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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I know this has been discussed before but I can't find the thread. So, my question is what type of bag do you carry around when you are at WDW? I used a fanny pack this last time but found that I needed a little bit more space but am not wanting a huge bag to carry around with me. I am open to a small backpack or like a sling back pack but just don't know and wanted to get your opinions and experiences. TY
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I have used a back pack and a sling back pack and find the sling back pack a little bitter easier to use. It was much easier to just slide it around to the front to get something out, where they backpack I had to pretty much take completely off.
I too find just a fanny pack too small some times.
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I bought a hiking fanny pack. It is bigger then normal. It has 2 water bottel holders and a big, and I mean big, pouch.
I bought one of these as well. I will be using one of the water bottles for incidentals I don't want lost or wet. The other can be used for drinks. That leaves the pockets open for all my other essentials. I also just bought a more compact camera I will be keeping in there with just my wallet and passes. The less I have to carry the happier I am!
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My 19 year old hero! Hurry home! (A.K.A. D_Stitch)
For the last year or so (since my last sling-style shoulder bag bit the dust) I've used a large, zippered nylon tote bag. It happens to have the PassPorter logo on it, too. The tote definitely has more space than anything else I've carried. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not so good. While it doesn't have padded straps, it's really not that uncomfortable when I hang it from my shoulder, and it seems to work better when going through the security inspection - one zipper, big opening for the guard to poke around in.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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I got the bagellini and I didn't love it. Too many zippers and didn't lay comfortably in my opinion. This trip I used a Crocs sling backpack. It was perfect -- a little big, but perfect for my family and my huge camera. It was comfortable and light. Really laid well against me so I sdidn't mind carrying all my kids' water bottles. Here's the link...
I wish I could get away without a bag but it just doesn't seem to happen. I have thought about the cargo shorts but I don't want to have bulging pockets.
Pink! Which I loved, (breast cancer is in my family...) but in retrospect my husband lucked out -- you know, God forbid he hold a pink bag... so I was stuck with it. But, honestly -- even though it wasn't small and my family loaded up the bag with diapers, wipes, drinks, sunscreen, my big Nikon -- it was painless. DH got to hold the stroller on the bus instead!
There was a slot in the strap for my phone. Slot for cards/$ and the big stuff I put inside. It was comfortable and didn't weigh my shoulder down. I wore it in front... just because as a New Yorker, Im not used to leaving pockets accessible behind me when we are waiting in line.
AND it covered my belly in all the photopass photos! Added plus!
i have a mesh sling-type napsack. super lightweight. good for camera, passporter pouch which holds cash and cards, passporter pages and if need be expands out to hold toys, bottles, etc.
with the mesh security doesn't even open it, just takes a look through the mesh.