Disney buys children's social networking site - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My 6 y/o has friends who have facebook accounts! To me, that's way too young. And I can't even believe that there's a social networking site targeting 6-10 year olds. I'm with you, Judi - my son won't be on there either.
I totally agree with you Judi. My kids played outside from morning to it was time I called them in. I don't think it would be healthy for kids to sit inside in front a computer.
A social networking site for kids?! What are they going to think of next! Disney already owns that Club Penguin!! (I'm really starting to sound like an old guy....)
I think it's a sad sign of the times.... I know it's easy to say, but even in today's society, I'm with you - kids should be out playing outside and getting some exercise.
I looked into it a little, and I've been considering the site, but only for one reason. We live far away from my family and DH's, so it would be a good way for my kids to keep up with their grandmothers, aunts and uncles, all of whom they'd be able to "friend" through those individuals' fb pages. It seems everything the kids would see would be on their own pages, not those of family members, thereby cutting out any content too "adult" for my 10 & 11 yo to see.
My kids are very active and would almost always rather play outside than sit on the computer. But the weather isn't always nice, sometimes it's just plain too hot (especially once July rolls around), and sometimes my kids get computer time as a treat. I limit and monitor that time quite closely, and if I know the people they are interacting with are good role models (such as my mom), then it may not be a bad idea.
I haven't yet made up my mind, but when I compare this to some of the things their friends have (iPod touches, XBox games like Halo, etc), it's pretty tame. It's all a matter of how well the kids and their online interactions are monitored.
I would rather have my kids on this site than Facebook, which some of their friends actually have pages on! I don't agree with that, at all - don't think it's safe. As for playing outside, I would 100% agree that's the best thing - but in Chicago, it's not really a feasible option a lot of the year. So, I do let my kids play games on the computer and go on sites like "Club Penguin" (dd 6 is especially fond of this one) but I also limit the time they spend there. And I watch my son like a hawk on the computer, because now that he is 10 kids at school tell him about stuff like certain videos on YouTube and he'll want to come home and look them up - and if you've ever been on there you know you're often one click away from something heinously inappropriate for kids.
Not the best thing for young kids, but there's worse out there. JennyK, I agree about the video games - my son tells me he is the "only one" in his class who can't play "Call of Duty", a very violent war game. I don't believe him of course but if half the kids are able to, that's still pretty upsetting in my book!
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15 total family trips with stays at the Poly, AKL, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, POFQ, Pop Century, All Star Music, Movies & Sports, and Coronado Springs.
My DS just turned 14 and he still does not have a FB page....of course, neither do I. I try to watch what he is getting into on the computer and I review his iTouch periodically to see what kind of pictures he is downloading (usually stupid stuff that is actually quite funny). He is still into the slapstick/body function type jokes, so we're good for now. However, I know that he is starting to notice the girls a lot, so it's gonna get scary soon!
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Last edited by jenifermg0; 03-09-2011 at 12:40 PM..
Reason: fix typo
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Disney buys children's social networking site
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To me, that's way too young. And I can't even believe that there's a social networking site targeting 6-10 year olds. I'm with you, Judi - my son won't be on there either.
. My kids played outside from morning to it was time I called them in. I don't think it would be healthy for kids to sit inside in front a computer. 
<--- Disney Fantasy 2016!
PassPorter Guide Author
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and he still does not have a FB page....of course, neither do I. I try to watch what he is getting into on the computer and I review his iTouch periodically to see what kind of pictures he is downloading (usually stupid stuff that is actually quite funny). He is still into the slapstick/body function type jokes, so we're good for now. However, I know that he is starting to notice the girls a lot, so it's gonna get scary soon!
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