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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
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Had to get cat food and litter today. Went to shaws and also got grocery items. $40. total, but I will be getting $10 back from mom for her half of the cat food and littler. So $30. spent today.
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.
So far in September I have not eaten lunch out, so that's great! I have watched gas prices and made it to fill up right before that station went up 20 cents per gallon, all of the other stations already had gone up..... I have been super careful at the grocery, and kept to the list. bought one dinner as a treat to DD for her grades so far this year (but it was Taco Bell, any was 13.00 for the three of us! We ate it at home and had drinks here ) So far it has been an ok month, but the normal expenses have been covered. My goal is to keep my bank balance 'comfortable'!!
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My bags are packed.....when do we leave??
planning the next trip...
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.
Welcome to the boards, ghester. We like to meet here and complain about money!
On my way to work today, all the lights on the dashboard lit up for 5 seconds. I thought (hoped!) it was a fluke, so kept driving and it happened again. The third time, I turned my car around and headed back home. Good thing because it happened again, and as I was idled at a light, the car just turned itself off. I took it into a dealer. It's a 2002 Oldsmobile. How much do you think this will cost me?
Hi,
I own a olds intrigue and that's exactly what was happening to me a couple of months before I had to buy a new battery. The whole dash board would just flick once...I thought it was my imagination really. Then one night I parked by our local pizza place and ran it to get a togo order...came back out and the car wouldn't start. It cost us just over $100.00 for the battery.
Just spent another $115. on an electric litter box. Our old one broke and was in need of a replacement. Petco.com had one reg. $169.99 on sale for $109.99. Plus if I ordered today I got a free recepticle with it (the container that the dirtly litter goes into, they are disposable). And on top of that, free shipping
lunch at McD's - about $15 (I forgot about the $1 menu! )
Costco -
socks for DD and I
clothes for DH - had to buy them to try them on, some may end up being returned
gloves for DH and I for cold days
household stuff (tp, etc)
batteries
stuff for work
new comforter for guest room (warmer - it gets COLD down there!)
$280 OUCH!!
next was Target!
new leo for DD for gym practice (she made team , so we're going 2/wk now)
more socks!
food for cat
new sheets for our bed and the guest bed
$160!!
I think it'll be mac and cheese for dinner tonight, and the whole week for that matter!!
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
The yard sale did not go well. We picked today because there was supposed to be a huge car show in the fire company parking lot (we are right nest to them in the ambulance parking lot) but for some reason it was cancelled! I made about $50, but I was hoping for more. Oh well, more to list on Craigslist, I guess!
DH spent about $8 or breakfast after church, but it came from his week's money. (I was at the sale). Other than my $10 table rental, $0.
Sorry the yard sale didn't turn out like you hoped, Sue - with Craigslist!
Yesterday was $0 - I was helping my sister move some stuff and she requested a run through Sonic - she got her food, but I was good and got nothin' - I wasn't hungry, I already had a drink the car - it was hard not to just jump in and get a slushie, but I didn't! (my waistline thanks me, too )
First day out on the road! I'm nervous and excited about how my $ will turn out - I've got a big bag of snacks and fruit with me, so hopefully I'll come out to the good at the end of the week!
I was just introduced to an interesting way to save money. My mom and my sister take every $5 bill they receive (through change, etc.) and deposit it into a seperate bank account once a week or so. They said it is really adding up quickly. I have a bit of trouble with this one because I use my debit card for most purchases so I don't typically carry cash. I thought I would give it a try though by taking out my weekly budget in cash and forgo using my debit card. I was impressed and they claim it's been rather easy. Best of luck to all in their saving money quests!!
I was just introduced to an interesting way to save money. My mom and my sister take every $5 bill they receive (through change, etc.) and deposit it into a seperate bank account once a week or so.
I just read an article where a woman did this and (with interest, of course) she saved something like $12,000 in a 2 yr period. We try & use cash for most purchases, so I'm giving this a try to see if I miss the money or not. If it works, it will go towards our spending cash for Disney in May. I read the article late last week and already have $15 stashed away.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Sue, sorry about your yard sale...that's a bummer.
Holy Grocery Store, Batman...what is UP with me??? Still needed a few things (I really do use a list, really, but I have this funny thing about expecting other people who live here to contribute to it... ) So, chips, lunch meat, and ziploc baggies (for packing clothes this trip) turned into lunchables and pop tarts and muffins and...$70 worth. I did need mascara ($6) and 9yo needed colored pencils ($4), but still, it add up fast! I know we'll be spending a lot less this month on food with us eating picnic-style on the trip, but having to buy it all up front is a shocker!
9yo had a rough doctor appt today, so she asked if we could go to Olive Garden for lunch. The server was a DISASTER and I mentioned it in passing to the hostess on the way out. She asked me to stop and PLEASE talk to the manager, which I hadn't planned on doing, but the look on her face said I probably should. I was nice about it and the manager gave me a gift card to come back! Very surprised, so lunch today was free (when we get around to using the card...)
The views and opinions expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily represent or reflect those of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies
I had to get OUT at lunch today. It was the mother of all Mondays. ugh!! We tried to hit the taco truck, but it wasn't there! Darn mobile food people!! So we ran to McD's (it was either that or back to the frostbitten hot pocket I'd brought) and it was $5.
DH and I had to run an errand this evening with DD, so we grabbed dinner out too. Bad, I know, but I am in shock that I don't have the mother of all headaches right now my day was so icky. $28 on dinner, could have been worse I suppose!
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!