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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 giving our 4 oldest kids a certain amount of spending money. I want to give them a gift card with that amount and when it's gone, that's it. I know that the Disney gift card can be used at the World but can it be used at most or all of the shops or would it be better just to get them a VISA gift card. I would love to keep the Disney experience going with a Disney card but don't want to limit the kid's options.
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I got Disney gift cards for my boys on our last trip, we were able to use them at the parks, DTD as well as the resorts for everything from souvenirs to food and snacks. My DS1 really liked the idea of the gift card, he thought he was using a real credit card. I plan on doing the same thing when we go this year.
Hmmm, that's a great idea. I usually have an envelope for each kid in my purse and it gets crowded. I will mention that to the boys. I bet they will like feeling like they've got their own credit card, too! Thanks.
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I would get them the disney gift card, the visa ones have fees associated with them, the disney does not.
they can pretty much spend it anywhere at disney world.
I would recommend Disney Dollars instead of a gift card (if they still sell them).
Gift cards are a pain (unless the WDW shops give you a card balance after every purchase) because unless you write down every purchase after you make it, you might lose track of the balance--and if you try and buy something and you don't know EXACTLY the balance, you can't apply what's left to your sale and pay the rest in cash, for example-- it will just refuse the card.
I would recommend Disney Dollars instead of a gift card (if they still sell them).
Gift cards are a pain (unless the WDW shops give you a card balance after every purchase) because unless you write down every purchase after you make it, you might lose track of the balance--and if you try and buy something and you don't know EXACTLY the balance, you can't apply what's left to your sale and pay the rest in cash, for example-- it will just refuse the card.
Visa gift cards are the same way. You have to know exactly how much is left on it in order to apply it to a larger purchase. When we bought a Visa card here there was a 10 dollar activation fee. My son would love to have his money on his own credit card. Guess I will have to think of that come August. Can you order the gift cards online? We dont have a Disney store near us.
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we used the Disney gift cards everywhere. Last year I got a balance after each purchase. If your guy is young, you will probably hold onto his receipts anyway, so you can help him be mindful of his balance by just checking things as you go. My boys have the gift cards and love them. They do feel as if they have their own credit cards. even more so w/ my kids because they work a paper rout to earn their own spending money.
My girls are younger and we give them Disney dollars. They get a daily alotment. ($100, or whatever they have saved, divided by 6 days is $16 a day or so.) If anthing is left at the end of the day, they can keep that to add to the next days alotment. this way i know they will have some spending money every day of the vacation.
Either way you go, it all depends on the kid. DS#1 learned last year that he needed to budget better. (All this year his allowence has lasted him all week. Disney was a math lesson and a life lesson for him.) Whatever you choose, I hope it works for both you and them.
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My DD has been saving change for her "fund". We try to go once a month to trade in for her Disney Dollars. I got her $5 in Disney $ for Christmas and that's the way we told her about the trip. I have gotten her one Disney gift card for a surprise for her grades. It was $25 and she wants to use it for BBB.
I like the idea of allotting $ for each day. I think we will do that this time. It's a great idea!
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