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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am thinking about taking my laptop with us in September, mainly to have something to do on the 12 hour trip. I am worried about security in the room, leaving it out. It is a larger one, so I know it won't fit in the safe. If I password encode it, should the software be safe?
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I have brought my laptop, and left it out, never had a problem.
Me and Lisa both brought ours and we stayed off property, I left mine in my suitcase
and she put hers in her laptop case and put it in the drawer.
I also have a password just to log on, you cant just turn it on and surf the net without it.
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We always travel with a laptop, and we've never had one stolen. Sometimes we've been able to lock it in a safe, sometimes we've used a cable lock to lash it to a table pedestal, but most of the time we just keep it out of sight when we're out of the room.
There's no reason not to password protect the computer, but probably not a big advantage either, unless you're storing sensitive information on the machine.
Most housekeepers aren't going to care less about your computer, but it's always wise to keep such temptations (and evidence that you have a computer) out of sight in a piece of luggage or a drawer (housekeepers may have to flip the mattress, so hiding it under a mattress isn't a particularly good choice). It won't prevent a determined crook from finding it, but it eliminates crimes of opportunity - things that are out in plan sight, "begging" to be stolen.
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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 brought my laptop last year and left it on the table, no problems. That was at Shades of Green. This year we are going also in Sept to PONO Riverside and we will be toting 2. 12 hours is a long ride without "techie" entertainment!! I know.
When are you going in sept, we may see you on the road!!
Cyndi
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I bring mine with me and put it in my suitcase or in the room safe if it fits when I'm not going to be in my room. My aunt met me at Disney World in December and stayed with me for a few days and she left hers out on the table without a problem. I like to put away any evidence of valuables be they electronic or not in drawers/cabinets or my suitcase. I figure there's no need to advertise that I have valuables with me and/or left in the room and therefore tempt someone who given the opportunity would steal them. That's also the main reason why I keep the blinds/drapes closed even when I'm in the room the other is that I end up feeling like an exhibit if the blinds/drapes are open.
We've taken a laptop with us on our last three trips and it's too big to fit in the safe. We usually put it in the case when we go out, throw a few clothes over it and zip up the case. We've never had a problem at all.
When traveling, and the room safe is too small, and I don't need it with me, I have checked it at the front desk, and gotten a receipt. I also have a cable lock for it.