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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am really confused right now and I know you guys can help me! The airfare to/from MCO I got was wonderful, but, the flight back home leaves at 7 a.m. so I decided to add on one day to our vacation. I called Disney this morning to add on a day w/dining and one more day of tickets and even with the discount it is around $600. That is just too much so I was considering changing my ressie at Disney to one less day and staying two days off property and going to Universal for a day. My question is how hard would it be to change hotels and would it be cost effective? I did find the Comfort Inn at Lake Buena Vista for $39 a night but because of my family size I would have to get two rooms. I would also lose out on ME for the trip home and have to get a shuttle or something. So... what do you think?
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I think if you do 2 days off property and do Universal instead, you'll still be spending a couple hundered dollars for tickets to the parks, food, and then also getting to/from the airport for the 6 of you. I would probably find out how much that would cost before I would consider not staying at Disney.
Do you have to have the same # of days of your park tickets as your stay? Maybe you can save some money there?
Good luck!
We opted for the 6:35 pm instead of that 7 am flight, although we're rethinking that now... hmmmm. The $600 seems steep, but when you figure out the extra cost of tix at Universal, the shuttle, the hotel, food, etc., you may as well stay at WDW!
We opted for the 6:35 pm instead of that 7 am flight, although we're rethinking that now... hmmmm. The $600 seems steep, but when you figure out the extra cost of tix at Universal, the shuttle, the hotel, food, etc., you may as well stay at WDW!
Yeah I really wanted the later flight but for $99 I had to take the 7 a.m. So I just added the day! DH really doesn't want to stay off property so maybe I will call Disney back. We were really messing with the current ressie trying to get that new code to work (great CM by the way) so maybe she quoted me wrong. Or maybe I heard her wrong! It probably would be a huge bother to pack everything up for two days and then pack up again. Especially w/four kids!
Well, the ticket aspect is definitely going to cost you more (relatively speaking) since additional days at Disney are fairly cheap while at Universal you'd have to buy a completely new ticket (did that sentence make any sense???). So even though the lodging aspect might be a lot cheaper, you might end up spending more or at least the same amount. You also said you've got the DDP so you probably figured that it's going to save you money on dining. If you switch to Universal, you'll have to pay for dining OOP there.
My advice would be to check prices first (both should cost about the same, I think) and then decide what you would rather do: more Disney or a Universal day. You didn't mention how long your stay will be in total but if you only have very few vacation days it might be too much of a hassle to pack and un-pack. Just something to think about. The least expensive option would probably be to stay off-site (near Disney) for the last two nights and just opt for a longer ticket (since your Magic Your Way ticket doesn't have to match the days of your stay at POR, just the dining plan days do).
I hope this helped!
ETA: Now you bet me in posting Hope my post still helps.
Could you book your last night as a "room only" reservation? You could then pay out of pocket for your meals (and eat CS to keep the cost down). That doesn't help with the park ticket problem, but isn't there a "grace period" (something like seven days from first day of use, or something like that)? If that is the case, you could use a day in the middle of your trip for a non park day and spend it at DTD, a water park or exploring the resorts. You would then be able to use your tickets for a park on your last day. At least I think it works like this, but we have only been on a package one time as we usually have annual passes. Might be worth checking out.
Also, if you book a room only reservation, you will have to check out on the last day of your package and check back in. If you let them know what you are doing, they will do everything possible to keep you in the same room.
Edit: Don't know if a room only reservation can use DME. That may be another issue!
I think your best bet is to stick with WDW. Do a room only at the end to avoid the DDP if you want (you will have to check in again). Add a few days to your tickets at a couple dollars a day - or not; your tickets are good for 14 days after first use, so "stretch" your time if you want.
A one day park ticket to Universal is around $80 adult, $70 child. That plus an off-site hotel will probably cost you just as much as staying at WDW. JMO!!
Oh I never thought of a room only ressie! Thanks guys - I will check into that. Our first day we are only doing DTD and spending time at our pool. So that just might work! Thanks again for all suggestions and support everyone!
I'd go with a room only reservation, although I am all for adding Universal days onto your trip! However, the extra costs for transportation may add up since you don't have a car to transfer to an off-site hotel.
BTW, Universal one day tickets are the same price as WDW. However, they have the 7-day, 2 park pass for $85.99, which is the best deal on park tickets anywhere.
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Michelle - with my step sisters!
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