Disney World--a great place to be in a hurricane in more ways than you may know - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Most interesting to me is that Disney World is the only resort in Florida rated "Storm Ready" by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They're the official weather guys in part, although they do a good deal more than that, which makes this a significant rating.
That label means that CMs are specially trained to assist guests and assure their safety as much as possible when they're confined to resorts. Disney has special safety procedures which vary according to the storm's category. Guests receive an instruction sheet detailing how to stay safe and comfortable while confined. A complex food service rolls out three meals daily and even special snacks at each resort. There are scheduled activities such as lobby games and singalongs, additional movie showings, even special character meet 'n' greets right there in the resorts.
Parks are closed when forecasts warrant. They will close a day or two before the storm rolls in to give CMs time to remove or secure outdoor furniture, signs, lamps, planters and other objects not bolted in place that could become projectiles in a hurricane.
Finally, buildings have been reinforced and specially built to withstand most hurricanes. If you've heard that the Castle is taken apart and moved to storage during hurricanes, sorry, that's fiction. Portions such as some turret roofs can be removed if a particularly bad hurricane is anticipated, but otherwise only objects not firmly attached are removed to storage.
In short, WDW is a much better place to be during a hurricane than most anywhere else in Florida. Its farsighted creator, Walt Disney, deliberately planned it that way.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Last edited by Her Dotness; 09-08-2017 at 08:23 PM..
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.
I knew they were very prepared, but I didn't realise it was to this extent. Good for Disney to be ready for this and to have safety at the forefront for everyone.
I can attest to their preparedness. My family was staying there in 2004 when Hurricane Charley came through. We were at AKL, and the way the staff took care of us and kept us up to date was outstanding. They have volunteers who basically stayed on duty for over 24 hours so that the rest of the staff can go home and can take care of their families, property, etc.
Very interesting to be prepared and on top of things as always!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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.
I was beyond excited to see on FB that the Disney resorts were welcoming evacuees with pets! There's adorable pictures at the Poly and All Stars Music with characters interacting with pets and their owners. Kuddos to Disney for not forgetting about furry family members during a super stressful time.
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Don't know whether anyone heard about Kristen Bell, star of "Frozen," and what she did while holed up at the Swan/Dolphin. It's actually a very cute story. She is in Florida filming another movie, and was in Fort Lauderdale; she evacuated from there but got stuck in Orlando. So she holed up at the Swan/Dolphin. Then she heard that her Frozen co-star Josh Gad was in Miami trying to get out, so she got him and his family rooms at the Swan/Dolphin (him, his parents, his brother & sister-in-law, niece & nephew). Then she learned that Jennifer Carpenter's mother and grandmother were preparing to just ride it out, and did the same.
then, while at the hotel during the storm, she helped entertain her fellow guests -- calling out senior bingo games organized by the hotel, organizing midnight wheelchair races, singing, etc. See http://www.shape.com/celebrities/new...hurricane-irma for the whole story.
What a nice young lady, helping to reverse the general public impression of young actors/actresses as being self-centered airheads, eh?
Don't know whether anyone heard about Kristen Bell, star of "Frozen," and what she did while holed up at the Swan/Dolphin. It's actually a very cute story. She is in Florida filming another movie, and was in Fort Lauderdale; she evacuated from there but got stuck in Orlando. So she holed up at the Swan/Dolphin. Then she heard that her Frozen co-star Josh Gad was in Miami trying to get out, so she got him and his family rooms at the Swan/Dolphin (him, his parents, his brother & sister-in-law, niece & nephew). Then she learned that Jennifer Carpenter's mother and grandmother were preparing to just ride it out, and did the same.
then, while at the hotel during the storm, she helped entertain her fellow guests -- calling out senior bingo games organized by the hotel, organizing midnight wheelchair races, singing, etc. See http://www.shape.com/celebrities/new...hurricane-irma for the whole story.
What a nice young lady, helping to reverse the general public impression of young actors/actresses as being self-centered airheads, eh?
Nice story and thanks for sharing that with us. There are probably a number of these stories with some celebrities who got stuck in Florida during Irma's wrath as it encompassed the entire state. Even better as she picked the right hotel as I'll be staying at the Dolphin commencing October 8th.
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Southwestern Florida, USA
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 39,153
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 39
Likes (Received): 114
Thanks (Given): 18
Thanks (Received): 46
Pixie Dust (Given): 1
Pixie Dust (Received): 8
We evacuated from our home in Naples FL to WDW during hurricane Irma.
I can tell you that WDW is very prepared for hurricanes!
We saw many characters at the resort we were staying at.
The cast members were all very helpful, kind, and informative.
They did an excellent job taking care of the guests!
The building we stayed in felt very safe!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We evacuated from our home in Naples FL to WDW during hurricane Irma.
I can tell you that WDW is very prepared for hurricanes!
We saw many characters at the resort we were staying at.
The cast members were all very helpful, kind, and informative.
They did an excellent job taking care of the guests!
The building we stayed in felt very safe!
Great to hear that you were safe and you picked the perfect place to evacuate to!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
There are probably a number of these stories with some celebrities who got stuck in Florida during Irma's wrath as it encompassed the entire state. 
Even better as she picked the right hotel as I'll be staying at the Dolphin commencing October 8th.
Hybrid Mode
