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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am traveling on the Wonder in Dec 08 and we want to get trip insurance before the final payment. We are not using air from Disney so opted to shop for all incompassing insurance elsewhere. Suggestions on what is the best, we are a family of 11 from 4 years old to 61 years old going on a Christmas Family Reunion.
Thanks
Lynda
I wish I had a specific recommendation. Insuremytrip.com is a great place to shop, in part because they have so many carriers and policies to choose from, and they have a very comprehensive comparison chart between all the various policies.
Knowing which insurance company is best is a whole other matter. Other than using the AM Best ratings as a guide to financial stability, it's hard to know which of the companies is a good pick. There are too few people making travel insurance claims to know with any certainty which companies are good or bad on the claims process.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Another recommendation for Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com. The company that we usually use is Access America but insuremytrip.com will let you compare policies and prices. Keep in mind that unless you obtain the insurance within 14 days of deposit for most policies, the insurance will not cover pre-exisiting medical conditions.
Sara makes a very good point. Insurance shopping should ALWAYS be part of the overall planning program. Since many people book 18 months or so in advance, you can't plan for air, hotels or cars, but you should look at insurance.
Another recommendation for Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com. The company that we usually use is Access America but insuremytrip.com will let you compare policies and prices. Keep in mind that unless you obtain the insurance within 14 days of deposit for most policies, the insurance will not cover pre-exisiting medical conditions.
If you obtain it within the 14 days, they will insure existing conditions? When we called to inquire about the DVC policy that Disney sends the info on, they said preexisting conditions are not covered. Do different trip insurance companies do that differently?
I purchased the travel insurance from Disney but I purchased my plane tickets direct from Continental. I was worried about the cost of the plane tickets so I called the insurer from Disney to ask if I could add on plane tickets bought elsewhere. I was told that the plane tickets were covered under the policy even though I didn't buy the tickets from Disney. After I hung up, I wasn't sure I understood correctly so I called back and another person told me the same thing.
The problem with the Disney policy isn't whether the cost of the airline ticket is covered, but what you'll get if you miss the ship because your airline got you late to Orlando. Unless they've changed the policy, they only cover a missed sailing if you use Disney air.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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If you obtain it within the 14 days, they will insure existing conditions? When we called to inquire about the DVC policy that Disney sends the info on, they said preexisting conditions are not covered. Do different trip insurance companies do that differently?
No, the Disney insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. But everybody else does. And almost everyone has some sort of pre-existing condition. Maybe it's your Mom's heart, or the ankle you broke this spring.
If you think there are too many choices and want advice, call insuremytrip.com
Let the representative know that you want pre-existing conditions covered and tell them all the other stuff you may be concerned about.
They may not be able to recommend one over another other, but they can narrow down your choices & they can tell you what policies will cover what you are concerned about.
Here is the link to the contact page for InsureMyTrip: