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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi everyone. I've been lurking for a few weeks now and just wanted to introduce myself. My family and I usually cruise for vacation, but our next "big one" is going to be WDW. I've already got an 8-night reservation at Coronado Springs for 374 days from now (not that I'm counting or anything). The Disney people said I could configure my package in mid-June. I've read in some places you can get 8-day passes now, but it's not listed on their site . . . anyone have information on this? We'll be handling our own air, but I intend to get the earliest flight into Orlando and hopefully have a good portion of the first day to play, so that would be 8 full days of fun since the 9th day would be the day we leave.
We've been to WDW 3 other times, but have never really done the resort package deal. Our first trip was from 12/27-1/2 in like 1998 or 1999. We stayed on International Drive and didn't really know "how" to do a Disney vacation. Our second trip we stayed closer to Universal and only went to Disney for a couple of days (what were we thinking?). The last trip was a one-night/one-day quicky . . . so, this is our first real Disney vacation. Any tips, tricks, hints, do's or don'ts would be more than appreciated. I intend to purchase the 2006 Passporter in January when it becomes available. If there is anything else that would help, let me know.
Welcome to the boards, you will get all the answers to your questions here!
You can get 8 day passes online, you just have to click on the 7 day pass and then press continue to get past the first screen and then there is an option you can click for 8 or 9 day passes and you can change your ticket option there. I was just checking it out the other night and saw it for the first time! Good luck and have fun planning!
Welcome to the boards!! We're glad to have you! An 8-day adventure to WDW sounds wonderful! I have read all the Disney travel books there are out there and have found that none of them can compare to the boards. Getting your hands on a Passporter is a great idea also! The worksheets, checklists, and pull out maps are a blessing to those of us who are extreme planners. Have a great time planning! It sounds like an amazing trip already.
Everyone on the boards is always so willing to help, I'm sure that you will get all kinds of great info and help here! Another great site is www.allearsnet.com there is lots of great stuff there. Best of all will be when you get your Passporter you will it! Good luck and have fun planning!
Another option may be the TEN day ticket. We plan to park hop just a COUPLE of days so it was cheaper for us to buy a slightly "longer" one-park-per-day option rather than a shorter stay with park hoppers. Or even an Annual Pass for at least one of your party. The AP allows you to get discounts on resort stays, dining, and allows you to purchase the Dining plan that give you LOTS of discounts. AP also gives you free parking and unlimited park hopping for 365 (actually I think it is 366 days.) We always buy an AP for our daughter (you cannot get the Dining card with a child's AP but all other benefits are the same) and that way mom and dad can "trade off" and each get a "day of rest" and she gets to get an "extra" day because mom and dad each do one day when only ONE of us takes her to the park. One of the nice things about the AP discount is that you can call and see if there IS a substantial discount on Coronado Springs when you are going. (By the way, you will LOVE it. We are staying there again next month.) IF you CAN get a nice discount you can then order (at least) one AP for the group. You do not need to have it in-hand until you check in.
In the past the advantage of the packages was time-saving. You save time by having the package all put together. But using boards like this one, allearsnet.com and mousesavers.com I could ALWAYS find better deals financially than what the packages had. Plus some packages are "set" so if you DO find a great deal you do not have the option of taking it. I know a LOT of people who like to buy a package and forget it. But I know many MORE who ENJOY the planning that always do it "my way" and get more for the money. Sometime people have found the "freebies" of the packages to be a nice bonus but often we found we never used them!
I think that it would be worth it to you to buy a guide book NOW and start planning in ADDITION to the Passporter in January. If money is a problem, if you have a "Disney loving friend" I am sure you could borrow one. You may be able to find one at your local library or for a couple dollars at a book fair or bookcloseouts.com. Or you could call Disney and ask them to send you the planning video/DVD and park maps and start planning. It really will be easier if you can look now and have time to think about and research specific rides and restaurants rather than have to wait until January. There is NEVER enough time to figure out what works best for your own particular group. I know that even with just the 3 of us, it keeps changing! :-) You will have a GREAT time! Enjoy!
I think you might get a better deal buying an Annual Pass.
You'll find lots of information here, and if you can't find what you're looking for, just post a question and somebody here can usually offer you good advice.
Thank you all so much for your insight and Disney Wisdom. I do have a question, when I looked at the per person price of the 8 day hopper ticket with the bells and whistles so we can go to the water parks and Disney Quest, the cost was $271, but the AP price was almost double that . . . does the annual pass include all the "perks" of the hopper with everything? How do I justify paying almost double? I'm so confused . . .
Another option may be the TEN day ticket. We plan to park hop just a COUPLE of days so it was cheaper for us to buy a slightly "longer" one-park-per-day option rather than a shorter stay with park hoppers. Or even an Annual Pass for at least one of your party.
I may not be reading what you wrote correctly, but I think what you have suggested won't work. Even if you have not purchased park hopping, you cannot use two days off your pass on the same day to go to different parks. So getting a 10 day ticket with the idea of going to both MK and Epcot on the same day and using two days will fail. They had that loop hole in the pricing closed from day one. Now, I will admit I've never tried this, but CM's have posted that it will not work.
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it! Good luck and have fun planning!
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