PassPorter Podcast: Episode 3: Solo and So-Lovin' It! with Don Willis - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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PassPorter Podcast: Episode 3: Solo and So-Lovin' It! with Don Willis
PassPorter Moms Podcast: Disney & Beyond Episode 3: Solo and So-Lovin' It! - (02-09-2010 02:00 PM)
Podcast Description: Disney news, plus an interview with Cheryl Pendry to find out more about her, how she travels, and her tips for planning longer stays. The show concludes with our answers to recently-asked questions about Disney and travel.
Special Guest: Don Willis - Don is a PassPorter Message Board Guide and frequent solo traveler to Walt Disney World as well as the Disney Cruise Line. Don enjoys meeting fellow PassPorters while traveling and is a veteran of the December PassPorter Gatherings.
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.
Many thanks to Don Willis (duck addict) for being our guest this week. And my apologies for mispronouncing your last name, Don -- I know it's Willis, not Wills, but it just came out wrong.
Also, a couple of things you may want to listen for -- Captain Jack Skatt makes an appearance with a tip for this week's treasure hunt (appearing in tomorrow's newsletter), and there is a new discount code at the very end of the podcast!
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.
Many thanks to Don Willis (duck addict) for being our guest this week. And my apologies for mispronouncing your last name, Don -- I know it's Willis, not Wills, but it just came out wrong.
Also, a couple of things you may want to listen for -- Captain Jack Skatt makes an appearance with a tip for this week's treasure hunt (appearing in tomorrow's newsletter), and there is a new discount code at the very end of the podcast!
1. Thanks for the opportunity to join you.
2. No problem with the pronunciation (you probably were thinking of Deb Wills when you did it -- and that would be a compliment )
You've hit a home run for the third week in a row! Don did an excellent job providing strategies for Disney solo travel. I would recommend one additional tip. I always enjoy offering to take pictures for other people and families as I wander the parks. It's a great way to make connections with others and they usually reciprocate so I have pictures of myself on a solo trip.
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.
You've hit a home run for the third week in a row! Don did an excellent job providing strategies for Disney solo travel. I would recommend one additional tip. I always enjoy offering to take pictures for other people and families as I wander the parks. It's a great way to make connections with others and they usually reciprocate so I have pictures of myself on a solo trip.
That's a great tip Douglas! I always offer to take photos for people, even when I'm traveling with my family. It makes me sad when people are so surprised I'd offer!