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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Here's an article about the FL legislature considering a bill to make it easier to prosecute those that distribute fliers in hotels. Disney is backing the bill, as they claim these fliers are scams to obtains guests' credit card information.
I don't think I've ever had one of these fliers under my hotel room door before. But's it's definitely something to keep in mind - play it safe with your personal info!
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These fliers appeared under my door almost daily at BWV on my most recent trip as well as past trips. I brought one down to the front desk and they said they're aware of the problem and are trying to stop it. Not only is this a security risk, with these unauthorized people wandering the halls, but when you call to order, they ask for your credit card info and then the pizza never arrives. She asked that if I'm ever in the room when a flier is delivered, to call the front desk asap and they will send security to the floor.
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I had read about this (not sure where now) and didn't really think much about it.
Quote:
They tend to be more prevalent in some Disney resorts than others -- I've seen them in the villas mostly.
This actually doesn't surprise me because when you think about it, where are the people who have more of an income (possibly more jewelry hanging around, maybe more computer stuff, most likely larger credit card available balances) going to stay? Certainly not at the Value resorts where we stay (and where we've never seen fliers for anything in the room in our trips there). I'm not trying to stereotype as I know some people save for years to go and stay at places like the Villas but that's probably the way these scammers think - go to where they think people will have more money.
Well, the pizza scammers aren't "breaking and entering" types -- they're "steal your credit card info" types.
I think the prevalence is more likely due to the villa guests being people who have a room that lends itself to having dinner around a table (like in the one- nd two-bedrooms.) Also, the fact that they have internal corridors -- rather than external corridors where CMs could see them and take action from a central courtyard.
It's a shame -- because there are legitimate pizza places that cannot deliver (or cannot get guests to order) anymore because of the scammers. And Disney's internal pizza delivery is not tasty, IMHO.
Well, the pizza scammers aren't "breaking and entering" types -- they're "steal your credit card info" types.
The pizza people maybe but I do remember one of the things mentioned in the article I read was sometimes the people with the fliers look for rooms inadvertently left unlocked. I actually didn't think that was possible nowadays but maybe it's just the places I stay at where the door is always locked from the outside.
Well, I do know that people have expressed concern that sometimes the mousekeepers would wedge a door or two open with the security latch bar. But recent reports are that the mousekeepers have been instructed to discontinue this practice. They wedge their cart in the doorway and only work on one room at a time. A thief would have to be pretty ballsy to go into a room where the mousekeeper was inside... (tho not impossible if they were ready to lie and say it was their room.)
Hopefully, the new policy keeps the roaming B&E'ers from trying to sneak into rooms.
Thank you for sharing. We've seen fliers before but never ordered. I had no idea about the scam and will be sure to report the fliers if i'm in the room when one arrives under the door.
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We got one of these fliers in our door last month at CSR. There is actually a notice (I can't think where it was...maybe on the little security tips list in the room?) that highly suggests guests who wish to order pizza to do so from a nationally recognized company (doesn't give any specific examples, but like Pizza Hut or something) because of all the scams happening with the fliers. It's nice that Disney is on top of this, and while I do feel bad for smaller local places that won't get the business, I think this is a good bill.
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
I found them every day under my door at the Polynesian, and once at POR. With all the food choices you have at WDW, why would you buy a pizza from an unknown restaurant? But even if you decide to buy, make sure you don't give them your credit card number. If they're legit, they will let you pay cash when the pizza arrives.
I'm glad they are doing something about this. From the articles I've read it has really impacted the legitimate local pizza places that have lost business. Disney delivered pizza is the pits. I hope that they can get this cleaned up and maybe legitimate pizzerias can recover.
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We got one almost every night under our door at Poly last month. One day I even saw the guy handing them out. I wish at the hotels with sep. buildings, like the poly, they would lock the outer doors so you need a room key to get in.
There was a note from Disney by the phone warning about the scam.
There used to be quite a lot of these flyers passed at SSR for actual pizza places--I know-we tried all of them (and paid cash for our pizzas) The bad news is that all of these places have probably gone out of business. The good news--not a single one of the pizzas we ordered was worth eating . . . now we make sure we have snacks delivered for late night munchies.
It's a shame -- because there are legitimate pizza places that cannot deliver (or cannot get guests to order) anymore because of the scammers. And Disney's internal pizza delivery is not tasty, IMHO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashli
We got one of these fliers in our door last month at CSR. There is actually a notice (I can't think where it was...maybe on the little security tips list in the room?) that highly suggests guests who wish to order pizza to do so from a nationally recognized company (doesn't give any specific examples, but like Pizza Hut or something) because of all the scams happening with the fliers. It's nice that Disney is on top of this, and while I do feel bad for smaller local places that won't get the business, I think this is a good bill.
During our stay this past December we got flyers every day at SSR, and many times more than one. The concierge desk told us they maintain a list of reputable delivery places (not just pizza) and all you had to do was ask for it. They make no warranty regarding the quality of the food, just the fact that the restaurant exists and is a legitimate place of business.
DH kept a couple of the flyers and though the flyers looked identical, the name would be different....and sometimes they would still have the same phone number.