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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Like most people we are looking to economize our trip. Every year we have stayed at Royal Pacific and love it. Unfortunately the cute 3 and 5 year old boys we had are now fully grown 14 and 16 year old teens. We need more room. Getting a second room at RP is a really big stretch.
Has anyone stayed at the Kids Suite at Saphire Falls? It would save us a lot, but I am not sure if we would enjoy the property as much as RP. We love the tropical feel to the RP. Is Saphire Falls standard issue business hotel, or does it have a fun theme to it??
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Planning for summer of 2017. 3rd week in August. We will get blown away by the rides, or a hurricane. Either way it should be alot of fun
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I had the chance to tour Sapphire Falls earlier this month and saw the Kids Suite. They are FANTASTIC! The kids room does not have an exterior door so no worries about security. The resort is absolutely gorgeous. One note - Sapphire Falls is 70% tub only so if anyone prefers baths, you would need to call the hotel and ask to speak with the front desk manager to guarantee a room with a tub.
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.
I think all hotels have early entry, but only the top 3: RP HRH and PF have the express pass. We are going in slow season, so we can probably skip the express pass.
The parks are closing at 8PM each night, so we will have a substantial amount of time hanging out at the hotel. Thus, why the feel of the place is important to us.
If the hotel is standard issue business, we will probably stay with RP and make it work somehow.
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Planning for summer of 2017. 3rd week in August. We will get blown away by the rides, or a hurricane. Either way it should be alot of fun
Sapphire Falls is not at all standard issue business. Royal Pacific has an Asian-Pacific themed resort, Sapphire Falls has a Caribbean theme. If you check my Instagram @MouseFanSara, I recently posted some photos of Sapphire Falls. https://www.instagram.com/p/BRYtzr_D...y=mousefansara
I think all hotels have early entry, but only the top 3: RP HRH and PF have the express pass. We are going in slow season, so we can probably skip the express pass.
The parks are closing at 8PM each night, so we will have a substantial amount of time hanging out at the hotel. Thus, why the feel of the place is important to us.
If the hotel is standard issue business, we will probably stay with RP and make it work somehow.
Thanks! I'm trying to plan for my first trip there, so all of this info really helps!
I'm also trying to decide between Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls. I'm looking at proximity and ease of getting to and from the parks if we want to go back to the room in the afternoon. Did you find it easy going to and from the parks when you stayed at RP? Do you happen to know if it's a lot harder/further to go back and forth to SF?
It's a lot to try to figure out if you haven't actually been there before...trying to read up and see what others say and ask is helping a lot!
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Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
I'm going to be staying at Universal for the first time this October as there is so much more to see and do there since my last day visit in 2009. Those are the two resorts I'm considering. I think the Unlimited Express Pass is a nice amenity and will certainly weigh in on which resort I decided on.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
It is a short walk from Royal Pacific to the parks. You can also take Universal transportation. I think they have a bus and a boat but we only walked.
I haven't been since the new hotels opened but have stayed in both Portofino Bay and Royal Pacific. Both are beautiful. ON one trip we had a room at RPR that overlooked IOA. I amused myself by watching the hulk from our room.
We stayed at royal pacific and you can see sapphire falls from the boat launch- they are side by side. The biggest consideration for me would be the front of the line passes. If it's busy they are worth the extra price for the royal pacific no doubt in my mind
We stayed at royal pacific and you can see sapphire falls from the boat launch- they are side by side. The biggest consideration for me would be the front of the line passes. If it's busy they are worth the extra price for the royal pacific no doubt in my mind
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Yes indeed on your input! The Unlimited Universal Express Passes are about $85-$90 per day. Not cheap, but that basically washes out staying at the Sapphire Resort in which you don't get this and the next step up to the Royal Pacific and the two other deluxes as this is complimentary with your stay. Depending on when you search the difference on daily rates is $80-$100. It's basically a no brainer for going with the Royal Pacific as most people will be spending a lot of park time and the Unlimited Express Passes will be worthwhile. The Hard Rock and Portofino are a bit more on the rates so best to start with the RP.
Also, the Royal Pacific is a much nicer resort than the Sapphire with many more amenities but the Sapphire is new and looks quite nice for a moderate. Probably, better than the WDW moderates at the moment (this may change with the ongoing WDW construction at CSR and CBR perhaps! ) We shall see.
It depends what you want and your priorities for your trip!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I'm going to be staying at Universal for the first time this October as there is so much more to see and do there since my last day visit in 2009. Those are the two resorts I'm considering. I think the Unlimited Express Pass is a nice amenity and will certainly weigh in on which resort I decided on.
Yes, the express pass would definitely help staying at royal pacific, hard rock or portofino. October is EXTREMELY busy because of HHN. Just know that the express pass is not good for HHN only regular day time. HHN is a separate ticketed event that you need to purchase express passes for but they are worth it because HHN is packed. Best nights to go there are Wednesday, Thursday or Sundays.
Yes, the express pass would definitely help staying at royal pacific, hard rock or portofino. October is EXTREMELY busy because of HHN. Just know that the express pass is not good for HHN only regular day time. HHN is a separate ticketed event that you need to purchase express passes for but they are worth it because HHN is packed. Best nights to go there are Wednesday, Thursday or Sundays.
Thanks for the info. I have already purchased my HHN ticket so I'm all set in that regard. I've heard about the crowds for those nights and especially on the weekends for this event. I plan on doing this on a Thursday. I'm considering the RIP (VIP) tour on my night for a better experience. It's not cheap but you'll see a lot! The RIP tours will be available sometime in the Summer, so got a while and I'm on the contact list for this! You get complimentary express passes for the RIP tour so another benefit if I do this! We shall see!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 03-21-2017 at 10:52 PM..
I'm considering the RIP (VIP) tour on my night for a better experience. It's not cheap but you'll see a lot! The RIP tours will be available sometime in the Summer, so got a while and I'm on the contact list for this! You get complimentary express passes for the RIP tour so another benefit if I do this! We shall see!
You will love the VIP RIP tour. You even bypass the express pass people. And, you will get to do every haunted house and then some! Enjoy. HHN is a favorite of my ds and dh!
You will love the VIP RIP tour. You even bypass the express pass people. And, you will get to do every haunted house and then some! Enjoy. HHN is a favorite of my ds and dh!
Bypassing the Express Pas line is another incentive to consider doing this. I know you will visit all 9 Haunted Houses! The regular standby lines can be 2+ hours at times and I'm not waiting that long for any of them!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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The Unlimited Universal Express Passes are about $85-$90 per day. Not cheap, but that basically washes out staying at the Sapphire Resort in which you don't get this and the next step up to the Royal Pacific and the two other deluxes as this is complimentary with your stay. 
Depending on when you search the difference on daily rates is $80-$100. It's basically a no brainer for going with the Royal Pacific as most people will be spending a lot of park time and the Unlimited Express Passes will be worthwhile. The Hard Rock and Portofino are a bit more on the rates so best to start with the RP. 
) We shall see. 
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