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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are surprising DD with a trip to Disney in December for her bday and Christmas. I really want to get her Duffy and give it to her as part of her surprise bag the day we leave and tell her it was sent from mickey as a birthday gift. Are you able to buy him online or would i have to wait to get there (which would ruin my initial plan)? If i have to wait until we get there how should we give it to her? I see he has outfits, should we get the bday, Christmas, or no outfit duffy?
I went to google and clicked on the shopping option and typed in Disney Duffy - some options came back. Can't hurt to do a "regular" google for it: disney duffy - Google Search
i found a seller on amazon and a store called the laughing place...now i wonder is it really 100% authentic disney merchandise? How do they get this stuff and if WDW isn't selling it at the disney store why are they selling it through these people? I hate to be like that but if i'm spending $40 on a stuffed bear i want him to be real.
Laughing Place and these other folks buy them from Disney and then resell. You will often find that the price is slightly higher than if you bought direct. For example, they offer the Mickey pasta that I paid $5.95 for last year for $7.95, and $4.95 antenna toppers for $6.95. You are paying to have someone else go buy this for you.
According to everything I've read, Duffy is exclusive to the parks and is not officially sold online. Believe me, if they were selling fakes, Disney would have their lawyers all over them.
One of the other lists I belong to actually has a shopper who will go to the parks and pick up whatever you want for a very reasonable fee. I have done this for my son and had a bag waiting at check-in.
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YA Librarian
Last edited by yalibrarian; 05-02-2011 at 12:54 PM..
Another option would be to have someone who's going soon take a picture of the price tag. I'm pretty sure that if you have the item number, you can order directly from Disney merchandising. I haven't done that myself, but I think lots of people on here have and can probably give you some advice. That way you would know for sure you're getting the real thing!
There are a fair number of Amazon marketplace stores that will buy things and then resell them online. Looks like Duffy is one of them. I love the little outfits you can get. Do they sell those at Disney too? I'd love to get my DS the "first trip" one wth the bear.
I will offer a gentle warning about LaughingPLace.com. I tried to place an order through them last year. After three weeks of waiting, I emailed them only to find out that they hadn't even begun to shop for my items. If you are on a tight schedule, I wouldn't use them. However, I have used Memories by Betsey and had great success. She shops for you and delivers the items to your resort for a fee. You pay the cost of the item plus the delivery charge. The items were very nicely presented and ready for us when we checked in. She even signed the card: To ******, from your friend Mickey, as I had requested. Her website is www.memoriesbybetsy.com.