Getting Ready for Another Awesome August Adventure! PTR - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Really looking forward to hearing about your trip. We're there next year at a similar time, so would be very interested in your thoughts on crowd levels
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Well, our resort list is getting pretty extensive. We love trying new resorts. But, we decided to go with our two favorites this time!!
We will be spending 5 nights at the Polynesian Village Resort in a standard room.
And, 3 nights at the Boardwalk Inn in a water view room.
We are super excited!!! Of course the Poly has changed a lot since we last stayed there. We are excited to see the changes, but a bit worried we won't love it as much. We have of course visited the Poly during the whole construction process several times, but haven't stayed there since December 2012.
We hope nothing has changed at the BWI since we last stayed there, last August! We had the most awesome room and view. Hoping to get it again!
__________________
Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Really looking forward to hearing about your trip. We're there next year at a similar time, so would be very interested in your thoughts on crowd levels
You will love it! The crowds are so low!! Here is an example: We always get a FP for Soarin from 9-10am. We will get to Epcot at opening, ride Soarin in the stand-by line right away (which is just a walk-thru at opening), then ride with our FP, by now it is well after 9:30, and we can go through again with little to no wait in the stand-by line!
There is no other time of year you can do that. Not even in January!
__________________
Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
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.
Wow, I think we'll be doing just that. Last time w went our ds turned 4 and will be nearly 7on return. He still talks about the ride that is a 'helicopter ride'!
Yes! I am an August convert! ...although I am sure I could be an any-time-of-year convert hahahaha...but I do love hot hot hot weather and I love the crowd levels. We also like to try new resorts and my mission is of course to try them all eventually
Can't wait to read more and I love the pix you included.
__________________
5/02 AKL*8/09 POR*10/10 ASMu*8/11 Pop*2/12 ASMu*8/12 POFQ*2/13 ASM*8/13 CB *4/14 AoA*8/14 AKL*8/15 CS*2/16 Disney Magic*8/16 Split stay! POR/BC*2/17 Disney Fantasy & OKW*8/17 Poly/AKL*1/18 ASMu*8/18 SS/?? split stay!
I'm here! I can't wait to hear all about your trip. It'll be here before you know it.
I just realized after reading the list of trips that you've taken that I've been reading your trip reports for a long time!
I think you've made an excellent choice in the Poly. We really enjoyed our stay there last month. I'm interested to hear your thoughts. We've never stayed at the Boardwalk but think the resort looks lovely (except for the clown slide). We really like staying in the Epcot area.
Wow, I think we'll be doing just that. Last time w went our ds turned 4 and will be nearly 7on return. He still talks about the ride that is a 'helicopter ride'!
Sounds like fun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by sara1215
Love the family picture with Anna & Elsa! I read they don't do pictures together anymore, so you have a definite keepsake there!
That was actually at a private event! The boys were less than thrilled, but went along with it anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by patclairesmom
We'll be there the same time as you. Never having been to Disney in August I'm glad to hear that you love that time of year.
Awesome! Be prepared - it is HOT and HUMID. But the super low crowds make the heat easier to deal with!
__________________
Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
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.
Yes! I am an August convert! ...although I am sure I could be an any-time-of-year convert hahahaha...but I do love hot hot hot weather and I love the crowd levels. We also like to try new resorts and my mission is of course to try them all eventually
Can't wait to read more and I love the pix you included.
True, I'm not sure I'd turn down a trip to WDW any time of the year!! But, we just love late August.
We love trying new resorts, but we are some times happy to just stay at our favorites too! Maybe next summer we'll try something new!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disny_luvr
I'm here! I can't wait to hear all about your trip. It'll be here before you know it.
I just realized after reading the list of trips that you've taken that I've been reading your trip reports for a long time!
I think you've made an excellent choice in the Poly. We really enjoyed our stay there last month. I'm interested to hear your thoughts. We've never stayed at the Boardwalk but think the resort looks lovely (except for the clown slide). We really like staying in the Epcot area.
It is coming up soon! I need to get packing!!
I think the first TR I wrote may have been around 2008 or 2009, so yes it's been a long time for those who have been reading all along!
I'm so glad you enjoyed your Poly stay last month. I'm a little nervous it won't feel the same with all the changes, but I'm sure it will be fine. The boys are so excited to get to the BWI - clown slide and all!!
__________________
Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel