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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Before we went to Aulani in November, I asked if anyone had any questions about the resort, and one of the most common questions that came up was about the shopping facilities there. As I’ve reached that point in my trip report, I thought I’d put the details in here as well.
There are two shopping complexes at Ko Olina, literally one on either side of the road – one is the Ko Olina Station and the other is the Ko Olina Center. As you drive into Ko Olina, you come to a junction, where Aulani is located. You actually drive a bit further on from the junction to get into Aulani, as the entrance is located on the right, but if you turn left at that junction, you’re straight into the shopping complex. From leaving Aulani (and bear in mind that getting to the front of the resort could take five minutes, depending where you’re staying ) it’s only a five minutes walk.
During our stay, we headed over there and wandered around, getting got some photos of the stores here, and where I could, the menus that go with them. There’s certainly a good selection, with a sushi place, coffee shop, pizza place, Mexican place, and another restaurant:
That’s how close Aulani is to this complex!
Then we went into the Island Country Markets by ABC Stores, and my goodness, what a gold mine! Honestly, this place pretty much has everything you could ever want. I took lots of photos to try and give people an idea of the range of items it’s got:
And here were the lunch items for the day:
Hope that’s helpful to everyone who had questions about this.
Thank you so much! We are planning our first trip to Aulani in September this year (crossing my fingers when our 7 month window opens up soon) and this is very helpful. I'm going to go check out your trip report.
This little complex looks like it would be very useful and fun to visit. Makes Aulani feel less isolated and also makes it doable for a few days without a car.
This little complex looks like it would be very useful and fun to visit. Makes Aulani feel less isolated and also makes it doable for a few days without a car.
I think it's great to have that on the doorstep and know that you can easily get pretty much everything you need without having to leave Ko Olina.
Thanks for posting these photos - I think it will be very helpful for everyone to see exactly what is right on Aulani's doorstep. When we were there, we were quite pleasantly surprised at just how much the store had!
When I was researching for our trip and heard the descriptions, I was envisioning something more like a Quik-e-Mart, but it is actually much more substantial.
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Thanks for posting these photos - I think it will be very helpful for everyone to see exactly what is right on Aulani's doorstep. When we were there, we were quite pleasantly surprised at just how much the store had!
When I was researching for our trip and heard the descriptions, I was envisioning something more like a Quik-e-Mart, but it is actually much more substantial.
Thank you very much for sharing and posting all these photos! We are planning a trip to Aulani in October and this is very helpful! I am really looking forward to our trip and I will be sure to check out your trip report
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.
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) it’s only a five minutes walk. 
Honestly, this place pretty much has everything you could ever want. I took lots of photos to try and give people an idea of the range of items it’s got: 
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