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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 know it's a bit early to be starting my PTR ( 5 months til' trip ) but I'm very excited and I just had to start it. Don't judge me.
So, without further ado, I present to you my lastest and newest PTR...
Getting Wild Disney Style
Trip details:
When: June 2 - June 13
Where: AKV ~ Kidani Village 1 bedroom villa
Who: Mayra (that's me), DH Arben and sons AJ, Abniel & Adriel
Why: It's been too long since we last visited. Besides, who needs a reason.
Up next: From October to budget trip to deluxe and everything in between.
From October to budget trip to deluxe and everything in between.
As with all my trips, I'm always planning and dreaming and hoping. This one was no exception. So let me start explaining my planning process and I really hope you don't get lost along the way.
This trip was first intended to be for October 2013. It would've been our first fall trip and of course I was very, very excited. I mean to get to see MK all decked up with fall decorations , getting to attend MNSSHP and Epcot's F&W Festival. Needless to say, I was super happy.
I had my trip all booked, I had made all my adrs (which, btw, were perfect) and I had a rough itinerary of our trip. I even had a vacation countdown ticker here. Then about a month after booking my husband dropped a bomb on me. Due to finances he didn't think we could make this trip and that I should cancel. I was devastated.
I cried and cried and cried. Yes, I'm a drama queen. But lets face it. Who wouldn't cry over a cancelled Disney trip? So with an ache in my heart, I called Disney and cancelled my trip and adrs.
I didn't grieve too long, as I started scheming err, planning my next trip. This time I set my sight on Disneyland. It's a dream of mine to see the park that Walt Disney built himself. I started researching and even bought a guidebook. We'd be going June 2-10 and it was going to be a surprise for the kids. The plan was to stay at Paradise Pier and have 5 day park hoppers. That would be enough to thoroughly explore the two parks. It also left us with a couple of free days which were to be used to explore LA or to just rest. I started looking at airfare and wowza, it was expensive. I mean $2,500 expensive for the 5 of us. And add the expense of staying on-site, because I am stubborn and wouldn't have it any other way. Well... the plan was quickly axed by the hubby. So that makes 2 heartbreaks, but who's counting?
There was no way in the world I wasn't going to have my Disney fix in 2014. Our last trip was 2012 so a visit was long over due. So back to WDW we go! I started pricing different options ranging from value to deluxe. I priced POR, AoA family suite and the Beach Club. In the end my husband, who btw is the one that pays , decided that a nice budget-friendly trip at POR would work. Stinker.
We even considered staying off-site , in a vacation home. But after researching and pricing everything, the price was almost the same as staying at a Disney resort. Plus we'd have to drive to the parks and depending how far away the house was, we'd stay all day in the park. Umm, no thank you. So thankfully, that was also axed.
After deciding that on-site was the way to go, I got out my calendar and chose our dates, making our trip a 12 day vacation. Yes, because I'm sneaky like that . It was all pretty much set in stone when I had an idea. Well it was more like I got an idea from a passporter.
After reading Missy's (stardust190) PTR, I got kind of curious about renting DVC points. I started researching on the web and came down to 2 companies. Ultimately, I went with The DVC Rental Store. I sent my inquiry for 1 of 2 options: a Deluxe Studio at the Grand Floridian Villas or a 1 bedroom villa at AKV~Kidani Village. I had my heart set on GF because that is my dream resort but there was no availability. Who was I kidding, this was november, well past the 11 month mark. But there was a 1 bedroom villa available for my entire stay. Keep in mind I was doing all of this without my hubby knowing anything. I wanted to have all the info before selling it to him.
When he got home, I immediately started my sales pitch. I told him about DVC and how there were opportunities to stay there without being a member. I showed him the resort and room accomodations and told him how much it would cost us. It would cost us a bit more than we had budgeted but after seeing the rooms and how much space we'd have, he was sold. After a couple of emails, my resort was booked. We'd be staying at AKV Kidani Village, something I never thought would happen.
So there you have it. I hope I didn't lose you. LOL! I love how we always start the planning with my hubby wanting the least expensive option but somehow ending up with what I really wanted. Advantage Mayra! Let's see what sneaky plan I'll come up with next. Maybe a DVC membership...
WooHoo for getting AKL-Kidani Village! That is my absolute favorite resort! Getting great ideas is one of my reasons for joining this sight. We constantly learn from each other.
I had to sign in and follow your PTR, because your title is similar to the one I had last year for our April trip at AKV's!
Great start, glad you were able to book the DVC using rental points. You will love AKV-Kidani! AKV's is our home resort and we love to stay there. It is such an amazing resort.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
About This Page: 
Hi, I'm Mayra and I'm a Disney addict. 
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Pixie Dust
Too bad you won't be there at the same time as me. I would've loved to meet you and Luke.
*Melissa
, getting to attend MNSSHP and Epcot's F&W Festival. Needless to say, I was super happy. 
Yes, I'm a drama queen. But lets face it. Who wouldn't cry over a cancelled Disney trip? So with an ache in my heart, I called Disney and cancelled my trip and adrs.
it was expensive. I mean $2,500 expensive for the 5 of us. And add the expense of staying on-site, because I am stubborn and wouldn't have it any other way. Well... the plan was quickly axed by the hubby. So that makes 2 heartbreaks, but who's counting? 
, decided that a nice budget-friendly trip at POR would work. Stinker. 
, in a vacation home. But after researching and pricing everything, the price was almost the same as staying at a Disney resort. Plus we'd have to drive to the parks and depending how far away the house was, we'd stay all day in the park. 
Umm, no thank you. So thankfully, that was also axed.
. It was all pretty much set in stone when I had an idea. 
Well it was more like I got an idea from a passporter.
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