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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Your plans sound wonderful! I am very jealous....I have always wanted to go on a Disney Cruise, but it has just never worked out financially for us. Have a blast, and I can't wait to hear more!
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PREVIOUS TRIPS: 1997- Off-site, 2002-Contemporary, 2009- POFQ, 2011- Beach Club, 2012- Disney Magic, 2013 Disney Fantasy
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I don’t know why I chose to go through a TA, that’s a lie – I do…. For the $150/stateroom credit and decent rates on our rooms…. But was it really worth all of the headaches and errors??? No, I don’t think so!!…. To start, we (I) gave our TA a rough draft of what we wanted. I went in, sat down and gave her our list of wants and goals… and the purpose of this trip… The problem is – I don’t think that she was/is a Disney “expert” let alone someone who I would consider Disney knowledgeable ….. We had so many mistakes, that I felt that I should be making the commission! First off, she reserved the wrong resort & cruise dates and when we found out about it, Disney had referred us back to her to make the corrections(which they would do many(7) times - as for some reason every time we checked they weren’t correct and that because we went through a TA, they need to make the corrections.). My faith in her started to wane after the 2nd -3rd issue - then she booked our resorts as a package with the cruise – which we didn’t want, so we had this switched to separate reservations and save about $1200+ , then our DME reservations were wrong – they had us going from MCO to port back to MCO – instead of MCO to resort to port to resort to MCO - ( who knows where the luggage would have ended up)…. So many errors were done on my parent’s ressies that they just aborted the whole vacay. Our Sunrise safari reservations (as well as several of my “surprises” for my family) were not done, and I was lucky enough to have the ship’s concierge “J” call (on her own without me asking her to do this) the itinerary desk and they in turn called me within 10 minutes of me sending her some emailed questions ….(then 2 days before the actual booking window opened – they’d call again to confirm the CC# I had left on file for my details and confirmed a booking for me) … Our Cirque tickets were made for the wrong time and are non-refundable, so we had to change our dinner reservations to 8:30pm - (pretty late for my kids to eat dinner, but I can also try and get them something prior to La Nouba)….and on, and on…. So after many prayers, and “J” – the BEST CM (DCL concierge customer service agent) EVAH!!!! – who took care of ALL of my “extras” and kept the AKL concierge updated of what I wanted – I am ready!!! Just send some pixies that my TA calls me and lets me know about my paperwork and luggage tags coming in on time (should be any day now)!!!…
Next: Everything in 2 normal suitcases with room for more….
Great start! Sorry about the cancer scare, but I am so glad you are healthy. I can't believe your travel agent. I hope everything goes smoothly after all that. Can't wait for more.
I just want to take a moment to give a Big Passporter thank you to EVERYONE for their support, as some of you know getting that FIRST TR out their is kind of scary... you think: will ANYONE read it - will anyone write anything??? So Thank you all for your support and boosting my confidence!!!
Whew! Your TA problems sound horrible. For some reason I always book cruises through a TA, but do the WDW part myself. Next time go with a Disney expert TA and you'll be very pleased! Glad your Disney CM came through at was able to fix things for you.
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So sorry about the cancer scare! What a thing to have to go through. Sorry you've had so many problems with your TA. It will all work out in the end, and you'll have a wonderful vacation.
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– I do…. For the $150/stateroom credit and decent rates on our rooms
…. But was it really worth all of the headaches and errors??? No, I don’t think so!!
…. To start, we (I) gave our TA a rough draft of what we wanted. I went in, sat down and gave her our list of wants and goals… and the purpose of this trip… The problem is – I don’t think that she was/is a Disney “expert” let alone someone who I would consider Disney knowledgeable 
…. So many errors were done on my parent’s ressies that they just aborted the whole vacay. Our Sunrise safari reservations (as well as several of my “surprises” for my family) were not done, and I was lucky enough to have the ship’s concierge “J” call (on her own without me asking her to do this) the itinerary desk 
and they in turn called me within 10 minutes of me sending her some emailed questions 
….(then 2 days before the actual booking window opened – they’d call again to confirm the CC# I had left on file for my details and confirmed a booking for me) 
and are non-refundable, so we had to change our dinner reservations to 8:30pm - (pretty late for my kids to eat dinner, but I can also try and get them something prior to La Nouba)….and on, and on…. So after many prayers, and “J” – the BEST CM (DCL concierge customer service agent) EVAH!!!!
– who took care of ALL of my “extras” and kept the AKL concierge updated of what I wanted – I am ready!!! Just send some pixies that my TA calls me and lets me know about my paperwork and luggage tags coming in on time (should be any day now)!!!…
Enjoy a Disney Lifestyle......Everyday!
![[SIGPIC]](signaturepics/sigpic27594_7.gif)
PassPorter Guide Author
Exactly!!!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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