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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Since this is my 1st trip I was wondering...do you leave things in your room like a laptop or lockit in your car while out? I know it won't fit in the safe. Has anyone ever had anything bothered while there? I feel dumb for asking but I have never taken a laptop with me anywhere(going to load pics from my card daily).
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I've never brought my laptop, but if I did, I'd lock it in my suitcase when I was out. I definitely would not keep valuables in the car...easy target. I do leave small valuables in the safe.
I left some of my small valuables in the safe - iPod, phone (if I wasn't taking it), identification (very rare occasion I didn't take it), important papers, etc.
We also kept our laptops in our room - stowed them in drawers beneath clothes. If you were uncomfortable though - you could purchase a laptop lock?
I'm not sure if the front desk has safes/deposit boxes - maybe someone else could answer that - but that could be an option!
We've taken them and left them on the table. Hard to hide 4 laptops, so might as well leave them out - all password encoded.
I wouldn't leave any in my car at all!
I personally do not unpack any of my stuff and the suitcases all get locked everytime I leave the room. (My DH and kids do unpack though). So I just pack the laptops and chargers into a suitcase and lock it. I figure if Mousekeeping see chargers they will know there is a computer so we pack them away.
We have travelled the world and only once had something stolen (and it was in the bedside drawer - not on view). A colour Gameboy and 11 games from our hotel room in Sun City, South Africa - I think I was more disappointed in losing 'Space Invaders' than I was about the actual Gameboy!
I personally always leave my laptop out and on the table. I just lock the screen. I'm not worried about theft, honestly. I've never had a problem in all my years of traveling with a laptop, and I've never hidden it. It's just too much hassle to shut it down, unplug it, hide it, etc. I truly feel secure and safe leaving it out with the screen locked.
Definitely hiding anything valuable in a car is not an option, though. Even in the trunk. Besides, the temperatures can mess with electronic items like laptops.
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I left my laptop out all the time in the room last year. I did have a cable lock on it at first but then I didn't even do that anymore. I never felt vulnerable.
A laptop with up to around a 15" display may fit in the safe, if it makes you feel better. The resorts don't have safe deposit boxes available at the front desk - it's the room safe, or nothing.
We haven't bothered locking up laptops for many years. I haven't heard of any laptop thefts during all my time doing this. We do avoid obvious temptations - we usually pack them away while we're out of the room. If you want to leave it out, a regular laptop cable lock around the table leg will work (we've done that over the years, too).
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A laptop with up to around a 15" display may fit in the safe, if it makes you feel better. The resorts don't have safe deposit boxes available at the front desk - it's the room safe, or nothing.
I'm not sure about the other resorts, but at all three All Stars there are deposit boxes at the front desks. They are slightly larger than the safes in a room and should fit a small to medium laptop. Guests rarely ask to use one, but they are available and there's a small amount of paperwork that needs to be filled out in the event someone does. (I work the concierge desk at the All Star Resorts.)
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I always leave the laptop at home and take more memory cards so I don't have to do the daily down load. They're pretty cheap, much lighter than a laptop and lets me enjoy my evening back at the resort instead of doing the download. I can keep up with email from my phone and as well as get on the internet if I'm in need of a fix. The down side to not doing the daily download while there is it's one more thing to be done when we get home however, once I get the laundry going, I get a cup of tea or coffee and relive the memories. We do leave little things like chargers etc. stashed away in suitcases.
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