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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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This may be way out of line but how much do save up and do you bring? We are on the DDP and I am a freak and want to make sure I have money for everything and I guess I don't think in reality. I break everything down like
-4$ a day for house keeping
-20$ tip for TSM
ETC
I guess I just am curious how everyone else does this and make sure I bring enough!
When figuring out my budget, I budget the daily mousekeeping as well as dinner tips. Since I know where my ADRs are located, I figure a 20% tip on the average cost of a meal and then add a few more bucks. I always bring that amount in cash and set that money aside so I know I will always have the tips paid for. then the rest of my money is basically just spending money.
I bring enough for tips for dinner and mousekeeping.
There are 2 of us, so I tip $3/day for mousekeeping, for dinner prob $20 a day is enough. So we're at $25 a day in tips so far, give or take.
Then if you want any suvies? Photos? An adult bev? Breakfast? I use my snack credit for breakfast- milk & cereal, Bagel, Muffin, Pastry, side of eggs, side of bacon or sausage are all snack credit material! I'll bring my own bagels-easy to pack in luggage, and order a side of eggs or sausage for breakfast. I use my resort mug for drink.
So for me $100/day is plenty when on DDP. I like an adult bev in Epcot (Grand Marnier slush, mmmm!) and in AK (Yak Attack)
I'll buy real coffee where I can find it at the parks doesn't matter if it's Aug or Jan
Maybe a Photo or 2, and we always buy a Christmas ornament at MK. Then there's that Dooney.....hmmm
Yup, $100 a day would be good
Other additional expense would be Bell service if you choose to use them- tip is $1 per bag, but that's only arrival and leaving day- not a daily tip.
i do my mousekeeping before i leave so all i have to do is leave it out. and i try to think of any higher price items we may want and i put that aside as well like for example in may my son wanted to make a car at the new store ridez in dtd and i knew that before we left you i figured out about how much it would be and put it aside. i budget about 125.00 aday and i always try to bring exta and just leave aside that way if something comes up i have the money
We are a bit more conservative when it comes to spending..we never go crazy on souvenirs and rarely buy snacks or beverages not covered by DDP snack credits. Here is what we're bringing this trip:
TS meals tips: 8 x $15 (our bills are usually between $75-$100)= $120
Photo Albums (always buy these): 2 x $20= $40
Extra souvenir/misc. money for myself and DH, just in case we see something: $50
OOP counter meals: 2 x $30= $60
Total: $270
I'll round up to $300 and we should be fine. We always charge everything to our room card and at the end, give our cash and Visa rewards cards....the balance goes on our credit card, if there is one.
The kids have money from Grandma and Grandpa for souvenirs this time, so no need for us to bring any for them. But normally, I would add an extra $60-$75 for that.
Mousekeeping envelopes are always done up before we leave, so I rarely add that money in to the cash we take.
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I start months in advance by setting up envelopes. I make up envelopes for airport tips..cab tips and an undated check for the taxi (if we're using one that year)...mousekeeping daily...and meals tips, usually $20.00 a day but our next trip we're using deluxe...so more....etc. Whatever cash I have available that week goes into the envelopes $5,$10 or even $20...... I put money into the envelopes and seal them. By the time the trip happens...all my tips are taken care of and any extra money is for fun.
I put tip envelopes together before the trip for Mousekeeping then I bring $100 cash (so does DH). I don't like to carry around a lot of cash. We charge most things to the room and at the end of our stay I charge it to my Visa and pay the bill when I get home. If we need more cash while on property, we go to the ATM. I set a basic budget for souvies, TS tips (and meals in our case as we don't typically do a dining plan) etc. BUT I DON'T BRING THAT CASH WITH ME. I prefer to leave it "home" (in my bank account so it doesn't get lost or stolen while I'm traveling).
I've done it two ways:
First ALL CASH since we didn't have a credit card at the time.
I put Mousekeeping tips in envelopes before we left. $5 a day (there is 5 in my family so we tip $1 per person)
I also set aside tips for meals and that is about $15 per meal.
We stay so FULL on the DDP that we never spend money on snacks and food. I do put back $20 for each day we go to Epcot because I like me some Grand Mariner and Margaritas.
As for spending...I am a minimalist. I don't do "stuff" so I budget $20 for our family Christmas ornament. Then $50 per kid for souvenirs.
SO, my grand total this way came to about $500.
NOW I have also done it with my Disney Visa Rewards card:
I still do my Mousekeeping in envelopes. However I do my dinning tips on my card as well as everything else....and I will be honest. I spend A LOT more. We normally average $1000 for 9 days this way. I am much more prone to say "yes" instead of "you don't need that" when I'm using the card
I budget on the high end of things. Aside from food because we get the dining plan, I plan $250 per day. (5 to 6 people). That sounds high I know , but it covers almost any thing that pops up. We rarely ever goes through it all. My older kids have their own money so I don't buy too many trinkets for them anymore. DH rarely buys anything extra. If he spends extra it is usually on extra ice creams or things to do. I tend to indulge DD8 (she's the "baby" lol) and I pick up things for various family members. Usually token (cheap) things. There is various tips of course. Most of the money is just really the "stuff happens account. It keeps you from needing credit cards. Which is always a good thing.
I usually do not carry much cash. Something around 500$ for cab and tips.
For Disney I got a couple of Disney Gift Cards, one with 50$ for souvenier (I gave it to my DD and she was able to choose what she wanted the most). Another of 250$ for gratuites and a third of 250$ for extras. We were at dining plan and we use our credits for snacks and lunch. No need of extra meals. At the end of vacation, the only "extra" charge to our room key was internet access.
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