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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 just discovered that if we switch from portofino to royal pacific using the AP i just bought (!!!) we will save almost $400 on a four night stay.
the problem? my husband has his heart set on PB. please help me convince him to let me make the switch!
reason he wants PB--it is the least 'kid friendly', so he thinks the pool will be a 'more relaxing experience'. extra pixie dust to anyone who can help convince him to make the change!
At Universal, you can pool hop between the resorts. So if he finds there's "too many" kids at RPR, just grab the water taxi to PB and enjoy the pool there. For $400, I'd pool hop!
At Universal, you can pool hop between the resorts. So if he finds there's "too many" kids at RPR, just grab the water taxi to PB and enjoy the pool there. For $400, I'd pool hop!
i didn't know you could do that! that might be the thing i need to convince him!!!
I've stayed at both and love them both. I don't think you can go wrong with either. The PBH does have very large rooms. The rooms at the RPR are similar in size to the WL or AKL-IMHO not particularly large but adequate. Does space matter to your DH/
Although the Universal Hotels welcome children, I have found that the two I have stayed at are both elegant and serene. I never remember seeing any of the "kid behaviors" in the pool, lobby or halls that drive me crazy at Disney. Kids running all over the place, playing in the elevators, climbing where they shouldn't. Maybe because they are so elegant? Maybe because all the kids are at Disney or the Hard Rock?
We've stayed at RP several times, and love it there. While we do travel with the kids, I still think it's a beautiful, romantically themed hotel. I never found it overrun with kids. There are plenty of restaurants and lounges to choose from, and CityWalk is close by. The tropical theme of the resort is just gorgeous. I think you should do it!
size doesn't matter to my husband (ahem...you know what i mean!) he's more looking at the resort as a whole. i am going to have him read the feedback here and hope for the best. i'm thinking it will help. thanks everyone!
Something else I thought of... RPR has almost 2 different pool areas. I mean, it's all one area, but they have an almost water park kind of side with water guns and a more adult pool and hot tub side.
The RPR also has a putting green which might interest him if he's a golfer.
thanks everyone for your input, but alas there will be no convincing. i ALMOST had it--we were at the point where i was ready to call and had the price up online (and my phone in my hand)...and then he clicked one more time to look at the final price and discovered that it's 'only' a savings of $280. which i still think is great (someone please tell me i'm right about this!), but since he was on the fence already, even with a $400 savings...well, i lost this argument.
i guess there are worse arguments to lose, right?
full disclosure--it wasn't just the price. i actually like the royal pacific better, at least from the pics online. pb looks too...sterile? and out of place. a tropical theme works so much better in florida. ah well. he agreed to visit it while we are there to consider it for future trips.
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I think some of the lobby and common rooms at the PBH are formal looking with lots of marble and tile, but overall I found the hotel very comfortable. I think the rooms are nicer and very warm. My DD's had a friend with her and didn't want to share a bed so we got a roll-away and even with the extra bed, there was lots of room. It was my DD's birthday and we were upgraded to a deluxe room, which had doors so you could open them from the tub and watch TV-something your DH might enjoy.
The "bay" area is also nice and not formal at all.
it is done--he's convinced and the reservation has been changed! :thew ave:
what did it take? well, first i had him read all of the replies on here. then i did cost comparison--we were talking about our summer trip, and he said he wants to go back to amsterdam. at one point in the conversation he added 'and we can stay at the same place as last year' and i grabbed the opportunity to point out that with the savings ALONE of switching universal hotels, we could stay in that hotel he loved (in AMSTERDAM) for FIVE NIGHTS. that nudged him closer to my side. the final blow? reverse psychology that i didn't even intend. as evidenced my my previous post, i had given up on changing his mind...and then he changed it! ha!
we are saving $468 from what we originally booked. i feel MUCH better about the trip now.
is it a wife thing to want to spend as little as possible? or is it a me-thing to want to spend as little as possible so we can do as MUCH as possible? (asks the woman about to go look up prices for flights to amsterdam...)
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