Feature Article: Using Technology to Plan Your Disney Trips - Tech Travels Part 1 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Feature Article: Using Technology to Plan Your Disney Trips - Tech Travels Part 1
Using Technology to Plan Your Disney Trips - Tech Travels Part 1 by Justine Fellows
I have been a techie since I was ten years old, after getting my hands on my first Commodore Vic 20 computer, compliments of my grandfather who worked for the company.
At the age of 21, I began an enjoyable career that always involved being surrounded with the latest and greatest personal technology. That being said, it is not a surprise that I immerse myself in tech tools when planning, traveling, and enjoying my trips. So let's begin with planning. What websites, programs and apps do I use to book and organize my Walt Disney World trips? Here are my top choices for pre-trip booking and planning.
Booking: www.kayak.com - by far my favorite airfare website and phone app. Easy to use and intuitive. Remembers my last search and is flexible enough to search multiple airports, dates and airlines. It is where I start most airfare searches. From there I branch out to the airlines' direct sites. JetBlue gets my highest rating for an easy-to-use, clean site. www.jetblue.com. Each of these companies, and all of the airlines, offer iPhone apps that make planning on the go, or when you have a free minute, easy and accessible.
www.disneyworld.com offers beautiful photos and it is perfect for viewing and dreaming about all of their onsite resorts. In true Disney fashion, the music immediately sets the tone on each hotel's page. That being said, once I have decided on a few places to stay, I yearn for more information and turn to www.allears.net, and of course www.passporter.com, for more in-depth descriptions and images. Organization:
I love to organize all of my information, and Techsmith's Jing is the perfect free tool to capture screen images (hotel pics, airline quotes) and organize them in one place. If you are using multiple devices or need to work with someone else to plan together, I highly recommend Evernote, a beautiful notes tool that syncs any type of document to all of your devices.
As you begin to book and those hotel confirmation numbers, advanced dining reservations, and airline receipts start popping into your inbox, don't throw them into a plain old computer folder, send them to TripIt! Set up an account on their website, forward your emails to a private email address and voila, they magically transform into an online itinerary viewable through an app and syncable with my next indispensable tool - Google calendar!
I have been through every stage of Disney World itinerary creation - PassPorter PassPockets (still love them), laminated itineraries on a ring (attach to stroller!), calendar on the hotel wall, wallet-size calendars with dining reservations... but now I am free from paper! Calendar, camera, reminders, communication tool all in one handy device - my smart phone - in my case an iPhone 4S! Sync your TripIt calendar with your Google calendar (www.google.com), add in your daily itinerary and voila, you now have everything in your phone ready to go. I like a 15-minute reminder, set so that it pops up while I'm at the parks. For example: Disney Visa Card free picture at Innoventions starts at 1:00 pm, Dining Reservation at Coral Reef at 6:30 pm. Just remember your charger!
Have I lost you? Don't worry, let's reel it back in and keep it simple because I have a confession to make, I still love Excel. If you haven't tried Excel for planning and you enjoy something a little less connected - give it a try! Each of our trips has an Excel spreadsheet with multiple worksheets (tabs). Budget, itinerary, groceries, and tips are just few of the ones that I use. There something clean and personal about Excel, I can choose my own colors, organize and put together my plan at my own pace with my preferences. I still throw all of the items I need into my Google Calendar for easy access on the trip - use the notes for details! I drag the spreadsheet into Evernote to have access to it from anywhere.
So now that you have some planning tools, let's throw in some fun:
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
I just finished reading this article in the newsletter and I must say that I absolutely LOVED it! I love using technology to organize myself, and the author mentioned some tools that I was unaware of. I've saved the PDF on my computer to add to my Passporter. Thank you so much for publishing this article. I can't wait to read the next one!
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Diana in CT Our Last visit to Disneyland: 6/26/13
Disneyland 1996 trip pics HERE
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