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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Some background:
I will be at the Swan and Dolphin without my family for 4 days. I am working a tradeshow. (one with really light hours) I have a season pass because of multiple opportunites to vist the Orlando area over the next year. I will be traveling mostly alone and wont be mingling with my other coworkers to much on this trip.
There are sometimes a need to have a car at the last min for tradeshows (i.e. something didn't show up, someone else got stuck someplace, it's cheaper to have one car just to get everyone back to the airport.)
I wanted to head over to one of the Disney outlets while I am alone to pick up a few things for our upcoming family trip.
Do I rent a car for basically that one purpose only or do I work out a cab?
I always suggest renting a car. There's so much to do off of Disney property (plus all the dining) that it just makes sense. Plus, there's so many car rental companies that you can rent a car for relatively cheap.
We are car renters at WDW. We like having the freedom of being able to go somewhere when we want.
DME does not serve the Swan and Dolphin, so you should compare the price of transportation of a towncar service or cab from MCO to that of renting a car. The Swan and Dolphin do charge a parking fee each day, so make sure you consider that in your cost.
Another idea is to just rent a car from the Alamo/National desk at the Dolphin for the day.
I still struggle to understand why people don't rent cars while going to Disney. The amount of money one spends on Disney tix, airfare, hotel etc...What's another $200 that only gives you more freedom and saves time waiting around for Disney transportation.
I never rent a car at WDW. We are usually elsewhere in Florida before we get to WDW, and after check in I return the rental. I rent from Alamo, which is on property. We take the DME to MCO for our return flight home.
I guess I'm in the minority on this thread, but I love having Disney do the driving. I don't want to hassle with driving, parking, waiting for the tram to take me back to my parking spot, etc. And I'm able to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner and not worry about driving.
If you're just going one day to the outlets- Premium? It's pretty close to DTD, I'd cab it. And for getting there and back to airport with co-workers, maybe look into sharing a Town Car.
It seems having a car rental at Swan/Dolphin will add to the cost having to pay for parking too.
For shorter trips like this, a rental car is a MUST.
You have very little time in a 4-day trip anyway, but your trip is also a working trip, so your time in the parks is even shorter. How much of it do you want to waste waiting for buses, boats, and monorails?
Rent the car for the entire trip and use it to go everywhere. It will save you hours each day in wait times alone, not to mention taxi fares for your off-site excursions.
Since you'll be in work clothing for the trade show, you will probably want to change before you go to the parks; with a rental car, you can either get back to your own resort much faster, or bring your park attire with you and leave your work attire in the rental car when you hit the parks, saving you the trip. If you're wearing a suit at the show, you will DEFINITELY want to change, and don't want to leave the suit in a locker at the parks; just bring a hangar and leave the suit hanging neatly in the back of the rental car.
And at trade shows, stuff always comes up - you may need some kind of supplies or gear for your booth that can't be found in the hotel's business center, and someone will need to make a run to Office Depot or Best Buy or even WalMart, and having the car means that you can be that guy. If you want. If you don't want to be that guy, don't tell your coworkers that you have a car.
Besides, since this is a work trip, wouldn't the cost of the rental car be covered by your company? Or at least partially covered? Even if you're not transporting swag and displays for your booth, you still need transportation, right?
I guess I'm in the minority on this thread, but I love having Disney do the driving. I don't want to hassle with driving, parking, waiting for the tram to take me back to my parking spot, etc. And I'm able to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner and not worry about driving.
I agree with you. One of the reasons we love Disney so much is that it is a hassle free vacation. We dont have to worry about driving in a strange city or worry about a rental car and where to get gas, etc. And I would like to add that I travel alot and rent cars in other citys all the time so I am used to doing that, but it is nice to get into an air conditioned bus at the end of a long day with the kids in the parks and just sit back and close your eyes and relax on the way back to the hotel. We usually go in the off season so the crowding of the bus has never been an issue for us.
While I've never seen the need to rent a car when I go (especially since I don't go off property), I think WillCAD presents a very good argument for doing so for the OP's situation.
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