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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are planning a trip for 9 days next year and I'm trying to figure out how much to save up for spending money. We have purchased the Silver Plan and primarily will be using it for 2 meals a day. There are 3 of us, 2 adults and one DD (will be turning 14 yo while we are there).
So how do you all determine how much to save for spending money?
Spending money varies so much since different people have different spending patterns for souvenirs. Some people may just buy one tee shirt while others spend hundreds of dollars. However, here are some categories to consider and decide how much you think you might spend
Snacks, drinks - most snacks are around $2-3 dollars and likewise for soft drinks and water. Turkey legs are around $5
Alcohol - I don't drink much so I can't help here, but it does add up. Figure $6 and up per drink???
Lockers, Strollers - I think lockers are $7, but you get $2 back when you return the key, strollers are a bit more
Tips - Housekeeping ($1/person/day is typical), valet parking, bell services, etc.
These are definately some great tips!! I'm writing them down right now. I know I want a Cuckoo Clock from Germany. I'm figuring a couple of 100 for that, but that's as far as I can go. I know for our 3rd meal we're going to snack our way around the World
Usually for us and spending money we give the kids their own, and we have our own. The kids have $100 each and most of the time DS still has some left and DD is borrowing some from us. DH and I each have $300 each for this trip and then those good ol credit cards! I think last year we spent about $550-600 and that is cheap for us. I think that it all comes down to your own personal shopping habits. If you dont spend much at home, you probably will do the same when you are there! Good luck!
When my DH and I went in May we brought $2000 for 8 days. Just for 2 of us. We didn't come home with much left over either. I bought alot of souveiners this time and we ate really well. This time (in October) when we go we will probably only bring about $1000, without plans to spend alot.
Last time, I listed almost everything we'd want to purchase while we were out there - meals, recreation etc. and then made a guess on how much we'd spend on souvenirs. We actually spent less, but I'd rather over-estimate. I estimated $650 for souvenirs, but that was for two weeks and into that goes spending for jeans and tennis shoes, as they're a lot cheaper in the States than over here.
Lucky for my daughter since we own our own business she works for us at a better rate than most kids get at McDonalds, and a 12 yo to boot. So she's saving part of her pay each week. We estimate that she'll have $300 before the trip, but you have to know she's a HUGE video game freak and plans on spending lots of money playing games in the resort and at DQ. But she wants money to be able to buy when I saw "I'm not buying that for you". LOL
I was going to take $1500 for 9 days and that will be for one meal a day (very snacky meal as 2 a day will be all the fixins with Silver Plan) and whatever strikes our fancy.
We bought manilla envelopes and labled them with each child's name. Any chores or money that they got throughout the year went into those envelopes. That is the only money they are allowed to spend on toys, pins, ect. I have found that they are less likely to spend money on "silly" stuff when it is their own.
As far as food goes...I can't help because I'm nervous about that myself LOL
When we first started going to WDW a long, long time ago, we budgeted $100 for all meals and souveneirs a day for 5 of us. Now I budget $50 per person for meals alone!
We've cut back on our souveneirs through the years. We buy one big item - a big Dfigurine for our home and then just a few odds 'n ends. We save a lot this way. Last trip in March, we spent about $300 on souveneirs with 1/3 of it being stuff for Christmas gifts.
It's easy to go overboard, so budgeting more is good. $1,500 with meals already through the Silver Plan is a good amount, I would think.
Wow! Before reading this thread - I would have never imagined that a lot of people spend so much money on souvenirs! DH and I have $100 each for our upcoming trip in September, and that's actually a little more than what we normally spend!
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Re: Spending Money??
For food, I average $50.00 a day for 1 adult for all 3 meals - which is often a counter service for breakfast, either table or counter service for lunch and a table service for dinner.
For example - I am taking 200 for food on our 4 day trip in october and another 150 or so for STUFF... of course I really don't buy much stuff and what I do buy is higher end clothing....
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Before reading this thread - I would have never imagined that a lot of people spend so much money on souvenirs! DH and I have $100 each for our upcoming trip in September, and that's actually a little more than what we normally spend! 
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