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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm planning on doing some treasure hunting on our next trip. And like any other guidebook I intend to take with me, I always want to check for updates or corrections before we leave. But the Treasure Hunt book page doesn't appear to have been updated in quite some time. No corrections or updates are listed, even though I know several items have disappeared with the changing of various attractions since the book was published. Also, my name hasn't been added to the Vault of Fame for successfully completing the Hidden Treasure Hunt, even though I sent in three emails ages ago.
Are there any plans to keep this page current, or should we just wait for a second edition of the book with updated information? Also, are you still going to post Treasure Hunt winners? If not, I won't bother gathering additional items on our trip for the Earn-Your-Badge treasure hunt.
One question about a question: AF-38: Should Catherine Johnson be Catherine Jobson? Because if so, I know the answer. If Johnson is correct, I will keep looking. Since the names were so close, I thought I would get some clarification on that.
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I'm interested in the answer too! I got the book for Christmas this past year and have been trying to fill in the answers I already know and can;t wait to search for the rest!
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Stephanie- Mom to Jaden and Emerson, Wife to Keith, Novelist
I'm an independent agent with Fairytale Journeys, specializing in Disney vacations!
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Christi, you're right about "Catherine Johnson" - it ought to be Jobson (just ask Simba One). Thanks for bringing that to our attention. Also, my apologies for not adding you to the Vault of Fame. I'll look into that asap.
You're also right that we haven't updated the Updates in a while. Thanks for the reminder. Of course, one of the problems is that, once something changes, we usually have to replace the question entirely. That's a bit awkward in the case of this book, since we'd have to include the corrected answer as well as the new question. It would be good for folks to know what questions are obsolete, though, to avoid wild goose chases.
We do update the book when we reprint it. It's currently in its second printing, and the third printing should be happening in the not too distant future. At that time we'll check for items that have gone away, and replace those questions with something entirely new.
I'm not sure when we'll do an all-new edition, as this one continues to sell well (and we'd have to find more than a thousand brand-new items). Most likely, we'll bring out a version for Disneyland first, so we'll have one for each coast.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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Thanks, Dave! I'll answer the question according to Catherine "Jobson", then.
Well, whenever a second edition should happen to be published, at least you know there will be plenty of us waiting to snap it up! But a Disneyland version would be very well received too, I'm sure.
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I was thinking of buying this for our upcoming trip. Is it something that is interactive to the parks or just questions that you answer? Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks
Liz
I was thinking of buying this for our upcoming trip. Is it something that is interactive to the parks or just questions that you answer? Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks
Liz
I just purchased it for our trip next month (aka: 10 days from now!). According to the "directions" that come with the book, it is designed to be interactive. There are three levels of difficulty. Level 1 is, of course, the easiest and has nothing that is INSIDE a ride. Level 2 may have items related to a ride / ride queue. Level 3 adds items from within a ride. The "directions" state that, for those who really know the parks, filling in the blanks prior to arrival, then checking them when you get there, might be a good way to go.
The basic thing I get from reading through the book is that there is NO wrong way to use it!
Even without having used it (yet!), I would recommend it. If you don't love it when you get there, you will at least have had a blast trying to figure things out before you left!
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Sharon - Kitty and me
2013 Scrapbook pages count: 631 / 350
2014 Scrapbook pages count: 60 / 250
It's intended to be interactive in the parks (and resorts, and ships). While there will be some questions that some people can answer, we intentionally looked for items that most people are likely to overlook. In other words, one of our goals is to get folks to look at the parks more closely than they usually would. Of course, folks who are serious fans of a particular attraction just might know all the answers for that attraction, but I defy anyone to know that much about each and every attraction.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
I'll admit that I bought the Treasure Hunt book in preparation for my trip last summer. However, once I got there, I was too caught up in just seeing WDW and spending that quality time with my DD that we never even took the book out of our backpack....Maybe next year when I go back I can finally use it. LOL
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Thanks Dave and Grandmasam! Looks like something great for my teenage girls who are always looking for something new at Disney and sometimes get bored while I am busy with my younger daughter visiting characters etc! I know what I'll be ordering!
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I have been debating whether to purchase this book or not but this post has sealed the deal. Thank you all for helping me to decide. I know that my sister and I will have a blast this coming September discovering new things.
I am taking my copy with me this trip also (end of August land/sea) but it is a 1st edition so I'll see as I'm sure it will still be fun. I always love new challenges so updating the site would be great too!!