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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Thanks for the info on buying a annual pass and not having to activate it until you get there. I didn't know that. I've been to Disney several times but never with a AP. My question is, once I purchase the annual pass will I start receiving info from Disney for discounts, even though it is not activated? And do they contact me through E-mail or mail? I'm really contemplating this AP thing since my family and I have visited twice in six months now. I told my husband we wouldn't be going back at least for another year, but now me and my DD are getting Disney Fever.
We had AP's last year but let them lapse. I just bought new ones about a month ago that we will activate in July. So far I have received no email or anything from Disney.
From what I've heard from people who have AP's, Disney really doesn't send information too frequently. If you want any discounts, codes, etc you have to look for them. Everyone on the boards has a lot of good info so you'll usually know when new things are available.
I haven't heard of any discounts or codes being sent to AP
holders but I could be wrong. This is the best spot to find
out about whats out there to help save money.
Keep checking PassPorter & you'll know what going on.
If I remember correctly, somewhere I read that you get quarterly newsletters if you're an AP holder. As for informing you of discounts, I'm not sure. We only got our first AP this year and won't activate it till Sunday! Good luck anyway and HTH Ruth
I've never gotten any special offers for AP holders.... Sometimes stuff for Disney Land...but nothing for WDW...which stinks... Anything I got I went hunting for.
[ QUOTE ]
You get the AP mailing (Mickey Monitor) after you have activated the pass.
[/ QUOTE ]
Any idea of when you get this and how often does the Mickey monitor come out? I activated my annual pass a month ago and have not received anything yet.
[ QUOTE ]
Any idea of when you get this and how often does the Mickey monitor come out? I activated my annual pass a month ago and have not received anything yet.
[/ QUOTE ]
The Mickey Monitor comes out quarterly -- the next one is due in August (??)...
FYI - from what I understand, you do not get access the the AP holders special site on the WDW website until the pass is activated. So, although you'll have the voucher number, you can't access that information.
You'll have to go to websites like Mousesavers to watch for the times that AP rates come out. There are also lots of fabulous folks here that announce the AP rates as soon as they come out.
One way to make this easier is to hire a travel agent who specializes in Disney -- they will watch the rates for you and book your room with the rate (if possible)...
Any idea of when you get this and how often does the Mickey monitor come out? I activated my annual pass a month ago and have not received anything yet.
[/ QUOTE ]
As already stated - it only comes out 4 times a year - and it takes 4-6 weeks from the time you activate the pass - SO, if you are like us, we activated our AP's in April - and didn't get our first issue until fall since the "mailing labes/imprints" were already set up for the summer issue. In fact, we'd pretty much given up on ever getting one, and then suddenly there was a happy surprise in our mailbox....