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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I took some photos of the charm bracelets and charms for you, including pricing
Charms are all $3.95
Bracelet (comes with a mickey head charm) is $6.95
Necklace (comes with a mickey head charm) is $9.95
THANK YOU!!!! you are awesome!!! i'm totally doing that. yay mother's day extravaganza!
THANK YOU!!!! you are awesome!!! i'm totally doing that. yay mother's day extravaganza!
And I do pins too, nothing wrong with that!
BUT, as you can see it's a bit more "involved" getting into pin trading (ok sorta like a full time job! lol)
The charms require less "enthusiasm" and commitment on the collectors part, are totally wearable all the time (I wear mine when I am not at WDW and don't feel ridiculous at all) and at the end of the day, cheaper.
You know her better than we all do, but if she likes pretty things and not a lot of fuss I think the charms are the way to go.
Some tips of trading - it is the CMs with green lanyards who trade only with children - every other cast member is fair game. They are supposed to only trade for a pin that they do not currently have on their lanyard and will accept any other pin in trade. Hidden Mickey pins are considered more valuable, and some of them are printed in limited quantities (they'll say on the back) but we generally go for any pins that have 3D or moving parts and have had huge success trading for them. Both our boys have their fav characters and my DH only has 5 pins (all golfing) that he wears on his hats.
We went last year with my DMIL and DFIL who basically thought the whole idea was kid stuff. 2 days in to our trip, DFIL had a pin mysteriously appear on his Tilley...then another...
DMIL bought a starter kit and began trading so that she could trade for some pretty Cinderella ones for my niece..then became obsessed with trading for a Wendy (still for my niece, of course) A year and a half later, when I go to their house, I still see her collection on her Tilley and my poor niece has never been the recipient. "I know", she says, when I tease her about it, "But they are just so beautiful and they remind me of our trip when I see them"
My mom, who has been on a few of our trips, also has 5 or 6 that she wears on her sun hat - most of them traders from our Ebay lot.
So that has been our experience with pin trading. It is all about the thrill of the chase for us and I hope you two have as many happy hours with them as we have!
thanks for the tips! i'm glad to hear that looking for something 'specific' is normal. my plan was to take the ones i got in the lot (other than a few that i really like...i mean, other than a few that i think my MOM will really like) and look for anything mother-related or animal kingdom related, as the trip is a mother's day animal kingdom lodge trip. i will do that on my next trip--in less than two months--and then present them to her on the plane in may on our way to the mother's day trip. wow--i can not believe how excited i am about this!
the only thing is i'm afraid i'll be afraid to approach people. but i'm REALLY outgoing--and i'm traveling alone, so i'll be desperate to talk to anyone and everyone. i'm thinking it shouldn't be a problem. well, i'm hoping it won't be a problem!
the only thing is i'm afraid i'll be afraid to approach people. but i'm REALLY outgoing--and i'm traveling alone, so i'll be desperate to talk to anyone and everyone. i'm thinking it shouldn't be a problem. well, i'm hoping it won't be a problem!
Nah I've been alone twice now, and people will talk to you. Especially moms they are always jealous that I am there on my own. lol
And CM's are super terrific to solo travellers, please try to do table service dining alone! I get treated extra special every time.
My mom doesn't ride a lot of rides, so she always is making new "friends" while waiting for me. Disney is one of the few places I never feel really odd being by myself and talking to strangers
__________________
Special ops issued us flip-flops, a guitar and a week or two! -Roger Clyne
Nah I've been alone twice now, and people will talk to you. Especially moms they are always jealous that I am there on my own. lol
And CM's are super terrific to solo travellers, please try to do table service dining alone! I get treated extra special every time.
oh, don't worry--i'm all about dining alone! i have reservations at Kona Cafe, San Angel Inn, Yak and Yeti, Les Chefs de France, Brown Derby and Narcoossees! (and i'm only going to be there for three full days!!!) i'm a huge food fan (and get VERY cranky when i'm hungry) so table service meals are a must do!
i have reservations at Kona Cafe, San Angel Inn, Yak and Yeti, Les Chefs de France, Brown Derby and Narcoossees!!
YUM, those are some of my favorites. I especially loved Narcoossees.
Out of those the Brown Derby was the only one that failed to impress me...it wasn't bad, just not that good.
the subject line really asks the question...but here's why i'm asking: in my quest to plan 'the best darn mother's day trip ever', i've been trying to think of small things i can do to make the trip more magical for my amazing mother. i thought of this idea--buying her one of those lanyards with maybe a pin or two on it and presenting it to her on the plane, at which point i'll explain the whole pin-thing (which i've only read about/observed).
my mother loves jewelry (i realize pins aren't jewelry, but it is the same concept) and shopping--so i thought being on the look out for a pin or buying pins to commemorate things she likes about the trip would be nice for her. but i wonder if that idea is 'odd'--given that we are both grown ups. aren't pins just for kids? note that i have NO IDEA what the answer to that question is. if i did, i wouldn't be posting this!
i'm going to disney (solo) two months before our trip together, so i'll be able to buy the lanyard and a special pin or two--which is how i'll have it with me on the plane. oh--which brings me to a different question--we only ever do carry-on bags--no checked luggage. i'm assuming you can bring disney pins in a carry-on? i'm hoping? feedback on this? thanks!!!!
Me and my husband collect and love the pins. That is a great idea. I think the mystery pin sets are very exciting.
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) A year and a half later, when I go to their house, I still see her collection on her Tilley and my poor niece has never been the recipient. "I know", she says, when I tease her about it, "But they are just so beautiful and they remind me of our trip when I see them" 
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