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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 leaving for CBR on Dec 2 and since I have never stayed on Disney property before I was wondering if it would be worth it to bring my laptop. Does anyone know if there is internet connections for a laptop or is there a place at the resort with computers so you can access the internet. If I really don't need to bring it, it would be one less thing to pack. Thanks for your help.
They have cables in each of the rooms, if you wish to connect to the internet through their connection (I believe the charge is $9.95 for 24 continuous hours). You can also connect through the telephone if you wish to use an alternate provider. We rarely connect to the internet, while at WDW so I'm not sure on all of the specifics.
I like to have a laptop handy to upload our photos every day (or every other day). This saves in the sorting of the photos, as I create folders for each day/park as I upload. It also eases my mind, that if something were to happen to my camera or memory sticks, then I won't lose everything from the entire trip.
Every time we've gone to WDW we've taken the laptop, and used the phone to dialup to a ISP back home. We have DSL but keep a dialup for several reasons. We just use our calling card at 2.9 cents a minute to call them; it's turned out to be a lot less than the $9.95 per 24 hour period DIsney wants to charge; although the thought of sitting by Stormalong Bay all day and checking (and sending snotty) email to friends stuck in the gray and cold back home is awfully tempting!
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Leave it at home!!! Enjoy your time away at WDW. I find that even when I think I may have time to use it, I don't, so why worry about carrying it around?
We always take our laptop, mainly to download the thousands of photos we take but also to occasionally log on and keep in touch with friends and family. If you plan on taking a lot of photos, it could be very useful to have it with you.
If you have a digital camera and plan to take a lot of pictures, I'd take the laptop along. It's a good way to make sure your photos get saved and you don't have to worry so much about misplacing the memory card or reformatting it by accident. We have used my husband's laptop for this on numerous vacations even if we don't use it for anything else (which, since he's addicted to it and his Blackberry, would be a miracle! ).
tee hee hee...I also take my laptop, just to load my photos into so that they are safely stored and allow me to not worry about losing any valuable pics in case in the excitement I delet or reformat (or run out of memory)...next trip 3 of us are taking digital cameras so we can all load those pics and then print later (not to mention on the last trip, I loaded every night by dates so that I could keep them al straight and not forget which were taken when and where...it sure helped later when I was printing and also creating story dvd's ( we evne watched them occsioanlly while on the trip as a slide show AND it allowed me to easily see each pic to delete those multiples or those less than perfect!
We also take our laptop but only to download our pictures at the end of the day so if something was to happen we wouldn't lose everything and also to sort so when I finally start the scrapbook there is some order of sorts, lol.
I always bring my laptop for the above-mentioned reasons of downloading pictures to it from my camera. But I also use the internet service ($9.95 / per 24 hour period). I set it up the moment I get into the room, and renew the service every day I'm there. Spending $60 for internet service might sound stupid, lol, but I upload my pictures directly to my online photo albums and send them out daily. I also like to check email and stay in touch with friends and family.
I'm in my room for at least 6 non-sleeping hours a day (we don't do the park-commando thing because it just doesn't work with our temperments, lol) so it makes sense for us. I think if I were rarely in the room, or didn't use a digital camera to take a thousand pictures, I probably wouldn't bother.
I always bring my laptop for downloading pictures but also for work. I need to check email at least once a day and usually late in the evening, I do that and get some work in. This time I'm going to ask work to pay the $9.95/day connection fee - I think they'll go for it.
Glad you asked that question because I was wondering if I should take mine in June. I think it is a resounding yes, especially since I plan to take tons of photos. We'll have a minimum of 4 cameras with us on that trip, so it'll be easier to upload them daily.
I plan on taking mine when I go next month. I'll upload my pictures to it daily and I'll pay for internet access at least a couple of times to check email, various websites including Tour Guide Mike, etc. I was planning on bringing my laptop with me when I was just going to DW December 7-17 but now that I'm going from DW to Austin Texas to visit my folks for my birthday (December 20th) and Christmas and wont be home until the 28th it's definitely coming with me. Which reminds me I want to find a better bag to carry it and it's accessories in.
I think you should free yourself from the constraints of the web-world and enjoy your vacation. Leave it at home, it's one less thing to carry. Relax, enjoy your time in WDW and be a kid again.
When I go in Jan, I'll have a laptop with me, only because I plan on buying on while in Florida. So much cheaper than our Canadian prices, & less tax too! We are taxed 11% in BC.
I'm guessing you can't connect wireless if they are charging $9.95?
Sue
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but also to occasionally log on and keep in touch with friends and family. If you plan on taking a lot of photos, it could be very useful to have it with you. 
We have used my husband's laptop for this on numerous vacations even if we don't use it for anything else (which, since he's addicted to it and his Blackberry, would be a miracle!
).
tee hee hee...I also take my laptop, just to load my photos into so that they are safely stored and allow me to not worry about losing any valuable pics in case in the excitement I delet or reformat (or run out of memory)...next trip 3 of us are taking digital cameras so we can all load those pics and then print later (not to mention on the last trip, I loaded every night by dates so that I could keep them al straight and not forget which were taken when and where...it sure helped later when I was printing and also creating story dvd's ( we evne watched them occsioanlly while on the trip as a slide show AND it allowed me to easily see each pic to delete those multiples or those less than perfect!
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