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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My brother and his family will be joining us in November with his wife and 3 kids who will be 9, 2.5 and 14 months. They would like to bring his wife's cousin who will be a recent college graduate to help with the kids. He asked me how much they should pay her in addition to paying her airfare, park ticket, meals, etc. I'm not sure! I said about $200 and make sure she has plenty of free time but this didn't sound right to him. Anyone have experience with this?? I'm not exactly sure what the expectations are and how much she would be doing but I would guess she'd be an extra pair of hands and maybe watch the kids so they can go to dinner a time or two??
I went in this capacity in the early 90's, I was only supposed to have my trip paid for but one of the kids got sick so I was with her in the hotel for a good part of the trip. They did end up paying me when we got home but I don't remember how much...
I've had several friends who have done this recently, and they were all only compensated the cost of airfare, tickets, room, and food. They had some free time, but primarily hung out with the kids - having them solo only a couple times (for dinners). I would say that if something happened (like a kid being sick in the room half the week and they had to stay behind to watch them) than you could pay them for that - because that would be just like staying home babysitting. Or, if you wanted to be more generous, you could pay them an hourly rate for the time they have the kids solo (like at home) - but the cost of flying them down, providing meals, and everything else is really expensive as it is. The babysitter (at least the ones I know) is just as excited about going to Disney as the kids are...and having that opportunity is payment enough.
I agree, Heck, I would "babysit" the kids at Disney, for free (if everything was included I think getting the room, airfare, tickets and food would be sufficient enough.
But really if they need another person to babysit, I'm sure plenty of people would go just for that pleasure of being at disney
My friend brings a nanny with her. She pays all of the nanny's expenses and a weeks salary for the week. She does not get a ton of free time. The Nanny is on the clock just as if they were home.
I have never done this but I would not think that just paying for the trip would be enough since she is working, and it is not really a vacation for her. I know she will be going on rides and such but if I were in that situation I do not think that I would feel like I was able to enjoy it as if I were on my own vacation, the first priority is helping with the kids. I would say that figure out how much she would have made if she were watching the kids at home and pay her that amount.
Thank you all for the great responses! I will pass on the info!
I agree that just being there is payment enough--but if you are a good sitter and are an invaluable help, it's nice to be appreciated with a little extra $$...
Babysitting has become much more lucrative since I was doing it! But then, I'm sure I didn't pay 3.57/gallon for gas either...
I have to agree with those advocating payment. If the "sitter" is being brought along expressly to act as a babysitter and will have nanny responsibilities then she is working, not on a "free vacation." Her time is not her own to enjoy a vacation as she wishes. I worked as a nanny/housekeeper one summer when I was in college and I remember I was essentially on the clock 24/7 except for the occasional evening off. Caring for other people's children is definitely a job, even if you're caring for them while surrounded by Disney magic.
I have to agree with those advocating payment. If the "sitter" is being brought along expressly to act as a babysitter and will have nanny responsibilities then she is working, not on a "free vacation." Her time is not her own to enjoy a vacation as she wishes. I worked as a nanny/housekeeper one summer when I was in college and I remember I was essentially on the clock 24/7 except for the occasional evening off. Caring for other people's children is definitely a job, even if you're caring for them while surrounded by Disney magic.
I agree completely. Since it's family, I don't think it's inappropriate to throw her a couple hundered for helping them out. If it were a regular nanny, I would expect to pay a standard salary, but I don't think this situation sounds like the cousin is regular help with the kids. Her travleing expenses are not compensation for the childcare she's providing. They are part of the "cost" of having private childcare available to the parents.
FWIW, a few years back, we traveled with a family that brought a nanny for their 2 girls. On a few nights she took all the kids (we have one kid, so she was watching 3 kids) to the pool, or to the arcade, or wherever for a few hours just to give the parents some peace and relaxation. Even though she wasn't "our" nanny, and was being paid by the other family, we gave her $100 for offering to take our DS with her while she had the other girls. It was nice to have the break, and it would have been awkward to not compensate her.
There can be a lot of variables here. If she's with you all day in the parks, will she stay with the kids and not ride at all, or will you use Rider Swap on a regular basis? Will she be going back to the resort with the kids for naps, while everyone remains in the park? Will the "grownups" be going out to nice dinners, leaving the kids and cousin behind?
The more she's included in activities, the less work-like her time will seem. The more she feels like Cinderella watching her stepsisters heading to the ball... The complication is that she is family. If she's close family, it'll be hard to treat her like a hired hand. If she's just "my cousin's kid, who I barely know," then an arms-length, "you're here to work" relationship could work.
If she's just there to work and emotional ties are weak, I'd pay her like a stranger. If so, agree to the number of duty hours daily, and be sure to give her some personal time every day. Time on the clock includes travel time to and from Walt Disney World, from her front door, at a higher rate if she's wrangling the kids in transit. Be sure all her ordinary and necessary expenses are covered, including meals and snacks she'd get on her own. Food, lodging, park admission... in this sort of relationship, they're all for the employer's convenience, not a fringe benefit. (As a former broadcasting supervisor in a union shop, I'm very familiar with the rules for when a broadcast crew goes on the road to cover sports, news, etc.)
If it's the other extreme - a member of the family willing to pitch in and help with the kids (like a grandparent)... Work out what she's expected to do in advance so she has no illusions (nights babysitting while the grownups are out, whether she'll be able to use Rider Swap, etc.). Give her some free time of her own, when she can go to the parks, pool, whatever. Even then, she should get some spending money, too - perhaps a Disney Gift Card, or a reasonable spending allowance on the room key so if she goes out alone, she can get a meal and snacks, and maybe some souvenirs - perhaps $25/day. On top of that, if she's alone with the kids, be sure she can charge on her room key.
Between those two extremes, just work out what seems fair. Bear in mind that she is an adult, and while this isn't an on the books job, pay at least minimum wage, even if it's just for the time she's alone with the kids.
Finally, be sure you get her full travel insurance including emergency medical and accidental death/dismemberment - for your protection as well as hers. The more you treat her as an employee, the more you have to think like an employer.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
I have to agree with those advocating payment. If the "sitter" is being brought along expressly to act as a babysitter and will have nanny responsibilities then she is working, not on a "free vacation." Her time is not her own to enjoy a vacation as she wishes. I worked as a nanny/housekeeper one summer when I was in college and I remember I was essentially on the clock 24/7 except for the occasional evening off. Caring for other people's children is definitely a job, even if you're caring for them while surrounded by Disney magic.
Completely agree! If she were going to help out with the kids for small time periods, I might consider paying for everything is good enough. However, THEY are taking along help because THEY don't want to have to deal with 3 very, very young children on their own. What makes them think she'd want to do it without compensation??
I look at it this way: we've always had a nice home, the most extensive cable package, great sound/video systems, and comfy furniture. I also always bought/made cookies, ice cream, soda, and other junk food when we had baby sitters. I did NOT think that allowing them access to all of that was payment enough. It cost ME money to have all that, but it was my decision. It was a bribe. Come to my house to watch my kids and you can play videos, eat junk food, and hang out as long you watch them. AND - I'll pay you!! Now take that and replace all that food, movies, video games with Food, room, and Disney. Same concept. The girl needs paid.
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