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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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During our trip we started collecting Disney Pins, and I was so impressed with the selection, but both DD and I had problems with the backs coming off. DD even lost her favorite Sleeping Beauty Pin....but a wonderful CM gave her a special Tinkerbell Pin that you can't buy and made the whole experience less stressful (and I bought her a new pin) So, how do you keep the pins on your bags and laynards without them falling off? We finally just put our pins in our bags, but I want to be able to decorate our bags with them for the next trip!
They do sell special backs that you can "lock" to prevent the pins from falling off. I'm not sure on the price. They are a little more expensive, but worth it in the long run. You could use the Mickey backs for pins you don't display on your lanyard, etc and invest in the lockable ones to use on your lanyard. You can usually find them near the pins. They are silver, in color.
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We've had that problem with pins we give our students (for doing good deeds and such). Here's my suggestion: Buy a box of #2 pencils and pull off the pink erasers and use those.
We had much the same problem. for us it was more a problem of the lanyards comming apart where the velcro is, then the pin backs being bumped and them falling off. you can prevent this aspect by buying a 2 sided pin (Pin so big or wide it needs two tacks to hold it level. I run one post through one side of the lanyard, then the other post through the other side just above the velcro. Once we took the time to do this, we stopped loosing the pins for the most part. It can also help to place the pins more toward the collar of the lanyard and farther from the bottom (keeping them from being bumped and rubbed against). Good luck and if anyone has any other ideas, please let me know too.
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My 19 year old hero! Hurry home! (A.K.A. D_Stitch)
I bought the locking pin backs. For us it was a good deal (though I do not know how much) much there are several pin backs per bag. We collect pins though and do not trade. For us the pins are more of a souvenir.
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I bought the locking pin backs too. I didn't want to risk loosing the $20 limited edition pin of Walt Disney & Mickey standing in front of the DL castle holding hands. The locking backs work great.
After dropping quite a few off of the lanyards, we also bought the locking pins. Definitely worth the investment of a few more dollars! Even if you don't lose the ones that fall off (what a nice CM your daughter met!), you can break and/or scratch the pins up pretty good like my kids did before we bought the locking pin backs.
I never even THOUGHT about putting our pins on a canvas tote bag or something!! That's such a great idea. *smacks head* I should've thought of that. I got tired of carrying all my pins on my neck last year. ALTHOUGH, I did get alot of attention as the girl that managed to keep 60 pins hanging around her neck at all times in 2005.
I'm definately gonna buy the locking pin backs now! All I need is a cute canvas tote thats not to big. Any suggestions?
I don't do pin trading (yet!) but I belong to an organization that wears lots of insignia and I took a wide rubber band, cut it into squares, and pinned each one through the rubber band. Even if the pin comes undone (or the back falls off) it won't slip through the ribbon. Best of all, it's cheap!
I'm definately gonna buy the locking pin backs now! All I need is a cute canvas tote thats not to big. Any suggestions?
Try searching for the thread(s) that are going right now about the Baggalenni (sorry spelling is wrong) That's what I used and LOVED it! It's not canvas but is somewhat water proof!
Thanks to all for the advice about the pins I'll have to look for the locking backs!
My son who is three has not discovered pin trading yet. But, I have bought a few each trip so when he is ready he can do this and it won't cost an arm and leg to start. But, I don't have any of the locking backs I believe I will get these next trip.