Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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04-13-2005, 01:45 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Odenton, MD
Posts: 689
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WDW Information Training session - UPDATED and Thanks!
Ok, I'm not sure where to post this, but this thread always seems to have the largest cross section of PassPorters. That and you guys always have great ideas. No pressure. 
Some of you may know that I'm going to WDW in October with a bunch of people from our supper club (21 of us altogether). It's going to be a great time. Well, many of the folks have never been to WDW or have only been there for a day or two. Not nearly enough time. So, I volunteered our house for a first "WDW Planning BBQ" to get everyone up to speed.
What I'd like to do is make a big PowerPoint presentation with lots of basic info, trivia bits, pictures of parks and our resort as well as some "accidentally" misplaced Star Wars video clips. (Party is planned for Star Wars Ep III opening weekend. That, plus we're all a little science geeky - in a good way. Quit snickering, I hear you! ) At the end of the BBQ, I want to give our guests a handout with all the tidbits of information I got from my previous travels and these boards.
So, apart from this being A LOT of work for a perfectionist, do you think this would be too intimidating for the uninitiated? What topics should I be sure to cover? What topics should I avoid? Is there life on Mars?
On top of all this, I might try to make it a surprise belated birthday party for my wife (It's a big one this year.) So, is this all too much to handle. I have about a month to pull it all together (5/21 or 5/22). If it weren’t for work, I'd have plenty of time  |
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04-13-2005, 01:53 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: May 2002
Location: ILLINOIS
Posts: 512
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Re: WDW Information Training session
This sounds like a blast to me! Just keep it fun during the presentation & I don't think this will be intimidating at all, just a great party!
ps...love the idea of adding star wars stuff for opening weekend & for including your wife's b-day. have fun |
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04-13-2005, 02:01 PM
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#3
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Uncle Duck
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Paradise, CA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 18,048
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Don't forget to turn them to www.passporter.com  |
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04-13-2005, 02:08 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 2,584
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Re: WDW Information Training session
As long as the presentation has some humor thrown in, it should be a blast! They'll be having so much fun, they won't even realize they're in training! How many families are represented in this group of 21? Maybe you can give them all little notebooks and Disney pens or pencils (I found some cute Winnie the Pooh ones at Walmart) so they can take notes. You could put copies of some of the Passporter pages into your presentation, and then offer to email the presentation to everyone to refer to later.
Hey, why not check with Dave & Jennifer to see if you can get a "volume discount" on Passporters, then put that offer out to everyone at the party. Hey, if they want a Passporter, they're going to have to pony up for that themselves--your generosity can only go so far!!
Have fun!
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04-13-2005, 02:33 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Posts: 5,641
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Jeff, I think this is a wonderful idea. I've helped plan WDW vacations for a couple of different friends/neighbors and I always give them copies of my spreadsheets, worksheets that they can fill in themselves, resource sheets (best days for each park, opening times, web sites of interest) as well as some notes that I've pulled together.
I would love a copy of your PowerPoint presentation if you wouldn't mind sharing once it's complete. If you're interested, PM me and I'll send you my email address.
How exciting!
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04-13-2005, 02:51 PM
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#6
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Tulsa, OK
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 21,627
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Re: WDW Information Training session
I think it sounds like a fabulous idea!!! Go for it. I'm sure that passporters could help with any unanswered questions. Have fun.....sounds like a lot of fun to me.
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04-13-2005, 02:57 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 4,488
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Gosh - I'd like to come!
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04-13-2005, 02:59 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: WDW Information Training session
I think it sounds really fun!! I think they will really enjoy it!!
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04-13-2005, 03:17 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 7,569
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Re: WDW Information Training session
I think that sounds great. Folks that don't know what they're doing are ususally grateful for someone that does have a clue to sort of point them in the right direction. Should we start calling you "Julie"? (little Love Boat humor)
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04-13-2005, 03:25 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Sep 2001
Posts: 7,478
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Hi Jeff, 
I think your bbq sounds like a blast - not intimidating at all. On the contrary, I think your guests will become very excited upon viewing your presentation, and will look forward even more to your trip. If you have any Disney music, like the "Where Magic Lives" cd, I would play that for background music for a little extra effect. Take a look at the track list:
http://laughingplacestore.com/Product-3650.asp?R=LP
I would be sure to cover comfortable walking shoes, "must see" attractions at the parks, water parks, mickey bars and dole whips (it would be fun if your group joined in the mickey bars vs. dole whips debate), parades, fireworks, and any special plans you may have for the group.
I can't think of a thing I wouldn't mention. In fact, I would probably talk too much. 
If you want to add a birthday cake to the festivities I would say "go for it!" Who doesn't love cake??? Would you let your guests know ahead of time, if you are planning the cake, so they can bring a card if they would like to? |
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04-13-2005, 04:05 PM
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#11
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Western Pa
Posts: 1,500
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Re: WDW Information Training session
This sounds like such a good time. I always make folders for folks we are traveling with. they are just regular folders like the kids use for school, I print out the pages, 3 hole punch them and put them in. The folders have pockets in the front to put loose things in and the back of the pages are blank to make notes on. I include one page of phone numbers(airline, resort, the 800 number and everyone's cell number), I print off the resort description from All Ears and the resort restaurant menus from All Ears too.
Don't forget to clue them into Hidden Mickeys. Those always provide so much entertainment for us.
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04-13-2005, 04:52 PM
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#12
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,651
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Ooh, ooh! I wanna come!
This kind of stuff is just my thing. In fact, I gave a rather detailed "presentation" for my husband before our first trip together since it had been so long since he had been.
You can pull it off!
My suggestion would be to check out all the sticky-note topics on the message boards, like best theme park tip, photo ops, packing list, things like that. That could be some of the info you can hand out to them to check out later.
Let us know how it goes.
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04-13-2005, 06:24 PM
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#13
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Wow Jeff, what a great idea And you a geek, NAH!! (from one techie to another) Have a great time with it, and I hope you'll share some of it with us! Goodluck with the party  |
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04-13-2005, 06:31 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Indiana , USA
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 26,527
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Sounds great!
I always try to arm our "guests" with as much info as possible, and I've discovered that if I don't personally go over it with them, they won't look at it.
I think that it may be overwhelming for them, but to go to WDW unprepared and try to figure stuff out at the last second is even more so.
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04-13-2005, 07:07 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia
Posts: 3,498
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Re: WDW Information Training session
Not trying to sound like negative nellie here, but the one thing that you don't want to do is TO OVERWHELM THEM!!!
I think you are on the right track, but this train can easily run away!
Just think of all of the info that most of us know about - it's enough to fill up a book! (a passporter book maybe???)
I would stick to the most basic IMPORTANT information - you know, the must know's, that sort of thing - I wouldn't get into too much trivia, etc.
You could use some of the passporter topics to lead you on your way - "the parks", "feasting", "resorts", etc. - you catch my drift.
If these are first timers then you really really need to keep it simple - otherwise they will feel that there is too much "work" involved in going and that you practically have to study before you get there. Not a good thing when you want to go somewhere, let loose, and just have some fun!
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