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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 legally blind and will be travelling to WDW this December. I am curious if anyone can share their experience with the use of descriptive devices provided by Disney at the theme parks. Do they work well? Ease of use. Do they cover the attractions? etc.
I don't have any experience with these devices, but I know Sandra Bostwick (Sandy) has written an article or two about them. I'm sure she will come along to post a link for you.
While Sandy & I were at Disneyland she did get that device to get more info & is planning on writing about it. I also listened in & found it very descriptive.
I don't have any experience with these devices, but I know Sandra Bostwick (Sandy) has written an article or two about them. I'm sure she will come along to post a link for you.
Hi Francis! Welcome! Here are the articles. (Please leave a comment under them so the magazine knows there is a need for these types of pieces.)
Sounds like a pretty interesting little device. One question I have is does it still come with a really short cable for the headphones?? Or are headphones even still supplied? I know when we went several years back with my bro in law who is completely blind he was interested to try the older tech they had at the time, but found it rather inconvenient with the really short headphone cable that was provided, and ended up not bothering for the time we were there. Has that been addressed???
Tim
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Hey, check out my blog all about being active with a disability -> activeandblind.com
Sounds like a pretty interesting little device. One question I have is does it still come with a really short cable for the headphones?? Or are headphones even still supplied? I know when we went several years back with my bro in law who is completely blind he was interested to try the older tech they had at the time, but found it rather inconvenient with the really short headphone cable that was provided, and ended up not bothering for the time we were there. Has that been addressed???
Tim
I think you may be referring to the old device that some used to call the big red brick. The new device is very small, worn around the neck, and hardly felt. The cable for the headphones was generous enough for me.
I know that Disney took all feedback from guests into account when they updated the device. They also invited individuals to conduct what they call a "play test", where devices are tested in the field for any issues.
The only issue I experienced was during World of Color in California Adventure. My device kept repeating the Main Street script from Disneyland. In hindsight, I think this was my fault because I left Mainstreet to rest at the hotel, then went to World of Color a little late so I was not positioned close enough to Tier One, which is where the device should be triggered. For the second show, when I was in the proper position, all went well.
SO, the moral of the story is to make sure you are in the right place for the device to pick up the signal. Specific to World of Color, make sure you understand where the meeting place is and be there to walk with the group to the correct place.
If there are problems, DO tell guest relations. They really do pay attention to all comments.
The devices are pretty new and do have some kinks, yet work pretty well. Guest Relations can supply you with headphones, however, you can plug in your own as the jack is universal. Guests who use these often tend to do this.
There is a paper you can get at Guest Relations that lists all of the attractions that the devices cover. It is wireless, so it goes off automatically (as Sandy said). It has a $25.00 refundable deposit per unit, per day.
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