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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're going to Blizzard Beach for the first time on our upcoming trip, and I'm thinking I'd like to get a waterproof camera to take with. I'm not looking for anything super-gee-wow. I just want something functional, that will take decent pictures and videos, and won't die after a couple of uses. I'm also looking to not break the bank. Something maybe around $200 (less, if I can get away with it).
I'd like to hear what you'd recommend, and also anything I should avoid. I've tried looking at Amazon, but the reviews always seem to have half saying the item is fantastic and half saying it's junk. Not very helpful!
TIA for any suggestions you can give me!
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Pat (a.k.a., PFlamingo) "We are the people our parents warned us about."
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We bought a Fuji finepix Z33 for our Disney cruise a few years ago. It works great for underwater pictures. There are some snorkeling photos in my TR. I will say that the on/off and exposure buttons are quite small . There's no eyepiece to look through so you use the screen. But I find when it's really sunny it's difficult to see what exactly you have lined up in the screen. But it is compact and has quite a few functions. It's fine for a secondary camera.
It was recommended that we buy a floating strap to put on it. They get quite a few people who drop their cameras and are unable to retrieve them.
I spent about $110 on it, so it's an even better deal now at $92 It's small and very portable, and takes great photos and videos. The only issue I thought we might have is that there is no flash, but it wasn't a problem. We used it on a visit to an indoor waterpark, and even though the lighting was low the picture and video quality was great. There aren't any big bells or whistles, but if you are looking for something small and light that will take some decent pics I think you'll like the Playsport.
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The selection of cameras of this sort keeps growing. I agree that it's often difficult to sort out reviews by individuals at Amazon and similar sites. I like to use professional reviews as a point of comparison. While each reviewer has his/her own bias, they're less likely to be "stuffing the ballot box" in one direction or the other. And when the pros and "amateurs" agree, I think you have a lot more to go on.
There are a number of good camera review sites on the web. Though Amazon owns DPreview.com, I find their reviews trustworthy - they don't push one brand over another, which is a good sign that commercial interests aren't interfering with the reviewers. CNET.com does a fair number of reviews as well. Consumer Reports, of course (though you have to subscribe to get the complete reviews). And there are certainly others.
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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 also like to head to a camera shop and play around with anything camera related before i buy and ask questions of the staff, especially if I know they're Photographers themselves. While I know they can be enticed to sell products from time to time, I just think they're more educated than any other outlet plus nothing beats reading a bit about a camera then being able to hold it, play around with it and ask questions while doing all of the above. I've read great reviews before and the item "in person" just didn't do it for me. My Dds have had 2 Olympus Stylus cameras for their waterproof option and I have the canon D10. All of which do the job just fine for the purpose they're intended. I will say from time to time we've each had the issue of the glass covering the lens fogging up. Good luck deciding
Thanks for all the ideas and advice! After reading the reviews on DPreview.com, I decided to go with the Panasonic Lumix TS20. It sounds like a pretty good camera and I got it for under $130 on Amazon. I can't wait for it arrive to try it out!
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Pat (a.k.a., PFlamingo) "We are the people our parents warned us about."
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It's small and very portable, and takes great photos and videos. The only issue I thought we might have is that there is no flash, but it wasn't a problem. We used it on a visit to an indoor waterpark, and even though the lighting was low the picture and video quality was great. There aren't any big bells or whistles, but if you are looking for something small and light that will take some decent pics I think you'll like the Playsport.
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