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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 have to ask, how are you travel agents making any money? Storefront travel agencies are a rare sight anymore due to the overhead. I am not a travel agent and never gave the job much thought until I noticed all of these book-it-your web sites popping up.
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I guess I am not sure exactly how to answer and will say I am bias as an agency owner but a good agent is worth their weight in gold. You get service, expertise and sometimes additional perks all for no extra cost to you the traveler. You have one point of contact who is watching out for you (often lowering your vacation price), you can email any time of the day or night, as well as call. If you have a problem, you have an advocate so you don't have the hassle (ie I have had guests miss flights, have to get home for a death in the family and I do the leg work and work on a partial refund).
I guess my question is why wouldn't you want to support an agent. Please don't take that question the wrong way. We work just as hard as any other professional, so we do ok. I guess my analogy would be, are there still any accountants left in the world that make a living now that you can use TurboTax.
It all comes down to value and we are a better value than TurboTax as we are paid by the supplier not the guest!
PS, I have been thinking on this and want to clarify, I guess many store front agencies (short of things like AAA who have many services) as you stated are not staying open. Retail rents are high and it is hard as a general agent to have great knowledge of everything for every location. When you don't provide great service it is hard to maintain a repeat client base. Therefor those that do business travel still can make a living but those who did only personal don't necessarily have a lot to offer. As a specialist, in addition to Disney you'll find Club Med ones, Cruise Only, specific cruise lines and more, we seem to actually be growing.
I agree with the PP that we as travel agents work really hard to make our clients trips worry free. Sure you can book with Disney directly but when you want to change something or add something you will speak to a different person each time. With a TA you have a person who has your best interest in mind and will work very hard to make your trip wonderful. We do make money at it which is paid to us by the supplier of travel not the client. So if you book a trip with an agent and then cancel the agent gets nothing. So yes it is a tough buisness but I do it really because I love to help people plan trips to the Magical World of Disney. Hope that helps with your question. Happy planning
Like other good agents, I try to bust my chops to make a vacation the best possible. I figure that getting a client the best deal and making it an excellent experience gets me them again next year (or next month). Most of us only do a couple of things. I am at Disney (mostly WDW, actually), cruises and Hawai'i. Yeah, if someone wants to spend a week at Sandals, I can definitely take care of them, but that's not my focus.
My overhead is almost zip. My biggest expense is probably my advertising, follwed by website and then support fees with my host agency. I do my business either over the phone or at the client's home or someplace like a coffee shop where I can get free WiFi. Home based agents are not really "the wave of the future", we're the only real path. IMHO.
The "recognition" for a professional agent is the IATAN card. You can't buy it, you only get it if you have commissions of at least $5000 in a year. Which they figure out as $5/hr for 1000 hours. Yoiks, that's less than minimum! But a good agent can do that in her/his sleep. But the number of days I'm up really early so I can get ADRs in for my clients limits the amount of sleep I actually get. Except that then I can go back to sleep until the phone starts ringing around 9:30. Or really, whenever I start reading email, since phones don't really ring anymore, it's all email.
Well, since the topic of specialty has come up here, that leads me to another question. Does anybody here specialize in trains? I am just curious. I love trains.
I'm a railfan and have been for years. I have movies of 610 running just off campus with the Freedom Train. I've chased plenty and have ridden a couple of different Amtrak trains (you probably know to add a "d" to the front, right?)
I don't "specialize" in trains, but I consider myself to have expert knowledge. EurRail is the only one that pays commission, but my special clients (almost anyone) will get my advice.
Oh, and I worked extra board as a brakeman for the SP one summer running between Hearne and Houston, going as far west as LA.
Dmpyron, there is an organization that you and any other railroad travel agent might want to join up with. It is called the Society of International Railway Travelers. They like to work with travel agents, and are a family-owned business. I suspect that putting their link up here would get my post deleted from a Disney message board so I won't. I downloaded a copy of their 2010 guide to their opinion of the top railway journeys. They talk about everything from the South African Blue Train to the Indian Palace On Wheels. Impressive.
On second thought, I am going to put the link up here. Adventures By Disney agents might want to team up with these people if they haven't already. They are at irtsociety.com.
Last edited by DisneyIsNotJustALuxury; 04-12-2010 at 12:17 PM..
Reason: Changed something that I had right the first time. Now I am changing it back.
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