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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Location: Currently in Stuttgart, Germany, but originally from Los Angeles, CA
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Referring business to Travel Agents??
Hello all,
I am an American from Southern California that now lives in Germany. I have been tossing around a business idea in my head and I’d like to find out from some of you here if it’s actually a viable opportunity.
I’d like to promote California Wine Tour packages to travelers here in Europe (starting in Germany). What would be the best way to begin? Perhaps contacting California travel agencies with this proposal where I could earn a commission on the blocks of travelers I bring to them? Is this something some travel agencies would even consider? Or, do I need to go through some level of licensing in order to book my own packages--although that’s not the way I’d prefer to do it at this stage.
Ideally, what I’d like to do is stick to the promoting and selling of these packages to prospective groups of European travelers, then sending these groups to my partner agent/agency as a regular source referrals. Is this doable?
I think it is doable with the right partner. Agencies are always looking to grow and good referral business is worth more to me than lots of unknown advertising. You'll have to find someone and be clear on terms for what you both are willing to do and not do and what the fees would be.
I wonder about affiliating yourself with an online travel agency. That's how I work. Our agency is totally online. Hence, our agents are scattered throughout the country! I'm from Ks, two are in Florida, one is in Michigan, etc. The way we work is we go through training through the agency (though I also took a course some years ago), then we book through queries or direct e mail. Sometimes I have a friend who contacts me on their own and I book for them. How we handle our clients is up to our discretion. We can call and talk to them directly by phone, book entirely through e mails, or, if the client is close, we can talk to them in person. The agency owners get a certain percentage of the commissions (it varies depending on your length of time with the agency) and I get the rest via check. So, essentially, I do the promoting of myself (either through direct contact or referrals) and the agency does all the behind the scenes stuff (like licensing and site maintenance, and rotating who receives open queries where no specific agent is mentioned). No matter how you choose to do it, you need to have a licensing number (i. e. CLIA or IATA here in the US). So, if you did it on your own, you would have to look into what you need to do to attain that. For me, mine was attained through the agency. Your idea is great and is a wonderful opportunity to tap into a nitch market which may be quite large! Good luck!
Location: Currently in Stuttgart, Germany, but originally from Los Angeles, CA
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Thanks Jodi and Sandy -- I am in that early stage of brainstorming and researching this whole thing. A benefit of this phase is it tends to be a good self-test to see if my enthusiasm is still there once I get a more complete, honest picture of what all is truly involved to be successful. As you know, there is a lot of information out there, albeit conflicting at times, so your input/advice/encouragement is always welcomed!
I have been doing a lot of reading about host agencies lately. Based on your responses should I assume that I don’t necessarily have to align myself with a ‘host agency’ per se, but any reputable agency where we have a clear and formal agreement of our relationship and responsibilities?
At the moment I’m thinking I am going to put together a brief proposal of my idea. This would include summaries of the three niche vacation packages I am interested in, my online and offline marketing/action plan of the different ways I will be acquiring European travelers, possibly a preview of my website, videos, and other self-generated marketing tools, as well as why I would likely be successful as a partner to their agency.
So, we’ll see what happens. Again, I’m interested in any feedback from others who have similar arrangements or general advice.
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