The Continuing Story of the Adventures of a CM! - Page 135 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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well, certainly changing to HRA or HSA programs do save the employer lots of money----- not always s o great for people with low incomes... but that's an entirely different soap box
Here here, on that point! There was a man at Sam's work. Young and single. Got a HSA type of insurance. Some drunk man at a COMPANY SPONSORED event, beat him up (he wasn't drunk, just the other guy), he lost the sight in his eye. There was a surgery that would have saved his sight. The HSA said "No we won't pay THAT doctor (although he was the only one in the state who was able to do this very special type of surgery). Because of his crappy insurance he now lives on state disability and is blind in one eye. What a waste of his life. If he had the insurance we have (albeit $9000 a year for a family plan), his eye would have been fixed and he would be working today.
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Yvonne:
My Gorgeous Daughter the Graduate----------------->
I guess I am confused about what you all are experiencing. We were able to overlay the HRA on our existing insurance choices. It is actually saving employees money as the $1200 deductible is funded in the HRA account. What it means is they have the same insurance package we have always had and the first $1200/$2400 for a family is funded in the account. It does put the employee in the position of choosing how to manage that fund but they are not faced with the choices you all have experienced.
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Anne
March 2009 POFQ Mother/Daughter Trip
June 2009 plan under construction
Somehow by the 3rd year, my mother had no money left in hers. The first year they started her out with the initial money (the company did) and she used it up. The 2nd year, she had been contributing the 1st year and then used it up. By the 3rd year she was out of money and is cash paying for that first bit. When you don't have the money to pay out of pocket you just don't go to the doctors and then you run into trouble.
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Yvonne:
My Gorgeous Daughter the Graduate----------------->
with the HRA it would depend on what the employer funds the account with and what the deductible is.. if its funded with 800 for a family and the deductible is 5000- not so great....
Somehow by the 3rd year, my mother had no money left in hers. The first year they started her out with the initial money (the company did) and she used it up. The 2nd year, she had been contributing the 1st year and then used it up. By the 3rd year she was out of money and is cash paying for that first bit. When you don't have the money to pay out of pocket you just don't go to the doctors and then you run into trouble.
HRA's and HSA's are good plans for people, healthy people in their 20's to start so that by the time they need the $$$, as they get older, they will have it... very bad plans for middle age people who need ( generally ) more care- and very bad plans for people who are NOT in the highly compensated ranks of a company
Off the soapbox and again, Dawn, sorry for the highjack- I'll stop
Right, my mom is in her 60's and has had breast cancer and has lympodema, mental disease and is diabetic now due to anti-cancer drugs. Not so healthy and not such a great plan for her.
That's actually why we chose a regular plan. Sam is in his 50's and I have assorted ailments. We wanted to make sure we had coverage. Then they went and totally changed our coverage and kept the same high price and we are really struggling to pay the medical bills.
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Yvonne:
My Gorgeous Daughter the Graduate----------------->
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Really, I don't mind! Health insurance is near and dear to my heart coming from self-employment and being unable to purchase insurance for DDs or myself at ANY price ("pre-existing conditions" ) I will be grateful for whatever I can get as PT and am looking forward to when I can go FT and get the "real" stuff!
BTW, today was the busiest I have ever seen our shop. We were hopping all night long and I was able to help make some magic for a few Guests. It's strange, though, thinking about how my life in retail is about to take a detour...SCARES me.
On any "journey" it's the odd "detour" that let you find the hidden secrets and life experiences that would otherwise have remained unfound and uncharted!
Anything new and "out of your comfort zone" is bound to make you feel a little apprehensive, but just look back over the last year or so, how has your "comfort zone" changed in all that time? If anyone's up to the challenge I'm certain YOU are!!!
I think the All Stars Resort is about to get a very special "Guardian Angel"!!!
By the way, who is in overall charge of the whole of Walt Disney World? And when can you apply for THEIR job???
PS I don't envy you guys having to worry about Health Insurance. I know we Brits complain like crazy about our National Health Service, but at the end of the day the service we get, in the main, is free and "top notch". I don't think we realise how lucky we are sometimes! Heck, in Wales even pharmacy prescriptions are free for everyone!
