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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So I am an avid WDW traveler and its about time to start my packing for our October trip I find myself currently just looking at the suitcases and not quite knowing where to begin, it's a couple weeks away so can't pack the everyday essentials but this got me thinking... How do you start your packing routine? What are your Disney absolute necessities that can't be left at home? How do you ensure you don't leave a thing behind ? I would love to hear other packing tips from my fellow passporters you all always have such great ides
Pack for Weeks in a Carry-on - YouTube
This guy is packing for a 2 week European trip,but the principle is the same. I really like his ideas. it's crazy to see ho much stuff he gets into that little suitcase.
The other option that Coop and I use is rolling all your clothes. It seems to take up less space.
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"Life can be as easy as a fall,it's all so easy once you just let go."
I'm stocking an Owner's Locker & I am setting up a travel/packing center in my spare bedroom & have taken the time & spent the money to assemble duplicates of things I use both at home & when I travel so I have things (such as a set of chargers) that live with my travel stuff when they're not traveling with me. I've also assembled duplicates of a lot of the non clothing items in to kits that are always ready to toss in to a suitcase & have a personal bag that's always about 98% packed & ready to go. However, if you can't or don't want to do that (it doesn't make sense unless you're traveling regularly) I would start with storage bin/tote set in an out of the way location (corner of your closet, spare bedroom etc.) & just start putting the stuff in there that you can be they thing you already have that you always bring with you things that you pick up for the trip. And definitely start a packing list, a list of things to do for the trip (place mail hold, place a grocery order etc.) & a list of things you need/want to buy for the trip.
We have a master packing list (modeled after the Passporter) and we slowly keep adding things to the suitcase. I always start with the stuff we don't use day to day (for example medicines, vinlymations, pins, etc) and make sure to update the sheet with their location and the fact that they are packed. I love to start as early as possible (usually 2 week before hand).
Our philosophy on packing is to take half as many THINGS and twice as much MONEY.
Oh, yeah.
The first thing I pack, about two weeks before our trips, is my PassPorter with our reservation confirmations, etc. inside. I put it in the glove compartment of our car, since we drive (except last year, when someone helpfully stashed it waaay in the back of the trunk. Panic.). Then I locate bathing suits, towels, sandals and other warm weather gear that we aren't using now and pack it into a tote, which goes straight into the trunk. Then I start putting aside clean clothes that I know we will need but can live without right then, a stack for each of us in a plastic bag (see-through is best if you can find them). I give everyone a grocery-size Disney tote to put their must-have personal items in, like iPod, books, drawing materials, etc. I fill one tote with overnight hotel items, like pajamas and a change of clothes, so we just have to grab that and the toiletries pouch when we stop for the night. This is my head-start.
Actual final packing takes place the day before, or even two days before we leave, to give me time to run to to store to pick up anything we are low on (OTC drugs, first aid supplies, soda, etc.). We also make sure we get our Rxs refilled several days before the trip; this way, there is time if the pharmacy needs to call the doc or the insurance company to get an override if we are filling them "too soon."
I also use the PassPorter packing list to run through and check off as we take things to the car, and so far it has worked to keep us from forgetting anything major. But do check your purse/pocket for wallet/keys/insurance card, etc. before you actually drive off. It's amazing how easy it is to set your wallet down on the bed and drive away (ask my husband how I know... )
Yeesh, i'm a packing nutjob. I start packing at least a good month out. I start with my specialty travel items like mini-backpack/daypacks, waist bags, lanyards, and the like. Then i pack up toiletries (i have travel sized duplicates of everything). Then i pack swim wear. Then i slowly start filtering out clothes from the clean laundry that i want to take and can live without for a few weeks. The last thing i pack up are my electronics with power cords and my passporter. I need to be using them right up to when we leave and they need to be easily accessible after we do.
And i always ALWAYS make a list!! The list alone covers the first week of packing. My husband doesn't understand why i do it this way. If he had his way, he'd be throwing things into suitcases the night before. But with me its an evolving process that i greatly enjoy and keeps me occupied and not flipping out for the last few weeks before a trip.
I pack up into my checked bag and carryon bag and then take half out. Seriously.
I just did that for my trip last week and it worked.
I hand washed a few things in the sink so I wouldn't have to take time to do laundry since I was going to be extra busy and it worked well.
I always have a small storage box that has the shorts I like to wear at disney in it as well as body glide and a complete 3-1-1 bag of my liquids. I also have a spare brush and comb in that box, my various Mickey ears, my little trading pin bag, and a lanyard or two. I also have a small bag with all of my first aide stuff in it and a small bottle of advil that lives in that box.
I've also added a can of Thrix hairspray that has sunscreen in it that I get from my hairdresser. I only use it on disney trips since it's expensive. I think that was the name.
I tend to roll my clothes. I put bras and underwear into ziploc bags and squish all the air out to pack those. I wear my tennis shoes on the plane and pack 2 sandals and a pair of flip flops if I'm planning on pool time.
That's all I can think of right now. After every vacation, I refill everything within a week or 2 of getting back and it saves me time getting ready for the next vacation.
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I find myself currently just looking at the suitcases and not quite knowing where to begin, it's a couple weeks away so can't pack the everyday essentials but this got me thinking... How do you start your packing routine? What are your Disney absolute necessities that can't be left at home? How do you ensure you don't leave a thing behind ? I would love to hear other packing tips from my fellow passporters you all always have such great ides 
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