dave's page. Not sure why Dave shut his site down in 2006 or why. Rumor at the time was he was a cross country trucker driver and it just got to be too much for him. No ads, so it's didn't make money like the DIS does and he was not a travel agent.