Hi Dawn--- I am a lurker out here- been following this thread since the beginning! Could you comment on how you found working at WDW for the Holidays? Are they still magical (we love to spend New Years there) even working with all the crowds, etc? I've always wondered what it is like for the CM's. And Congrats on your new position!!
Right, my mom is in her 60's and has had breast cancer and has lympodema, mental disease and is diabetic now due to anti-cancer drugs. Not so healthy and not such a great plan for her.
That's actually why we chose a regular plan. Sam is in his 50's and I have assorted ailments. We wanted to make sure we had coverage. Then they went and totally changed our coverage and kept the same high price and we are really struggling to pay the medical bills.
Ok, Dawn, as long as you dont mind
Exactly Yvonne! And that is my point! It would be fine for Kassie to start o ne now because by the time shes 50 she'd have a chunk of chnage in there. And I wish companies would offer the choice of a traditional plan.. but mine does not. You and Sam made the best choice
BTW, today was the busiest I have ever seen our shop. We were hopping all night long and I was able to help make some magic for a few Guests. It's strange, though, thinking about how my life in retail is about to take a detour...SCARES me.
Honestly, I think this new position is much better suited for you. You'll be able to do what you do best- problem solve. And it involves a bigger guest investment.
BTW.... When do you get your Steamboat Willie? (When is your 1 year anniversary where you get your pin?)
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Been to WDW a million times... was even a Cast Member! Next Trip: March '12
Still thinking of going to the F&W Festival again....
Could you comment on how you found working at WDW for the Holidays? Are they still magical (we love to spend New Years there) even working with all the crowds, etc? I've always wondered what it is like for the CM's.
I've worked a year of holidays now as well as our heavy Brazilian season in the Summer and I have to tell you, I LOVED it! Yesterday was VERY busy in the shop, but the energy from the Guests was amazing. I got the feeling that most Guests are very thankful for the Cast Members and they let us know. That helps keep everyone going.
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BTW.... When do you get your Steamboat Willie? (When is your 1 year anniversary where you get your pin?)
Welllll, this is something I'm a bit bummed about. Apparently, none of the time on a "student program" counts towards time with the company, so my first official year won't start counting until 1/10/10, even though I started my CP on 19/09.
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By the way, who is in overall charge of the whole of Walt Disney World? And when can you apply for THEIR job???
That would be Meg Crofton and I'm not sure I WANT her job! I'd be happy as an area manager or general manager, I think.
Hehe Dawn I wish somebody else wanted Meg's job! hahaha but I'll save my griping about bad management for another thread. Congrats on your new job. I just tried to get caught up on about 50 pages!
This week is the last week for several of our CPs. One brought her mom to meet me and her mom thanked me for watching over her. I flashed back to when my oldest was on HER CP and I told her manager the same thing. That was the moment this dream was born; I wanted to have that kind of impact on a young person, and there it was last night. Dream fulfilled.
It's harder than I thought, watching the CPs go. They are still so young and have so much to learn and explore, but have learned so much (for the most part ) while they were here. Some of them come in and linger, wanting photos and for us to write in their little books. My new role doesn't have any CPs and I think I'll miss that the most.
Welllll, this is something I'm a bit bummed about. Apparently, none of the time on a "student program" counts towards time with the company, so my first official year won't start counting until 1/10/10, even though I started my CP on 19/09.
They won't count your management internship either? That is just totally unfair in my book but rules are rules. Well, we will count it. I agree with the other poster that this is the perfect position for you. You are all about creating magic for the guests and that is true Guest Service. This position allows you to do what you do best and it is definitely where you belong. I for one can not wait to read all about it. You are the meaning of the word "inspiration". So glad that you are bringing us along on your journey.
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) I will be grateful for whatever I can get as PT and am looking forward to when I can go FT and get the "real" stuff!
That would be Meg Crofton and I'm not sure I WANT her job! 
I'd be happy as an area manager or general manager, I think. 
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