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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 making our first trip "home" in late August / early September I am thrilled, but a little nervous about the heat, hurricane season, etc. - we usually travel in October, November, or January.
I have never bought trip insurance before but, due to the season, I'm considering it
Would you purchase trip insurance for DVC trip if you are going during hurricane season? There were different levels of coverage - is there a particular type if insurance you'd recommend? I was concerned about losing points. though half the trip is on developer points and not sure they would cover those . . .
I definitely would. We have done so for cruises taken during hurricane season. It just makes sense to me to protect our vacation investment. We are traveling to WDW in August this year and we will do it chiefly because we missed Hurricane Charley by one day a few years back. But my advice would be to take the time to read what is covered by any policy you are considering. You don't need or want any surprises if you should need to put in a claim.
i have never bought travel insurence as a DVC owner i usually go in oct and may and last year dec . but this time i'm not using my dvc cause we voted to stay at pop this time and i'm concidering buying this time because it is my cash paying for it . oops we are going in dec 09 but i'm not fully booked yet still waiting for a call from an angel or should i say a pixie .
I bought insurance for our cruise but never for any sort of hotel stay. Even in hurricane season.
I guess it depends upon what the insurance covers and your personal situation. If one has sick relatives or other family situations that would cause the trip to be postponed, that may be a reason to do it. Just be careful when insuring DVC points because the cancellation policies are so liberal--normally you get the points back even when canceling on 24 hours notice.
If bad weather in Orlando delays your arrival, is that worth insuring or do you just deal with a trip that starts a day later? It's one thing if you are the cause of the delay and have to pay penalties for changing your flights. But if the delays are weather or airline-related, they'll still get you there without charging any excess fees.
While insuring your health, life, home and auto are necessities, as a rule I don't insure things like appliances (TVs, video game systems, DVD players), flights, vacations, etc. The insurance companies exist to make money and there's no question I'm coming out ahead by not giving them premium-after-premium to insure against the possibility of a claim.
Insurance isn't going to fix whatever problems you encounter--it will just guarantee you a small claim check several months later. Better to keep those premiums in the bank and pay out of pocket for any unexpected happenings, IMO.
I always get the Travel Guard trip insurance (the purple flier that comes with your confirmation letter) for DVC members. I also insure my flight through the airline. OCD!!!
__________________
Michele
Second star to the right and straight on until morning!
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