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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Okay, for the first time in 26 years, we are planning on DL for my birthday. So here are my questions....is it worth getting one annual pass to DL for the discount on the resort rooms? Want to keep this trip WAY cheap!!! I'd rather spend the extra bucks on food and tours. Second, I see the meal plans for purchase (we love DDP at WDW) but I'm having one heck of a time getting any SOLID info about it. IS it worth it? Finally, tours. DH ALWAYS wants to do Segway. Anyone done it? Is it worth the 3 hours and the $80 (VISA discount)? Oh yes, one more, how do "old-timers' celebrate birthdays there. We'll be there for MY REAL birthday and I want everyone to know. (There's a reason, but too long a story!) And no I"ve already hit the BIG 50! One, one more--what's the best way to get from SNA to any friendly neighbor hotel?
I would not get an annual pass unless you plan on going more then once a year.
If you want to do cheap check out the good nieghbor hotel/motels, you can save a ton of $$$ there.
Meal plans do not save you any money and could end up costing you money. Pay for your meals with cash or credit card.
I don't know anything about any of the tours and I really have not been interested in them.
Just like a kid would.
It really depends on where you are staying. But, generally the easiest way is to take the I-5 north and take the appropriate exit. We usually stay on property so we take the I-5 north, take the Katella exit, west on Katella, right on Disneyland Drive. If your place is on Harbor take the I-5 north, take the Katella exit, west on Katella, right or left on Harbor Blvd depending on address. Or your place may even be on Katella in that case stay on Katella either east or west. Hope this makes sense.
Personally, I think you can cover a lot of DCA by foot in 3 hours and see just as much, if not more than you could on a segway tour. The tour is $99, and pretty expensive imho. Don't get me wrong, we did a Segway tour in San Antonio, Texas and loved it. But we toured a HUGE amount of ground in that 3 hours...I just wonder if 3 hours on Segways in DCA is worth the $99?
stay off site. you'll get a room for 1/3 of the cost and you'll be closer to the parks.
the regular AP is equal to about 5 days in the parks in cost. first, 5 is way too much for one visit (i find myself bored after day 3), but it's doable. but most of the year, weekends are blocked out for the regular AP, i think it's $25 to get in on a blocked day.
the meal plan is a death wish. some people like it for 'budget' reasons but the deal is it's pretty much a gift certificate with a dollar amount. if you go over, you pay the difference. if you go under, you get nothing back.
as far as celebrating birthdays, do the tour, why not? get the button (goofy's kitchen has its own special button for birthdays too), the plaza inn has a happiest birthday celebration every day (maybe geared towards a younger set, but ..). usually the big deal about birthdays is that you tend to get a stack of tortillas from mission tortilla in DCA. that's worth having a birthday alone.
I'm with Brad - you HAVE to go to Mission Tortillas for your stack of birthday tortillas! I love 'em!!
When we went in February, I booked a 3 star hotel at Priceline for $45 a night!! We stayed at Crown Plaza, which is less than a mile offsite. They had a free shuttle that transported us back and forth, and was easily accessible right outside the gates.
If you want to go cheap, stay offsite and bring in food for lunch and snacks in your backpacks. We do this A LOT, and I can always do DL weekends for $300-$400...with shopping!
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Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
Please tell me more about Crown Plaza. Is it part of a chain, or privately owned? We are Nebraskans, so where do you get your tickets then? Is this one part of the "good Neighbor" hotels?
Hello Nebrakan, I'm married to one, we live in Oklahoma now. We have purchased our tickets online at the disney website. Do you have a passporter for Disneyland? If not, it will be the past money you've spent. It will tell you everything you need to know.
How could anyone even start planning without a passporter! But some questions still need to be asked. Thanks for the info! And pity we poor Nebraskans this year. Red is quickly being replaced with black.!
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You know, if you really want to stay in a resort hotel, then getting the AP for the discount is worth it...I've done it...and saved! You also get discounts on your food. A 5 day park hopper is $189.00, the Deluxe AP is $259.00. If the resorts are offering AP discounts during the time you visit, you will easily get that $70.00 difference back and then get 10% off of food. I, personally, think it's worth it. Just be sure that the AP hotel discount is available when you go.
Thanks for all the info. I found dates this weekend and got them checked out w/ my boss yesterday. And...I booked air and the rest last night. We are on our way, though I had to compromise about the birthday gig. So this year, my birthday gets celebrated twice--at least!!! So, with a passporter in hand and the unofficial guide as its companion, I am now starting the minute details that I always go overboard on! Staying at Camelot Inn.
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