Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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08-28-2014, 01:20 PM
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#1
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PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Feature Article: There's an App for That - Part 2 - Walt Disney World Planning Advice
There's an App for That - Part 2 - Walt Disney World Planning Advice
by Valerie Hofer
In my last article we looked at three popular Walt Disney World apps: My Disney Experience, Mouse Memo, and Weather Plus for Disney Parks. But if you thought the party stopped there, you were wrong. There are a lot more and today we'll look at three more Disney trip planning apps. These are all planning apps you may want to refer to when you are planning your trip or even refer to when changing plans while in the "Disney bubble." Disney World Magic Guide is a $4.99 comprehensive guidebook app you can download to your iPhone or iPad. There is no free version of this app. However, it does include a Downtown Disney map. Included in the app are maps, zoom-ins and zoom-outs for parks and parking lots, menus and park/event hours. I would note that, although it does list the hours for the water parks, it does not include maps for those parks. The menus include all the six parks, Downtown Disney and the resort restaurants. The dining section is comprehensive. It includes a description of the restaurant, complete menus, and an option to add it to your dining schedule. You can even designate a restaurant as a favorite for later use. You can even search in the menu section. So if you have a picky eater and need to find every restaurant that serves chicken nuggets, this is the app for you! The only downside reported is that the wait times tend to be inaccurate. My Disney Experience is still your best bet for wait time accuracy.
Disney World Notecast is a $3.99 text-based e-reader application. There is no Wi-Fi needed, but there's also no wait time section, no maps, and no showtimes. It is the equivalent of downloading a book with lots of pictures. The book is only 300 pages, but contains over 750 photos. It does include a tour of 80 Hidden Mickeys, and it is available for all three Apple devices. It is useful as a resource, but does not provide any interaction with the user. If you have a favorite guidebook (and don’t we all), then I would probably save the money for something else. But if you are one of those people who wants to read every word ever written about Walt Disney World, then it's for you.
Family Finder for Walt Disney World is a free app for your iPhone. If everyone in your group has an iPhone, they can download the app and you can track them within any of the 6 parks. There is no mention specifically of Downtown Disney, however you can track someone up to 8 miles from Walt Disney World. The app automatically updates your locations without anyone having to do anything. Each person is assigned a color and will appear on the map using that color. The app is designed to avoid draining your battery by updating every 2 minutes, as opposed to constant data streaming. You have a choice of satelite or map view. Personally, I found the map view much easier to use, but it’s up to your preference. You can also track which rides you’ve been on, but that’s not the main selling point of the app. That's it for this week. Next time we'll take a look at Disney World Maps for Free, Disney World Wait Times, Days to Go, and WDW Phone Numbers.
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 08-25-2014 10:08 AM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
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