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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 The gentleman I spoke with said that this is true-- you need a government issued ID (driver's licence will do) or an original or CERTIFIED COPY of a birth certificate.
It should be AND not or. You need the ID and the birth certificate
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I went ahead and made everyone go this past Saturday. I was tired of losing sleep over it. It is done. I know that we could have got away without having them, we went without in 2003, but I decided this time that I was more comfortable with them. I did not buy the trip insurance through Disney, I got it through my TA, which saved me enough to pay for passports for all of us.
The one odd thing I did learn this weekend when getting the passports was how you had to pay for them. I use my Disney VISA for everything! I want my points! I assumed since I can use my VISA to buy stamps at the post office that I could do passports too, well I was wrong. I could pay the $25 processing fee and the $15 picture fee on my VISA but the rest of the fees had to be either a DEBIT card or a CHECK. Do people actually still use checks? I don't think I have had a checkbook in years. So I used a DEBIT card. My mom only brought her Disney VISA so I paid for hers too. Does anyone else find this odd?
Anyhow, it is all with passport people now. I hope they come before we leave for Christmas. We are going to be for 2 1/2 weeks for Christmas and I would hate for them to sit somewhere until we get home.
What Amy says is true. Although the cruise lines may have different ideas, until June you only need a government issued photo ID and an official copy of your birth certificate. IMPORTANT: This is not a notarized copy. This must have the official seal on it. For several years this was required to be an embossed seal, but some states quit doing that. But they use an approved "forgery proof" stamp. (Yeah, just like "fool proof" or "child proof")
I went ahead and made everyone go this past Saturday. I was tired of losing sleep over it. It is done. I know that we could have got away without having them, we went without in 2003, but I decided this time that I was more comfortable with them. I did not buy the trip insurance through Disney, I got it through my TA, which saved me enough to pay for passports for all of us.
The one odd thing I did learn this weekend when getting the passports was how you had to pay for them. I use my Disney VISA for everything! I want my points! I assumed since I can use my VISA to buy stamps at the post office that I could do passports too, well I was wrong. I could pay the $25 processing fee and the $15 picture fee on my VISA but the rest of the fees had to be either a DEBIT card or a CHECK. Do people actually still use checks? I don't think I have had a checkbook in years. So I used a DEBIT card. My mom only brought her Disney VISA so I paid for hers too. Does anyone else find this odd?
Whenever you use a credit card, the vendor (in this case, Uncle Sugar) has to pay a transaction fee. Usually between $.10 and $.25 per transaction and 1% to 3%. So, of course, they don't want to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by awrightsel
Anyhow, it is all with passport people now. I hope they come before we leave for Christmas. We are going to be for 2 1/2 weeks for Christmas and I would hate for them to sit somewhere until we get home.
Make sure you put a hold on your mail and either stop your newspapers or get someone to pick them up. And be sure someone is watering the plants.
My husband and I have passports, but our 2 kids did not. We sent the kids application in and received their passports in exactly two week. We were not going to get passports for the kids, but when we booked the cruise we were told that if an emergency happened and we need to fly back to the states, we would not be able to get the kids back home because they did not have passports. So we went ahead and got the passports. We figured they would need them someday anyway.
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My mom went in November at the beginning and got her in less than a week!!
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Lezlee Disney Vacation Club Member
Disney Dreams June 2011
Disneyland June 2010
Disneyland Aug 2009
First Time Cruise Jan 2009
Disney World First trip 80's First Family Trip Jan 2008 lezlee.berry@sbcglobal.net
We were not going to get passports for the kids, but when we booked the cruise we were told that if an emergency happened and we need to fly back to the states, we would not be able to get the kids back home because they did not have passports.
That's not precisely true. They would be permitted in under the direct supervision of a parent or guardian, but I think you have to post a bond and pay for the citizen research. I'll try to find out, if you'd like. I've become quite an "expert" at travel BCP regulations for international visitors to the US and US citizens traveling abroad.
If both the child and adult do not have appropriate documentation, they will be held in a detention facility for up to 72 hours. If one member of the party is "very sick" (exact words for State Dept person I talked to) that person and one responsible adult will be admitted, with a bond.
If you are thinking about the Pass Card (I forget the official name), remember that it will only speed up the research, but it's not valid for air travel.
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If one member of the party is "very sick" (exact words for State Dept person I talked to) that person and one responsible adult will be admitted, with a bond. 
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