Sparky's Gone to the World- A TR 9/13/11-9/20/11 - Page 23 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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 tried Toluna, but for every single stinkin' survey, I spend like 5 to 15 minutes filling out questions and then get to a certain point and they tell me I am "not eligible" or that the group I fall into has already been fullfilled, or whatever other excuse. I felt like I was wasting a bunch of time, and they don't even give you points for responding. It was really irritating. For the two weeks I was responding. I got not one. single. point!
I tried Toluna, but for every single stinkin' survey, I spend like 5 to 15 minutes filling out questions and then get to a certain point and they tell me I am "not eligible" or that the group I fall into has already been fullfilled, or whatever other excuse. I felt like I was wasting a bunch of time, and they don't even give you points for responding. It was really irritating. For the two weeks I was responding. I got not one. single. point!
Aww..Jess I am sorry you had a bad experience with them. I have found that with the survey sites, some are good for some, and some for others. I have made $200 alone from Toluna. But I am 10 years older than you and have a child. That could play a role in why I have had much success and you not as much. The main reason I like Toluna, is you can make points even if you don't do surveys. If you do the sponsored polls, you answer one or two questions and make between 15-105 points. I have made 37,000 since the end of June on nothing but polls.
Girl, you are concentrating on school and work. That is a lot in itself! You don't need any time wasters.
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I tried Toluna, but for every single stinkin' survey, I spend like 5 to 15 minutes filling out questions and then get to a certain point and they tell me I am "not eligible" or that the group I fall into has already been fullfilled, or whatever other excuse. I felt like I was wasting a bunch of time, and they don't even give you points for responding. It was really irritating. For the two weeks I was responding. I got not one. single. point!
I think that being a parent helps me qualify. I have done a number of surveys "with" my children. In just over a month I am up to $30 on toluna, $25 on myview, and banking on a few others. I think I fall into a target demographic group. The thing that is frustrating on toluna is how long the points take to be credited to your acount. I think that is where the patience comes in!
Thanks for listing all the sites you visit for survey's. I'm going to give a few a try!
Yw Kathy! All the sites I listed are ones that I have cashed in for rewards already and received them. Except for Sunshine Rewards, Send Earnings, and RewardPort.
I just cashed in sometime last week for RewardPort but it usually takes 4-6 weeks for the reward to come. So we will see.
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I have a question, do you have to report your earnings to the IRS?
Just hate to get all that loot and then have Uncle Sam take it away!
Here's the thing...well a few things....
1.) The majority of my money was cashed in for VISA gift cards.
2.) You are allowed to make $800 a year before they would touch it. When you do your taxes, it says if you make less than $800 you don't even have to file. Now, in my particular case...that is all I make.
For people who make money elsewhere, I have read that anything beyond $600 for the year needs to be claimed.
3.) According to the websites, and Kristin over at Couponing to Disney (she has done some reasearch on it) you have to make $600 from each website. The reading I did said that they would send out the correct IRS documents you will need if you go above a particular amount of rewards.
That being said, I would much prefer that you did your own research involving the IRS with the survey sites, just because I would hate for you to follow what I am doing and my advice, to have it blow up in your face. :
I think that being a parent helps me qualify. I have done a number of surveys "with" my children. In just over a month I am up to $30 on toluna, $25 on myview, and banking on a few others. I think I fall into a target demographic group. The thing that is frustrating on toluna is how long the points take to be credited to your acount. I think that is where the patience comes in!
I have done a lot of parent ones as well, not sure if you have tried panelpolls, run by Viacom (Nickolodian) but tons of surveys for parents, kids plus once you do the surveys for a bit they also have a panel, it is invitation only but I think I got an invite a few months after I started, I log in and post a few posts once a week - then you get points added for $10 a month, really adds up combined with the surveys. Angel has even been invited to a few panels - they usually last an hour and she walks away with $50 - 75 a session, they talk about video games, movies....tons of fun for her and it goes right to her savings (she splits it up between her long term savings...lol, and her trip savings).
1.) The majority of my money was cashed in for VISA gift cards.
2.) You are allowed to make $800 a year before they would touch it. When you do your taxes, it says if you make less than $800 you don't even have to file. Now, in my particular case...that is all I make.
For people who make money elsewhere, I have read that anything beyond $600 for the year needs to be claimed.
3.) According to the websites, and Kristin over at Couponing to Disney (she has done some reasearch on it) you have to make $600 from each website. The reading I did said that they would send out the correct IRS documents you will need if you go above a particular amount of rewards.
That being said, I would much prefer that you did your own research involving the IRS with the survey sites, just because I would hate for you to follow what I am doing and my advice, to have it blow up in your face. :
Thanks! I don't think I'll make that much (or even close) but it helps with the downtime at work. I was just wondering. Curiosity killed the cat as they say!
I have done a lot of parent ones as well, not sure if you have tried panelpolls, run by Viacom (Nickolodian) but tons of surveys for parents, kids plus once you do the surveys for a bit they also have a panel, it is invitation only but I think I got an invite a few months after I started, I log in and post a few posts once a week - then you get points added for $10 a month, really adds up combined with the surveys. Angel has even been invited to a few panels - they usually last an hour and she walks away with $50 - 75 a session, they talk about video games, movies....tons of fun for her and it goes right to her savings (she splits it up between her long term savings...lol, and her trip savings).
That sounds interesting! I'll think I'll look it up. Thanks for the info!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennie622
Thanks! I don't think I'll make that much (or even close) but it helps with the downtime at work. I was just wondering. Curiosity killed the cat as they say!
I hear ya! I wondered about that too, so I don't blame you.
Well friends, as of yesterday I am officially at the 30 day mark! That means in 29 days I will be landing at MCO right about now!
I have been working on my to do lists and here is where they are at. Bold not done and the non bold are completed. The items in italics are ones that have been added since last posting.
Any time…..
Print charts, tables, lists (must do when DD is at school) Print out ADR’s from WDW website Empty memory cards
Directions for cats for Scott
Mousekeeping & DME envelopes (must do while DD is at school) Buy 2 disposable litter pans or aluminum trays Buy travel shaving cream
Buy 2 pair cheap (Job Lot) sunglasses for DH
Buy batteries for camera Haircuts DD Dress straps shortened
Go to school and fill out vacation form for DD- AUG 31
10 day mark on….
Online check in Check amount & buy if needed, cat food & litter Get suitcases from sisters (must do while DD is at school or at night) Pack (must do while DD is at school or at night) Divide & count money Deposit $$ in bank Make payment on CC Do bills for the month
Day before we leave….
SW check in- 11:45 am, 24 hours before flight (ON THE DOT!) Call bus and let them know about DD not riding Bring lockbox to moms/talk to her about cat directions Charge cell phones and video camera Check credit card balances
Night before we leave…. Load car (after DD goes to sleep) Gas car Cat to Moms- bring litter, food, pillow
Day we leave…. Feed DD breakfast (this is when she will find out we are going!) Leave out extra water, food and cat litter pan LEAVE by 6:45- 7:00 am!!! JJ
I’ll tell you, just printing and organizing my lists, charts &tables, and schedules are a chore in itself. As I write this I realize that I still have to print of my ADR’s from the WDW website. Okay, just added it on the list, I will do that this week as well as getting the memory cards emptied and ready to go.
I will call my sister about haircuts for me and DD next week, as well as shortening DD dress straps. DH will go get his cut next week as well.
Between this weekend and next I will buy the litter pans and shaving cream. Which brings us up to the week of the 1st, the week DD starts back to school.
I am doing pretty well in that area. Last week I went and bought all her school supplies other than wipes. I will get those when I get the litter pans and shaving cream. I bought her some school clothes at the end of the season earlier in the year, plus it’s still warm, so she should be set for clothes for now…at least till the winter clothes are on sale better!
Once school starts it will mean going to see her classroom, filling out forms, starting of dance class, possibility of horseback riding continuing and catching up on my naps. So I will be busy once the 1st of September hits! I will take this time to relax, even if it’s not with napping. At least the things on my to do list are easy enough!
I am getting anxious about my Disney mail. Not that I am worried, I just want them! I received my DME docs in the mail back in June. Super early! Now I am waiting for Disney mail, although it will probably still be a couple weeks, I am suspecting.
This past week, I found a tiara online that will be awesome with DD Cinderella dress for BBB. I went ahead and ordered that, DH agreed it was the best, so we are awaiting the arrival of that as well. I am super excited to see it, and hoping it’s nice.
I have been continuing to save money and at this point the only thing we have to finish saving for are…$65 for extra food, drinks, and tips; incidentals money, this is what I call money that can be used for ANYTHING we decide that is outside of the budget; mine and DH’s spending money and that is it!!!
Pixies for good weather so DH can work over the weekends, and we get the rest up.
That is where I am at on the Disney front. Not a whole lot going on in the homefront. If anything exciting happens I will be sure to post. If not then I will see you sometime around the first for an update at 2 weeks from trip!
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