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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are traveling to Canada in early August (Montreal and Toronto area). It's been a while since I've been anywhere outside the US (although I love Epcot's World Showcase, that doesn't count, does it? LOL)
Anyway, wondering about changing money there or bringing travelers checks. Someone had told my MIL that people don't use travelers checks much anymore or that they're not accepted as universally as they once were.
I have to admit we've not used travellers' cheques for about seven or eight years now. We found that everywhere in Disney accepted them, but outside of Disney, we did run into problems. I'd get some cash and put the rest on a card. Over here, we can load money on to a card, which is a travel money card - mine currently has $40 (American) on it. I then use it at ATMs to get any further money out, should we need it. I don't know if you have the same thing over there?
When we travel to other countries, we have found the best exchange rate is to withdraw at an ATM in that country or to use a credit card that has no foreign transaction fees. Just be sure that you notify your bank and cc companies that you are traveling. They will probably make a notation of exactly which countries and what dates. I don't believe people use traveler's checks much any more.
Thank you both for your advice and information! Honestly, I hadn't thought much about this at all - thank goodness my MIL is on the ball!
Thanks again!
Most people no longer use traveler's cheque's and many places no longer accept them, though some still do.
Your best options are probably:
- get cash from a local bank ATM (actually go into a real bank branch and use their ATM, as opposed to using so-called "white label" ATMs that you will find in all kinds of places that are NOT banks, including your hotel) (so you don't have any surprises, find out in advance from your bank the following: (1) what fee they charge for you using an ATM in Canada to do a withdrawl; (2) what your daily and weekly cash withdrawl limits are in Canada) (also, the bank you are making the withdrawl from may also have a transaction fee for using their ATM since it is not your bank; if they do they will tell you what it is during the transaction or by signs) (also, find out from your bank what ATM network your debit card with work with in Canada and what major Canadian banks are part of that network; e.g. PLUS is one system)
(if the reverse was the case, here is an example of the info that the Royal Bank of Canada provides for its customers who are traveling outside Canada, which also has useful info for foreigners traveling in Canada: Interac and Plus ATM Networks - RBC Royal Bank Accounts & Services )
- you can use a foreign credit card in Canada (Mastercard and Visa are most widely accepted); your bank will usually charge you a foreign exchange fee on top of the currency exchange; ask your bank what the exchange fee is; a typical exchange fee might be 1 to 3% but it can be higher. It is usually a good idea to inform your bank before the trip when and where you willl be traveling so that you don't get declined charges (I have found sometimes the first charge gets declines anyway -- a quick call to my credit card company usually resolves that and then the charge can be processed through again and it works).
- sometimes you can take foreign cash (e.g. US $) into a Canadian bank and exchange it for Canadian cash, even if you are not a customer of that bank
- another option is to use US cash to pay for things, but the exchange rate you will get is usually pretty bad compared to the actual exchange rate, so I suggest only doing this if you have no other option
The cashier at my job took a travelers check from someone the other day(why I have no idea we do not take any checks) anyway, the manager took it to the bank with the deposit money and they bank would not take it. The other manager called and talked to the supervisor who then said to bring it back. The young teller had never seen one and thought it was fake. LOL
I agree with what's been said, travelers checks are a thing of the past. We usually just get a bit of cash ($50 to $100) in local currency and then use our regular credit cards as we go. MasterCard and Visa are accepted virtually anywhere.
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The other manager called and talked to the supervisor who then said to bring it back. The young teller had never seen one and thought it was fake. LOL
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