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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi y'all,
I'm looking for opinions on the pros and cons of both Dish Network and DirectTV. I currently have Comcast and am less than thrilled so am looking into switching.
Thanks.
I have Direct TV and I loved it....... UNTILL 3 of my favorite channels vanished. When I called they said that they were no longer available on Direct TV. The sad part is, that they are considered "basic" stations. I can still watch the shows I love but I have to watch them on another station played at a different time for that stations time zone.
I also heard that Dish Network is going to loose a few "premium stations."
We had Dish Network years ago and switched to Time Warner cable when we moved because I didn't like that we lost reception during storms. Two years later and we switched back to Dish because it is so much cheaper and we also had an issue with our internet through Time Warner that they were not willing to fix.
With the new HD dish we have not lost reception once, so I would say we are happy with the service.
I have no experience with Direct TV, so I can't help you there.
My friend has Direct TV and just lost ALL Viacom/NBC (something like 20+) stations recently including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV. Dish network just dropped AMC and their channels. The battle is over price increases from Viacom/AMC.
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Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
We have Directv and really enjoy it. If you get a good installer, you won't have many problems at all with weather knocking out your signal (and this is coming from someone who lives in the South where we get drenching t-storms). One thing I really love about Directv vs when I had cable is the customer service. They are really, really great about customer service. We've had to call them over a few glitches, and they were very nice and always able to help fix whatever issue we were having right then while we were on the phone. I felt like whenever I called the cable company about any issues it was always "Ok fine, we'll see you two weeks from Tuesday."
I've also never had Dish, but reading above that Dish lost AMC would be enough to keep me away. I gotta have my AMC!
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
We had Dish Network for a few years and didn't care for satelite. We went back to comcast a few years ago and have been happy with it except for the bill. We have comcast internet too and its expensive.
Thanks everybody. After checking into pricing (I have the super cheap, almost no channels cable) I've decided that I'm just going to stick with what I've got. I was hoping I could get NESN (to watch my Red Sox!!!) for not a lot more than I'm paying now, but no such luck. I'll just have to listen to them on the radio. Thanks again for all the info.
Sadly, the satellite and cable companies have just done away with those small packages with just a few channels...and a lot of people could really use just that very basic tv service.
We have DishNetwork and are happy with it...that is, everything except the price. I think they are all too high. We bundle tv, Internet, and phone and pay more than $150 per month, and that's just the mid-range tv package. I did get a great deal when we signed up and got the tv free for a year, and since then I've just kept it. We lose service briefly usually during thunderstorms, but it usually comes right back on.
We had Dish for a couple of years, then when they quit showing our local stations we switched to DirectTV. We LOVE DirectTV; much more user friendly than Dish ever was.
We have had Dish for about 15 years and for the most part it has always been great. There was one year when the new receiver was a pain and had to be replaced about 4 times, but they finally redid the receivers and we've not had any problems ever again. Some channels come and go, but overall, we have for than enough.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.