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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Are the items in the parks the same price as getting them online from the megastore? Such as the passports for Epcot are they really $20 in the parks? and the Mickey Mouse ears $20. I am wondering if I should get them when we get down there or if they are the same price buy them now and suprise my girls.
I think buying online at the Megastore is MUCH more expensive. I don't know about the items you mentioned but I can tell you for sure that the Epcot video they're selling for $39.99 sells for $19.95 in the parks....if that gives you any indication.
When I went in May the passports were $10 each and the Mickey ears were I'm thinking $8 or so and you can get them monogrammed for free. Plus if you get it in the parks it seems to hold much more magic within it...it's much more special. When you look at that item do you wanna think, "I purchased that online"...or do you want to have the memories that go along with purchasing the items in the park? I look at my family's Mickey ears and I think about the candy store we bought cotton candy for the kiddos from that was right next door and the storm that took place that day, which is a big story all in itself. But basically I'm saying there's much more to it that just having the item...it's the memories that are behind the item as well. Just my opinion though.
Do NOT buy from Mainstreetmegastore.com!!! When I first found that store I was SO excited... they had tons of great stuff that I was really looking forward to ordering for the holidays, and then to have for our upcoming trip. However, once I looked at the prices I knew something couldn't be right. The store adds almost double the original amount of each item for convenience charges, in order to make a profit. While it may be hard to resist buying all the cute Disney World stuff right from at home, just know that the inflation on that site is CRAZY!
If there's something you absolutely HAVE to have now, though, I would go to mouseshoppe.com - the prices are more reasonable there. For the holidays I got two keychains ($5 each), the Magic Kingdom interactive DVD ($30), the Wishes Soundtrack ($18 I think) and a bunch of Disney charms for my bracelet (I think $5 each). The prices are still higher, but not as high as at Mainstreetmegastore.com.
I would wait until you get to the parks also because I agree with Nicole, bringing that stuff back home is so much more fun wheny ou actually bought it there
Most anything they sell in the parks at WDW can be purchased directly from WDW Merchandising at (407) 363-6200. The costs are the same as in the park, but their shipping times definitely leave a lot to be desired. mouseshoppe.com primarily offers disneyland merchandise, but their prices are definitely the best amongst the shopping services.
also, i guess this is mostly for the benefit of melissa (and anyone else in nyc, but i'm sure you all know already), the world of disney store on 5th ave @ 56th? sells a lot of wdw merchandise.
I have also bought stuff from laughingplace.com. I think the prices were a little higher. I bought monogramed badges as a surprise for our girls when we go so they can start wearing them the first day without stopping a waiting for them to get monogramed. The shipping took a long time, but it was worth it to get them before we went for me. I have bought a lot of disney stuff on ebay as well and have had great luck and got stuff a lot cheaper as well as some stuff more expensive. Disney direct is good too, but the shipping and handling is sometimes more than the item. Good luck shopping.
I would buy it directly from Disney if that's what you are going to do. They just charge you A LOT for shipping (something over $10 I think), so buy a few things to make it worth it.