The way We do a Disney Re-Do ~~ Beach club Aug 13-22 - FINISHED!!! 1/20 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
would our luck continue as we made our way into the resort?
Next up: would our luck continue as we made our way into the resort?
As we made our way to the entry of the BC resort, we did not even have time to appreciate the beautiful surroundings before we were welcomed by 3 cast members. One of the women greeted us by name (sort of…she asked if we were the Hughes Family….”. I was shocked and asked her how she knew. She smiled and said only “Disney magic.”
She said that since we did online check in, our room was ready and she would take us to get our KTTWs. (Again--How did she know??).
The CM escorted us near the front desk. She asked one of the other CM’s for the packet for the Hughes family. She was ready to take us to our room. I was certainly not expecting that! I am not sure if that is typical treatment at a deluxe resort, or if we just hit a lull in the crowds so it was easy to get us going.
BUT WAIT--I had a few questions (I have learned on this board that even with online check-in, be sure to confirm special requests with the front desk CM’s). She brought me back to the desk so I could ask about our requests. I had spoken directly with a BC CM about a week before our arrival to discuss our 2 requests: close to a laundry room and a microwave in our room. That CM was delightful (My experience with Dana is also detailed in the PTR) and said it would not be a problem to fulfill those requests, but I wanted to confirm them before we left for our room.
The CM who was waiting with us stayed until I had my questions answered. Although we were not right next to a laundry room, we were on the first floor with laundry just down the hall. SURPRISE--we had also been upgraded to a “water view” (the BC quiet pool). I trusted that it would all work out well!
When I asked about the microwave in the room, there was some whispering behind the desk. I felt the need to “name drop” and I mentioned I had talked with “Dana” last week who said it would not be a problem, especially considering we have a child with a food allergy. With that phrase, the whispering stopped and I was told they would get us a microwave. Check.
The CM escorted us to the main hallway that would lead to our room. Along the way, we admired the beautiful halls and the girls pointed out the “hidden Mickeys” in the carpet. We thought it was beautiful. We really appreciated that we walked through air-conditioned hallways to get to our room. We had only ever stayed at Coronado Springs resort where we had to walk outside from building to building. In November, we did that without a thought, but in August, it would have been uncomfortable. It was another thing I appreciated about staying at a Deluxe Resort.
Our room was beautiful, light and airy. Not sure if we had one of the refurbished rooms. From this board, I thought they were still working on them, but one of the CMs referenced “since the refurb.” Some of the wallpaper looked a bit old, and there were some small holes in the walls from where they have added more outlets/ports to meet growing tech needs. Our patio walked out to the quiet pool, where the laundry room was just a short walk across the length of the pool.
As we were choosing our beds and dropping our bags, a CM came into the room with a poster. It was a color printout of Mickey and his friends. It was a personalized welcome for our family with each of our names! Very sweet. I thought “Dana” may have been responsible for that… (I have sent a thanks to her through the WDW site!). (Note: If the names on the poster do not seem to match the ones I am using in my TR, know I am not using an alias… they just took our formal/legal names from our reservation.)
The kids had their “stick-on smiles,” so we had a potty stop and gathered our things to head to DHS.
Next up: I have no sense of direction, but I have been studying the maps for months. Could I get us to DHS without CM intervention?
Can't wait to hear more, lovin, lovin, lovin it so far!
PS....I may be in the minority...but I like the bigger pics!
Thanks--and I think I figured out the problem...I was resizing--or I thought I was--to medium, but it appeared just as big. Chose small. Still too big. Chose tiny. discovered the "save" button. aha! (In my defense, I had been pressing "apply" and the pics I was looking at did get smaller...) Anyway, next installment I will experiement with "medium" + the save button.
Thanks--and I think I figured out the problem...I was resizing--or I thought I was--to medium, but it appeared just as big. Chose small. Still too big. Chose tiny. discovered the "save" button. aha! (In my defense, I had been pressing "apply" and the pics I was looking at did get smaller...) Anyway, next installment I will experiement with "medium" + the save button.
Cool. I ws scared of photobucket so I am using up my PP space and then will figure it out.
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.
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: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
A promising start to your vacation!
PassPorter Guide Author
Susan
Linear Mode
