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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi everyone, just a couple of questions that may seem silly, but it was only a few days ago I heard about these books, this website and the forums!
So I'm still a little unclear on what a passporter actaully is and wondering if theres any difference between passporter and other Disney World planning books such as the unofficial guide.
Also I'm not sure which PassPorter to buy, should I get the 2010 book now or wait for the 2011 version to come out. I am going for my 1st trip to WDW in February. Also there are so many different options of which one to buy, so not sure which is the best to get!!!
One man's opinion: I don't think other guides include as many planning tools that allow you to make the most of your vacation. The guides are also a very good size that compromises readibility and portability, with fold out color maps, etc. But the feature that most sets the Passporter apart from a conventional guide book is the organizer Pockets. Every day of my vacation has a pocket, and I can put my Cirque de Soleil or Halloween part tickets in there at the beginning of the vacation, and add any ephemera for scrap booking or receipts at the end of every day. It also has been thoughtfully covered with spaces that I can show the park operating hours and Advanced Dining Reservations for the day, and to record the happy moments of the day while they are still fresh in my mind at the end of the day.
I prefer the deluxe, ring-bound version, so I can add or remove pages to the organizer. For example, after I have used the excellent reviews to determine what resort I am going to stay in, I can remove the parts of the guidebook that deal with the other resorts (lightening my load and making room for all the scrap booking fodder). I can also use a hole punch to add my driving directions from home to WDW (err, that is home, too!) or other materials.
The 2011 version will be out before the end of this year, so you will want to get that one--you can pre-order it now.
Last edited by Onkel Hans; 09-03-2010 at 04:22 AM..
PassPorter is a guidebook but also so much more. The Unofficial Guide is great and offers a nice alternative or companion to PassPorter but they are very different. PassPorter offers everything a regular guidebook does - photos, ride descriptions, dining reviews, etc. but also has fold out maps, touring plans, planning worksheets and best of all - PassPockets! The PassPockets help keep your trip uber-organized with places to store things, write things, remember things. They are one of the things that makes a PassPorter so unique!
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.
I think the Passporter books is the best planning tool/book out there. No other book is as organized or easy to use. Plus there's pockets for things and places to write in data...it's a book you can take with you to the park and use there.
I would go ahead and get it now. The 2011 version will probably not be too different and it would be a good idea to have it now rather than wait two months. have you booked the trip already?? If not, the Passporter has great info in it to help you pick which resort, tickets and package to go with. Have you planned out where you'll eat yet?? You should think about doing that very soon... to insure that you get the restaurants that you want.
Spend some time here on the message board and you'll know everything you need to know in no time!
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Stephanie- Mom to Jaden and Emerson, Wife to Keith, Novelist
I'm an independent agent with Fairytale Journeys, specializing in Disney vacations!
Visit my Facebook page!
have you booked the trip already?? If not, the Passporter has great info in it to help you pick which resort, tickets and package to go with. Have you planned out where you'll eat yet?? You should think about doing that very soon... to insure that you get the restaurants that you want.
Yes I have booked the trip, was booked in March! Also just booked the hotel about a month ago for Beach Club resort and got our tickets - 6 day hopper.
My daughter has also already done all the dining reservations which she is quite excited about except the one she doesnt know about at Cinderella's Royal Castle for breakfast which I'm hoping she will love! So do you think I still need the 2010 version or wait for the 2011 version?
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Thanks everyone! But now I'm not sure whether to get 2010 or 2011 version!
Also just wondering what is the PassPorters Club, are all of you members and what type of subscribtion is the best? How does it all work??
Personally I'd buy the 2010 edition now so you have more time to read and enjoy planning. I like to go through and read the reviews for rides and restaurants and check off all the ones we want to go to. Then I let others do the same. It's a fun way to make the time go faster until we can go.
I will say that once you buy one, you will most likely be hooked and want the next one though LOL I have bought one every year since 2004
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.
Buy the 2010 PassPorter and then borrow the other guides from your local library.
You will then see the vast difference between PP and "the others".
Personally I prefer the spiral editions as I cannot lose any pages and after my trip I have one nifty little binder of memories and reminders for our next trip!
Before I discovered the Passporter in 2004. I purchased 4 "other" books for our first trip in 2005...Then my TA showed me her passporter(even offered to lend it to me for my trip) and I looked through it in her office while she worked up some details of our trip...I was hooked and went a bought one...Here's the thing, the passporter I looked through in her office had ALL the information that was in the other 4 books combined and SOOO MUCH more. I have purchased the 2004,2006,2008, and 2009 spiral versions of the passporter and have pre-ordered the 2011 special edition version(this will be my first deluxe version), and I can't wait to get it. I love passporter, even if Im not going on a trip. I love looking through it and reading it, and disney dreaming with it, lol.
Get one, you wont regret it.