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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Some might take issue with this, but I bought them on ebay. I made sure they were not the cheap brands that can't be traded. I think I got 30 pins for about a dollar a pin, maybe a little less. For us, this was much more affordable than buying them at WDW. My son was 9 in june when he traded for the first time. He wasn't trying to trade up to pins that are worth a lot of $$. His goal was to trade for Star Wars and Stitch pins.
That is what we did too. Buy them for around $1 on ebay and just have fun trading! (Much cheaper than the min. $6/pin at WDW), plus many of the ones we traded for were worth much more! Not that we're into that...more of what's on the pin!
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Laura in Austin
Catch my (COMPLETED ) WL trip report here: http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...es-nov-wl.html
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My husband always buys me a 30-50 pin lot from ebay before we go on one of our trips. He uses a seller with good ratings. If you want I can PM you with the "name" of the seller he used last month. That lot was really good. We got several that we just plain kept and then we traded the rest. They were all tradable pins and many of them were hidden mickeys and cast pins. It was 40 pins for right around $35 I believe.
DH and I have done this too, although I don;t think we ever did trade them. . .they're around here somewhere!
Anyway, just remember that the CMs with green lanyards can only trade with kids (which is nice because then they aren't competing with adults)!
It's a nice activity to take part in while traveling around Disney, as it gets you talking with people you might not normally think to stop and have a conversation with (because you're hustling by to a ride, ADR, etc.).
I have a 9 year old girl and a 11 year old boy and I am looking for the best place to get pin for tradding.
As others have said, ebay is a possible source. Just try to look for reputable sellers, and IMO avoid those who won't accept returns.
You can also get pins somewhat reasonably-priced in Disney, in the "mystery packs" - about $5 each.
And a starter-kit per child (maybe $40 or $50, has a lanyard and 3-4 pairs of pins) isn't a bad way to go, either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MinnieJen
If you want I can PM you with the "name" of the seller he used last month.
Heck, Iwould love that information. For our 2012 trip, DGF and our third musketeer have pondered getting a larger "pin lot" from ebay, and splitting them up, to use as "trade bait".
We're just a bit leery of counterfeits. So, the recommendation of fellow PPers is somethign we planned to seek out beforehand, anyway!
I actually just received DD's pins for the holidays today in the mail. I bought them on ebay too. They all have the copyright and official pin trading stamp on the back. The person I bought from had excellent ratings and lots of buyers. Otherwise I would have been leary too.
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
Another source if you want to see what you're buying is the Disney outlet stores. I don't know how many of them are around, but we routinely find pins in the outlet store down by my Moms (outside Ft Myers), for $2 a pin. In fact, she picked up a LE 2500 Hannah Montana pin there for $2 last week.
I have bought pins twice recently on ebay for my upcoming trip and the pins were all legidimate park pins with lots of hidden mickey and cm exclusives. I have bought pins on ebay before that ended up being scrappers read the description carefully.
here are the two sellers I bought from that had great pins and I paid $1 or less per pin:
Nannub who offered free shipping and steamtraininc. Both were easy to work with and the pins were fantastic.
you will need to be patient as you bid as it might take a few times to win a pin lot for a good price. Try putting in a bid for however big a lot is at $1 a pin so if you bid on a 40 pin lot then put your maximum bid at $40 even if you lose the auction the seller might offer you a second chance buy it now at the maximum you bid.
enjoy I know my whole family loves pin trading
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I just bought some for DD off ebay. They ended up at $1.15 a pin with free shipping. I have not received the pins yet however I bought only because this was a top rated seller. I have bought pins off ebay before the top rating system with no problem.
I bought a my kids a bunch of pins on ebay for Christmas. I was picking out pins that I thought they would like. If not they can trade them next year when we go. This past October my kids bought several of the mystery blue & green pin packages. You got 2 pins for like $10. About half of the pins they kept and the other half they traded with CM for character pins they wanted. Remember CM have to trade with you.
I can second the advice about shopping at the disney outlet. We have one near us and they always have lots of pins,etc. In fact , I was thinking of getting our Mickey shirts there for our trip next year.
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sk8mom6 aka Leigh Ann and mom to milichal
Last edited by sk8mom6; 12-08-2009 at 08:56 AM..
Reason: bad typing
Prices will vary on pins you buy. A few less (not many) than $1.00 each and some higher in the $2.00 range, each. There are higher ones--beware. $1.00 to $1.25 each is a good price.
Will the regular pin sellers you do not have to worry as they are honest.
If you get a few duplicates do not worry as your intent, after you keep a few, is to trade them anyway. Don't worry about the size of the pins you are trading. CMs are trading a pin for a pin, not size for size. Even as light as pins are most CMs prefer the smaller ones due to the weight around their necks. The CMs are not in the pin business. And they are required to trade with you unless they already have the same design on their laynard.
I will make one small comment on lots that you buy. Depending upon the quantity size lot you buy other dealers will generally have the same designs that you are buying. What you pay from Dealer A will generally be duplicated by Dealer B at the same price, cheaper, or higher.
As a possible example, if someone bought a 50 pins lot, all different, and you bought a 25 pin lot, they would naturally get 25 designs that you didn't get. You have no control of the designs, but, again, you are trading for what designs you want. Trade and have fun. If you buy another 25 pins later you could have none, a few or several of the same pins you got in the first lot. Think of it partically as WHO CARES. You previously traded the ones you didn't want before for the ones you wanted and you can do it again.
The 25 pin lot you bought from Dealer A, in most cases, is from the same 25 pins you bought from Dealer B. (at different prices). And Dealer A and Dealer B both bought from Distributor Y. The pins will change designs in a couple months. Again, who cares, you are trading for what you want.
Of course you are hoping for a special one to come in.
Don't worry about the green laynards for children only. These are good pins too. If you want a pin on the green laynards just have your child trade with the CM and then switch.
Basically you (or your child) choose the pin (or pins) you want and in return you give the CM the same amount in return---your choice, small or large.
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