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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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If you book a package that includes a 7-day park hopper - can you upgrade the park hopper part to an annual pass once you check-in at the resort?
I asked about this the last time we were at WDW and the person at the check-in desk said it wasn't upgradable. Since they were busy, I didn't ask to speak to someone else, I figured I could go back later when they weren't as swamped and ask another staff. But before I did, my DH and I decided we weren't going to be able to swing another trip within the year so I dropped it.
Just to clarify - DH and I are planning a 7 or 8 day trip in early December. We are kicking around the idea of a 5 day trip in early May to celebrate our April birthdays since both of us are celebrating birthdays that end in ZERO this year. If we can swing the May trip, we'd opt to go with an Annual Pass. I was just confused if the MYW park hoppers that you purchase with a package are upgradeable.
If you book a package that includes a 7-day park hopper - can you upgrade the park hopper part to an annual pass once you check-in at the resort?
I asked about this the last time we were at WDW and the person at the check-in desk said it wasn't upgradable. Since they were busy, I didn't ask to speak to someone else, I figured I could go back later when they weren't as swamped and ask another staff. But before I did, my DH and I decided we weren't going to be able to swing another trip within the year so I dropped it.
Yes. I did it earlier this month. However, it has to be done at City Hall in MK or at Guest Services at any of the other parks. It can not be done at a resort.
That's good to know. I was thinking they could do it at check-in.
Funny they didn't know that Guest Services at the parks could do it... they were really busy when we were checking in, tho - which is why I didn't push it.
Thanks for the info!
Yes, any Guest Service kiosk in front of the parks can do it, or in DTD. You can exchange it anytime you're there. Even on the last day. You pay the dif. between your ticket and the AP price. Be sure you bring photo ID.
Yep - any Guest Services has the right software to do the upgrade. You'll need ID (as they use that to issue an AP) and the funds to pay the difference in cost between the ticket you have and the AP.
Many people recommend using the ticket once (putting it through a turnstile) before doing the upgrade, especially if there's any price difference between what you paid for it and what the Disney price is -- i.e., you purchased it through a ticket broker at a discount, or you got it through a Disney promotion that gave you free days on your ticket.
We did that back in September. We knew we were going to upgrade to APs, so I included 10 day non-expiring tickets with our MYW package. That way, the difference to upgrade to the AP was not much (I think about $40 for the 3 of us) and I was able to pay for it with my package, rather than $600 on the spot for us all to upgrade.