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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 called a week ago (Jan 13) to get us setup for our DME. How soon should I expect our package with luggage tags to arrive? We leave in 2 weeks and I don't want to be "that guy" that calls and bugs for no reason, but we're in a bit of a crunch time.
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Rachel
Blogging about whatever comes to mind at The New Smiths.
Mine came much faster than I expected, since I'm not traveling until March. It came about a week after I gave the information to my TA. Hopefully, yours will come soon.
I just called Disney and the slightly rude woman told me that we wouldn't get our luggage tags because they're sent out 45 days before departure. I called inside of that 45 day window and apparently I'm not getting my luggage tags...
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Rachel
Blogging about whatever comes to mind at The New Smiths.
I would call back and talk to someone more magical myself but even if you don't get the tags, I know I've read many threads here where the same thing has happened to other people but it was all taken care of at the airport.
I just called Disney and the slightly rude woman told me that we wouldn't get our luggage tags because they're sent out 45 days before departure. I called inside of that 45 day window and apparently I'm not getting my luggage tags...
That's unbelievable! I too think you should call back and try again to get a more magical CM. You would think in this day and age they could scan something and email it or at LEAST Fax it. However, I, personally always feel obligated to inform management when something like that happens. More and more often (even with Disney) I get received by, "Well what do you WANT?" As though I expect to get something monetary. All I would want is for them to be aware that some of their employees are even 'slightly rude'. Back in the olden days, management was just pleased that you were being informative and they could find ways to improve their service. I think it is a mistake that all modern day 'guest services' first reaction is to try to 'buy you off'
Look what showed up in the mail today. I would think there would be some tracking system where that lady could have seen that it was indeed sent out already.
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Rachel
Blogging about whatever comes to mind at The New Smiths.
I just called Disney and the slightly rude woman told me that we wouldn't get our luggage tags because they're sent out 45 days before departure. I called inside of that 45 day window and apparently I'm not getting my luggage tags...
Although I know that you now have your tags and it's a moot point, did you call Disney or did you call DME? Because my understanding is that as long as you arrange DME at least 10 days out, that's enough time to have the tags sent out and unfortunately, when you talk to Disney CMs on the phone, they don't always have correct information about things they don't directly deal with.
The contact number for DME on the Disney website was the general Disney number, I think. I told the voice recognition DME when it prompted me, but I'm not sure where I was actually sent.
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Rachel
Blogging about whatever comes to mind at The New Smiths.
Well, the direct number for DME is 866-599-0951. I don't know if that's where they transferred you, but I find it difficult to believe that someone who's actually with DME would've given you wrong information and like I said, 10 days is all the time they need to send you the luggage tags, not 45.
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That's unbelievable! I too think you should call back and try again to get a more magical CM. 
You would think in this day and age they could scan something and email it or at LEAST Fax it. However, I, personally always feel obligated to inform management when something like that happens. More and more often (even with Disney) I get received by, "Well what do you WANT?" 
As though I expect to get something monetary. 
All I would want is for them to be aware that some of their employees are even 'slightly rude'. Back in the olden days, management was just pleased that you were being informative and they could find ways to improve their service. 
I think it is a mistake that all modern day 'guest services' first reaction is to try to 'buy you off' 
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