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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Would someone please enlighten me on what these pins are that are made in Spain? I ordered some on e-bay but decided not to pay for them, because I did not think they were tradable. But the last time I was in Disney--no body seemed to look at the back--or since this was my first time buying maybe I didn't notice. So people--fill me in and give me an earful!
well, eBay is a legally binding contractual agreement for one. if you agree to buy something, you agree to pay for it. you'd be pretty upset if you bought something only to have the seller refuse to sell it.
unless you managed to have a bid rescinded, but there's a whole process for that and it's generally not a favorable thing to do.
in anycase, sedesma pins are licensed pins manufactured in spain. they're completely legal and by official pin trading rules, they are able to be traded. that said, avid pin collectors don't like them because they feel sedesmas are inferior in quality and they don't want to trade an $8 pin for a $2 one. through the transitive property, some CMs who know about pin trading are more reluctant to accept them and have been known to refuse them, but they're still legitimate.
well, eBay is a legally binding contractual agreement for one. if you agree to buy something, you agree to pay for it. you'd be pretty upset if you bought something only to have the seller refuse to sell it.
unless you managed to have a bid rescinded, but there's a whole process for that and it's generally not a favorable thing to do.
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Offsite May 2005, POR September 2006, POR August 2007, POFQ December 2008, POR February 2010,
Pop Century April 2011,
I've had CMs decline to trade them. When we first started, I ordered pins from eBay that didn't mention they were Sedesma and were "guaranteed" tradeable, but when I learned more about it, I wrote the seller with my concerns and returned the pins. He was nice enough not to argue about it, but I won't do the Sedesma pins anymore. If DDs happen to see one on a lanyard and love it, I don't mind if they trade for it, but they know it's a forever keeper.
As an avid trader I deplore Sedsemas, Europins, and all cheap knock-offs The worst is when my 4 yr old DD gets one off of a kids lanyard and then an hour later wants to trade it and the CM refuses. She cries. Daddy gets mad. Mommy makes nice, trades a different pin, then trades that pin (hopefully) later with a CM who doesn't care for ANYTHING (usually a cutie). Then I'm stuck with a cutie that I will have a hard time trading because there is that same one on every CM's lanyard. This happens every trip. We now refuse to let her trade for those pins anymore. Then she's just mad at us.
The pins themselves are smaller, poorly made, and tend to break easily. More and more CM's are not willing to trade for them, even from 4 yr olds.
**PIN TRADING TIP** You can purchase cheaper pins ($1.99 - regular price) direct from Disney at the Park Outlets. They are located at:
Prime Outlet - Orlando
Premier Outlet - Orlando
St Augustine Prime Outlet - St Augustine (Mickey Pin Trading Nights, Friday 6-8!)
Sawgrass Mills - Miami
There are also reputable dealers off of ebay. Those generally state the pin is NOC (new on card).
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All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them - Walt Disney
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The only way to know for sure is to purchase your pins directly from Disney. If you want to purchase from ebay, I would only purchase from people that sell NOC (new on card) pins or from reputable sellers. My top three are:
don-san
dizneylady
roxytink
All three have really good ratings and I've gotten top notch pins from them. If you choose to buy from someone different, check out their rating. If there's a lot of complaints about poor quality pins then definetly don't use them. Good luck!!
BTW - sedsema pins will say sedsema on the back
Andrea
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All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them - Walt Disney
gsleader19, I am just starting out with pin trading and I have bought a few on ebay. I appreciate reading all of the information and will seek out the sellers on ebay that you recommend.
Thanks for sharing,
Cyndi
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), so I don't have any firsthand experience. 
to the boards, Juicyfruits! 
The worst is when my 4 yr old DD gets one off of a kids lanyard and then an hour later wants to trade it and the CM refuses. She cries. Daddy gets mad. Mommy makes nice, trades a different pin, then trades that pin (hopefully) later with a CM who doesn't care for ANYTHING (usually a cutie). Then I'm stuck with a cutie that I will have a hard time trading because there is that same one on every CM's lanyard. This happens every trip. We now refuse to let her trade for those pins anymore. Then she's just mad at us.
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