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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We have booked the Grand Californian - we used DVC points !
We were thinking of flying into Orange County airport ?
We want to spend 2 days in San Deigo and see the Panda's ( never have seen a real one besides myself ! LOL)
Need to rent a car.
Could use help ! We are members of several possible discount ie Costco, AAA, DVC
Should we do a package ? book/ pay separate for each part--airfare/hotel in San Deigo/ car/ tickets for Disneyland / san deigo zoo/ ...
For early February !
Any suggestions would be helpful ..
We have never been to California
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1Honeymoon 89 off property,2All Star Music 96,3All Star Sport 98,4All Star Movie00, 5Wilderness Lodge 03,6Shades of Green 05&Double Tree 05&Animal Kingdom Lodge 05 x2(7)
8Old Key West 05 x2(9), 10Wilderness Villas06, 11Old Key West 07& Coronado Springs 07&
Animal Kingdom Lodge 07,12-14Animal Kingdom Lodge 08x3,15Animal Kingdom Lodge 09,16Treehouse/cruise 09,17Old Key West1/ 10,18POP 5/10,19Saratoga/ Kidani 1200/10,Treehouse/AKL conceirge12/11, 21Boardwalk5/12
Looks like you are on a great course for a wonderful vacation! I wish I had some words of wisdom for the SD hotels, but we had the good fortune of having a daughter live down there, so we always stayed with her.
As far as package vs booking everything individually; you'd just have to price things out and see where you save best. Sometimes CityPass has some great deals; you may want to check that out!
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We fell in love with San Diego zoo during our once in a lifetime trip to California that we are now wanting to repeat. I would say visit the panda's first thing as the queues got huge. We can also recommend the storytellers cafe for lunch. Can't recommend hotels as we hired an RV what an experience that was
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I agree that pricing everything out would be the best way to go. The San Diego CityPass (which you can add to your reservation at the GCH in place of regular park tickets) is currently $279 plus tax per adult (if you buy through Disney) . . . however, the 2013 CityPasses will start being sold next month and will likely have a slight price increase.
Currently, a 3-day Disneyland Park Hopper is $250/adult and the one-day San Diego Zoo pass is $42. With the CityPass at its current price, you'd save $13 PLUS you'd get admission to both Sea World San Diego and Universal Studios Hollywood on top of that as part of the CityPass. So, it really is a good deal especially if you are planning to use all of the options (or even if you aren't!)
As far as San Diego hotels, it kind of depends on your budget. If you don't mind paying a little bit more and want a pretty view of the city and/or the bay (and to stay nearer to the airport) I would suggest looking at the options on Shelter Island, Harbor Island or even some downtown. There are some nice places in the Mission Bay area as well.
I grew up in San Diego and we go back to visit quite a bit. While my family and I are currently military and stay on base, my parents usually stay at the Sheraton on Harbor Island or the Holiday Inn Bayside (which is directly across the street from the cruise terminal and about 2 blocks down from the USS Midway Museum) as, even though we drive, we prefer to stay in the downtown/airport area.
Having grown up in SD myself I'm rather partial to the Mission Bay area. Though I get to stay with family whenever I visit. Personally I know longer care for Sea World since Anheiser-Busch bought it. But that is just my opinion. I'd take on day at the zoo and the second day just enjoying the city and beaches. Word of warning though, May and June you get ALOT of gray mornings. So much so that the months are termed May Gray and June Gloom. Afternoons clear up though.
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