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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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01-25-2010, 10:20 PM
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#1
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PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Feature Article: The Magic On Your Time - Disney Podcasts
The Magic On Your Time - Disney Podcasts
by Thomas Cackler
Imagine that tomorrow instead of listening to the same boring radio program during your commute to work, you could instead listen to a fun-filled romp of a show that deals with your one of your favorite topics. No, a major conglomerate hasn't bought out your local radio station again. Welcome to the world of podcasts! With this recent phenomenon, you can keep up to date on your favorite subject in places and times you never thought possible. At the gym, around the house, or anywhere you go (if you have a portable media player), podcasting allows a fan is the ability to take news, opinions, and entertainment about their favorite topic wherever they go. Let's start by clearing up a few common misconceptions about podcasts. The biggest misconception about podcasts is you need an iPod or an MP3 player. This is not the case! All you really need to start enjoying podcasts today is a computer, speakers, and a high-speed Internet connection. Since many of the show files are large, the high-speed connection will allow you to download the file in a reasonable time. While you can use some specialized software for being notified about and retrieving the podcasts, as long as you have the essential equipment, you are all set.
Perhaps the best way to think about podcasting is in terms of Internet radio. While streaming media on the web isn't new, podcasts allow you to download the information and listen to it at your convenience. If you want to know more about podcasting and how it came about, Wikipedia has a great summary on the topic. Likewise, Yahoo has an excellent information site at podcasts.yahoo.com. Finally, many books and articles exist describing the technical aspects of this new broadcasting medium. If you want to know more, a simple visit to your favorite search engine should start you in the right direction. However, since you don't need to know how it works to enjoy it, we'll skip the technical details for this article and instead focus on how you can enjoy these shows.
Now armed with your new familiarity of podcasting, you might wonder what type of information is out there. As you might imagine, the world of all things related to a certain Mouse and his friends have inspired a wide range of outstanding podcasts. Of note are the official podcasts of both Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort. These include interviews with Imagineers, attraction previews and reviews, and often interviews with celebrities and their thoughts on the parks. For example, recent episodes of Walt Disney World -- Plugged In (the official podcast of Walt Disney World) featured interviews with lead Expedition Everest designer Joe Rhode. These two podcasts are great for getting a behind the scenes peek at the magic of Disney. Additionally, dozens of unofficial or fan-based shows have sprung up across the World Wide Web. What do these other podcasts include? If you think of your favorite Disney Internet forum or e-mail list, a given podcast will most likely include similar things. News, rumors, reviews, previews, and trivia often make up the core content of these unofficial podcasts. Some even specialize in bringing you audio recorded on your favorite Disney attraction or from your favorite park show! Disney podcasts are a great way to stay plugged into the magic of the parks between visits.
It is important to remember, however, that these podcasts are much like listening to your local talk radio station where "the views expressed are those of the hosts, guests, and callers and not necessarily the views of the Walt Disney Company." Remember, since these are similar to an audio version of your favorite Internet forum, e-mail list or newsletter, the information presented is strictly up to the host of the show. Most are extremely good about properly distinguishing rumors from facts, but sometimes what the hosts say as fact on one podcast makes its way onto other shows and into the general Internet community. Just like anything else you might read online, your best bet is to verify the information before treating it like fact.
Now that you are interested, it is time to actually go out and find these shows. Finding new shows is relatively easy. A simple web search using terms like "Disney Podcast" or "Travel Podcasts" will bring up several hits. Likewise, visiting a podcast directory like Podcast Pickle, Podcasting News or PodZinger to name a few will have listings with a simple search under similar phrases. Another surefire way to find out about travel or Disney podcasts is to ask at your favorite Internet forum or e-mail list. iTunes and Yahoo have recently launched free podcasting services that do an excellent job of walking you through the entire process from finding the podcasts to downloading and how to play. Finally, a new blog has started featuring a directory of Disney Podcasts that will include both listings and additional tips on enjoying the shows. (Author's Note: This blog is something I have started to help my Disney friends keep up to speed on the podcasts.)
If you'd like to give a podcast a try, check out Episode 19 from WDWToday.com. which has an interview with Deb Wills and Debra Martin Koma, authors of PassPorter's Walt Disney World For Your Special Needs guide.
As you can imagine, the world of podcasts opens up entirely new avenues for fans to find out more about their favorite topics. While the technology can be a bit intimidating, it is certainly worth the effort to discover this treasure trove of incredible entertainment. By spending a small amount of time investigating the sites mentioned here and discovering the new shows, you will find hours if not days of entertainment and information. Soon you will look back and discover that the hardest part of listening to podcasts isn't installing a piece of software or updating a feed, it's finding time in the day to listen to all the great content about the most magical places on earth.
View the full article and download a free formatted PDF of it here!
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 11-19-2009 07:01 PM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
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