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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 was wondering because I have 2 failed trips I tried to plan this year and it stinks. Since I was able to go last summer I have been trying to figure out what went wrong. I guess I didn't make the trip my priority and spent too much money on other things. So I have to go next June (I am in withdrawal), I guess I should start planning now especially the budget. The key is to remember throughout the next year is that this is my goal and not spend money? How do you guys save up when the trip is so far off?
We save up for our trips by putting a set amount away each month in our holiday fund, which pays for all the big expenses - i.e. flights, rental car, park passes and DVC dues (in place of accommodation costs). That way, all that is already taken care of and all we have to save up for is expenditure while we're out there. We find this system works well for us.
I find if I just take $50/paycheck and put it into my savings, I won't touch it (I use my checking account for most everything) That way by the end of the year it comes to about $1200. I pay for the room as soon as I make the reservation, so this is food and fun $.
For me, I usually earmark a certain amount of my tax refund for hotel, tickets and airfare. Then the rest, I just save. We have a coin jar going, which we will use for souveniers. My DD is in the spirit, too, so ANY change we find goes in there. Also, she is 12, so she is always asking me to let her 'work' at my office for money for vacation. I have her do little small jobs, and pay her $5-10 dollars at a time. She is actually a much better saver than I am so she will have quite a chunk of change when we finally go on vacation. She is proud to buy things for herself and her friends out of 'her' money. Amy
We have an account that we use just for vacatons. We take so much from each pay and put it in the account every month. I'm sure you will figure out what works best for you Maria!! Good luck!!
That change jar can really mount up! I never spent a coin, always bills and all change goes into the jar. DH spends coins in machines, so he drops bills into the popcorn bucket (from WDW) along with his coins occassionally. If you handle the credit cards well, get one that can pay off in airfare or at WDW. We have the Disney Visa and charge everything imaginable to it. We then pay it off fully at the end of each month. That, of course, is the catch to making it worthwhile. Can you get automatic savings deductions from your paycheck? If so, do that. If you never see it, you don't plan to spend it.
DH is a contractor, so money comes in bits and spurts. It is very hard for me to look at a $20,000 check and remember that most of it belongs to someone else! When we do have a bit of a surplus, or when my $100/month savings account reaches a certain number, I go ahead and purchase passes, airfare, or make a payment on the resort, so that it's all paid for and that money is "gone". I also do a change jar, I don't spend any change and in the summer months (when DH is working) I don't spend any singles...they all go in the jar, too. That money is for food, souvenirs, etc.
Thanks for the ideas. Putting money into savings every month was an idea that I had toyed with, treating it like a bill that has to be payed that way I won't spend it. The hard part is keeping my hands off of it especially when things get tight. The money jar is a really good idea, that's something I can start now. Hopefully by this summer when I get my finances straightened out I will have a game plan that I can put into action.
We plan a year in advance and put away money each month in our Vacation Club account with our credit union. We are also DVC members which takes care of our lodging each year. Then I pick up the new Passporter as soon as it is available and begin considering which restaurants we want to get PS for and count down to 90 days.
As soon as I get home from one trip to Disney, I start saving the change up right away. Also I begin planning as soon as I know that I'm going. My next trip isn't until Jan. of 2006 but I've already started an itinerary, put money aside in envelopes for mousekeeping, etc... I've come to find out that the sooner you begin planning the better the trip seems to go.
The key to a successful trip is planning. Double checking and getting a great travel agent who knows more then you do. I still keep in contact with her and have now another TA for Disney Land. Some things went a little askew with our WDW trip but nothing that we couldn't handle. We are planning a Xmas 2006 trip to CA and still feeling a little confused, but know that because we are planning so far in advance, that our TA can't help us until October. Which is when we will give him the green light to make the arrangments. I also do a lot of reading and ask a lot of questions. This board is terrific in that. Still waiting for the Disney Land Passporter to come out so I can take it to the beach with me this summer. Good luck and all I can say is this, plan, plan plan, take notes and ask questions and if you dont' get the answers? Find someone who can answer them. Good luck.
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How do you guys save up when the trip is so far off?
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In a way, the farther off the trip is, the better.... at least in terms of saving!! The more time you have, the more you can save -- or the less drastic your saving "measures" have to be.
I put all my pet sitting money into two accounts, rainy day and my vacation account. When I get the dates to my vacation set (usally 4-3 months out) I put 100% of my pet sitting money in my vacation account.
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so she will have quite a chunk of change when we finally go on vacation. She is proud to buy things for herself and her friends out of 'her' money. 
Amy
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