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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Planning first trip to Disneyland!
My husband and I are talking about (seriously talking about) a trip to Disneyland this Christmas. It's very last minute financially, but we are still considering it because we need some magic given the craziness of our military life and it's been 2 years since we visited the World (such great memories)!
We now live in Oregon so we would likely fly out of PDX and fly into Orange County.
Any tips on how to get there and stay frugally? We are okay with staying a Good Neighbor Hotel, but are not sure if it's like WDW where it's miles to get to the World from off site hotels.
So, I guess my questions are:
1) We are military, can we get a military rate for 12/23-28 for on site hotels (I expect not because of blackouts)?
2) In Florida, you cannot just walk onto property, is that how CA is, do you have to drive into Disneyland?
3) What is your preferred Good Neighbor Hotel?
4) If we stay at a GNH do we need to have vehicle (kind of guys with the above questions I suppose)?
5) Any other tips you would like to pass along to make our trip a reality?
Thanks in advance! How I've missed Disney and it's good to be back on Passporter.
1) We are military, can we get a military rate for 12/23-28 for on site hotels (I expect not because of blackouts)?
The last couple of years (this coming year included) there have not been military discounts for rooms that I have been able to find. Even if there was, though, the chances of there being any Christmas week are almost none, I think. That's a big money maker week for DLR!
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2) In Florida, you cannot just walk onto property, is that how CA is, do you have to drive into Disneyland?
Oh no. : It is nothing like WDW. All of the Good Neighbor hotels are, literally, across the street from DLR. In fact, some of those hotels are a closer walking distance than the DL Hotel or Paradise Pier.
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3) What is your preferred Good Neighbor Hotel?
Carousel Inn and Suites
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4) If we stay at a GNH do we need to have vehicle (kind of guys with the above questions I suppose)?
Not unless you are planning on venturing away from the general DL area. If you are planning on doing anything in LA (Universal, tours, anything like that) then I would suggest a car for sure.
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5) Any other tips you would like to pass along to make our trip a reality?
If you have an MWR office where you're at, I strongly suggest you get your tickets there. Much cheaper and no sales tax like you would have to pay if you bought them at the gate. Here's a price comparison for you, using the prices that our MWR up here in WA has:
3 day Park Hopper at the gate (adult/child) = $204/$174
3 day Park Hopper on base (adult/child) = $168/$146
4 day Park Hopper at the gate (adult/child) = $229/$199
4 day Park Hopper on base (adult/child) = $175.50/$154
The new Military Salute deal was just announced a couple of days ago and this year, DL tickets are included, however, they have blockout dates and cannot be used Dec. 24th through Jan. 1st.
Speaking of MWR, you might also check and see if they offer any discounts on hotels in the area. I know up here they have discounts for a few of the Good Neighbor hotels (as well as a few that aren't on Disney's Good Neighbor list but still aren't that bad. ) Off the top of my head, our ITT/MWR offers discounts/vouchers on the Best Western Stovall's and Pavilions, Castle Inn and Sheraton Park Hotel.
Hope this helps!
If you don't mind me asking, where in Oregon are you stationed now?
I am originally from the Eugene area and my family is spread all over the NW part of OR now.
I agree with DopeyGirl on everything except on the hotel of choice. Sorry there. LOL. I went onto the Carousel Inns web page and checked to see what they had to offer for those dates you wrote about. Sorry to say but they are full, they are full through New Years in fact. I went to the web page of the hotel we favor the most, Ramada Inn Maingate and they have rooms open and their web page says the total cost would be $801.45 for those 5 days. I believe that as of now, it would start getting harder and harder to book rooms for the Christmas Holiday at any of the Good Neighbor Hotels. I would suggest you start checking them out and book at the earliest that you can. Don't be surprised at the cost either as everyone ups the price during this time of the year. Same as they do for Spring Break. Good Luck and hope you can book something soon. Didn't want to 'rain on your parade' but just want you to know that things get tight down here around this time of year. GOOD LUCK.
