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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I do almost all of the other mentioned items--Disney Visa, 3 trips on our AP, and putting any extra surprise cash I get in a separate savings account.
BUT the main way I raise vacation funds is selling stuff on Ebay. I am an avid thrift store shopper (rarely buy anything new clothes wise), and I find stuff at garage sales and thrift stores and turn the items for a profit. I work FT, so I don't do it all the time, only when it's vacation savings time! When I started doing it about 10 years ago, I just went through my house as I got closer to vacation and found clothes, electronics, whatever that I no longer used. Anything that I make from Ebay goes into my vacation account. Sometimes I sell souvenirs from other trips that I look at and think, "why on Earth did I buy that?" LOL!
I just booked a "budget" trip for April and here's how I managed it for very little money OOP:
1. I booked OKW -lower points than the other resorts.
2. Last year I got the Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa. I got 50,000 points to start (once I charged the minimum amount in the set time frame). This was easy to do as I use this Visa as my debit card. I charge groceries, gas,....pretty much anything I would have used my debit card (or cash) for. I debit the amount from my check book right away and I pay the bill in full at the end of the month. I had over 90,000 points and I used around 30,000 for two round trip flights. Check different arrival and departure dates and times to get the most from your points. Also check other airports if that's feasible -the fewer point you use, the more you have for another trip.
3. I'm buying the DVC discounted 4 day tickets for $199 (a savings of about $100 per ticket). If buying regular tickets, I don't buy the hopper. WDW is just as fun one park a day as it is hopping all over the place, and it's cheaper.
4. Many on-property restaurants give a discount on meals to DVC members -usually around 10%. Allears.net has this information included on their menus. I'll use that discount when available (one of my favorites is Sanaa!) Don't be afraid to share meals or order an app instead of a full meal if that's what you want.
5. I'll bring Brita water bottles (make the Florida water taste good) so I won't have to buy bottled water. I'll also pack breakfast items and coffee to make in the room. Probably some snacks too, maybe some wine.
6. We're not big souvenir people so we don't usually spend a lot on those, but if you do, ask if there is a discount available (DVC, Disney Visa, AP are all common discounts)
7. I never rent a car. Disney transportation has always served me well, and it's free.
Here's a long term plan money saver - raise your kids to be such huge Disney fans that they want to work for the Mouse! Our DD 23 works for DCL and in the first year of her employment we took one trip to WDW, one to Disneyland, and are heading on a cruise on the Magic and a stay at AK Kidani in two weeks. We saved airline points from business trips for one flight, traded our non DVC timeshare points into DVC, got a deal on car rental through Costco, set aside money monthly into a separate savings account. We will eat breakfast in our suite, and take advantage of her cm discount for a couple of table service meals. The perk of park admissions is just too good not to take advantage of! Oh, and on one business trip I voluntarily bumped, so I got a voucher that paid another airfare. It's been an amazing year for her, and us!
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Enjoying some very Disney years since 2014 thanks to dd, cast member with great perks!
70's day trip to MK only! 2005 ASM, 2007 POFQ/AKL, 2009 off site, 2010 POFQ, 2013 AoA Lion King, 2014 WL/CBR, Disneyland Hotel, DCL Magic; 2015 DCL Magic Norway, DCL Dream, AKL Villas, 2016 Boardwalk Villas, DLParis, POP; 2017 Aof A Cars, POR
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Here's another budget friendly tip for DVC members -share and barter.
I use my DVC points to book accommodations for myself and family or friends who are traveling with me. In exchange, my traveling companions pick up the bill for other trip costs. Once, my DSis and DBiL paid for MVMCP tix and our CP dining package in exchange for the 3 nights at the resort. A friend and her son came along once and took care of the food costs. For my big California trip this summer, I'm paying for 4 nights in a 2 BR at the Grand Cali while DSis and DBiL are taking care of the car rental costs for our 2 week trip. It's a win-win for us all.
Here's another budget friendly tip for DVC members -share and barter.
I use my DVC points to book accommodations for myself and family or friends who are traveling with me. In exchange, my traveling companions pick up the bill for other trip costs. Once, my DSis and DBiL paid for MVMCP tix and our CP dining package in exchange for the 3 nights at the resort. A friend and her son came along once and took care of the food costs. For my big California trip this summer, I'm paying for 4 nights in a 2 BR at the Grand Cali while DSis and DBiL are taking care of the car rental costs for our 2 week trip. It's a win-win for us all.
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.
We also have a fairly new sams mastercard / get 5% on all gas purchases, pays for most of our airfare.
Disney Visa for everything else. If you upgrade the Disney visa you get 2 % on all grocery purchases, this pays for one of our annual passes. ( even with the annual fee it saves enough to cover AP's )
We own at dvc but sometimes we stay outside, points used up, With AP's no parking fee's. We own other timeshare and with so many in the area its always easy to get a two bedroom nearby.
We did a trip once long time ago. We drove ,( gas was cheap ) had a annual pass, Cooked every night . stayed in a time share outside. Total cost for 1 week $400.
Can't quite duplicate that anymore. But if the heart is willing , the brain will find away. ( the drive one way was 23hrs non stop )
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! DS 13 wants to be an engineer and I'm trying to sway him to Imagineer.
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