I just did my very first Disneyland trip over Labor Day (Half Marathon) and it is so much different than WDW! I mean, the hotel situation anyway. We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn and did not have, nor did we need a car. I highly recommend the Candy Cane. Yes, you can walk, but it's about 1/4 to 1/2 mile. It's not right across the street like the Best Western or other ones, it's just a bit further down the road. However, they do have their own shuttle bus!!! We used that every single time. It runs every 30 minutes and promptly. It was wonderful. The grounds are beautiful with flowers everywhere, the beds were sooo comfy, and it includes a continental breakfast. I would stay there again, for sure. Good luck deciding and planning your trip!
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Went to DL the first time last year! Had a blast but its so differnt then the world!
1) We are military, can we get a military rate for 12/23-28 for on site hotels (I expect not because of blackouts)?
Not sure sorry!
2) In Florida, you cannot just walk onto property, is that how CA is, do you have to drive into Disneyland?
YES
there are so many hotels around its hard to choose
3) What is your preferred Good Neighbor Hotel?
I stayed at the eden roc inn it wasn't that bad ofa walk the rooms were alittle run downbut for the price i got it wasn't bad I wasn't at the room other then to sleep and shower. Good luck with this there are soo many hotels to choose from.. its hard.
4) If we stay at a GNH do we need to have vehicle (kind of guys with the above questions I suppose)?
not sure it depends on you if your a walker then not or if you want to go somewhere else other then disneyland. If you don't plan on going any where else then the land then i would say no! I did the shuttle from the airport to the hotel it was like the magical express in the world but not as magical and they don't all drop you off in front of your hotel. We had a nice driver who dropped us off in front of our hotel. They do it like bus stops.
FYI - alot of the hotels do charge for parking.
5) Any other tips you would like to pass along to make our trip a reality?
make sure you get a hotel with a free continental breakfast that way you can have 1 quick meal each day.
one thing that helped me is go with an open mind and take out the unnecessary perks.
If you want me to I can look through my DL info.. ???
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The link Papa Mouse posted back in March 2010 about the SNA Shuttle is not working. Anyone have a better link?
I'm curious how far the ride is from SNA to a super close to Disney Good Neighbor Hotel (or Disneyland itself) and also if it's a cost or a free shuttle.
I told you I was clueless about this. There is such an ABUNDANCE of information on here, but I get lost in reading all the threads I sometimes forget what my original question was. Goodness, you guys are a wealth of information as always!
It's about a 15-20 minute (13-14 miles) ride from John Wayne airport to Disneyland.
There are a couple of options for shuttles to/from SNA. I am not sure about free hotel shuttles as it would depend on the hotel you stay at and if they even have one.
It costs $25 per person round trip and goes from John Wayne airport to over 150 different hotels (stops depend on who needs to stop where on the bus). They don't have a posted list but say to give them a call or email for more info on the hotels they pick up/drop off at: anaheim.reservations@coachamerica.com or (714) 978-8855
If you have not decided upon a motel or hotel to stay at, I have a web site that has some information you may be interested. It lists almost all of the hotels and motels around the Disneyland resort (except for the resort hotels) and most have phone numbers and a web site URL connected to them as well and a map to show where the are located. Also listed are some restaurants in the 'near' area. You will also find a list of a number of Disney Resort phone numbers. The URL link is:
You've gotten good info so far. We've had good stays at Desert Inn and Suites, Tropicana Innand Suites and Candy Cane Inn. Candy Cane Inn is by far our favorite, but it's generally a bit more expensive as well. We're trying Howard Johnson's for one night our next trip. I got a great rate through mousesavers.com. Have fun!
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: It is nothing like WDW. All of the Good Neighbor hotels are, literally, across the street from DLR. In fact, some of those hotels are a closer walking distance than the DL Hotel or Paradise Pier. 
) Off the top of my head, our ITT/MWR offers discounts/vouchers on the Best Western Stovall's and Pavilions, Castle Inn and Sheraton Park Hotel. 
We used that every single time. It runs every 30 minutes and promptly. It was wonderful. The grounds are beautiful with flowers everywhere, the beds were sooo comfy, and it includes a continental breakfast. I would stay there again, for sure. Good luck deciding and planning your trip! 
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