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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are a family of five with the youngest being 3. We can either stay at some of the deluxe hotels$$$$ in one room or get two rooms at a moderate. Any info or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
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If it were me, I'd prefer to have one room in a deluxe if the pricing of the two choices was similar. I think the locations of the deluxes and the extra amenitites are worth being together in one larger room, than two smaller value rooms. I'd also choose BWI as the place, so I could walk to DHS and Epcot.
If your other kids are a younger age, I would recommend staying at Port Orleans Riverside. If you stay in the Alligator Bayou rooms, they contain a new fold-down ‘Murphy’ style bed, located above the banquette bench seat, instead of the old trundle beds.
It's a lovely resort and you say save by just getting the 1 room that will sleep 5 (2 queen beds with one sleeping on the fold down bed)
If you have older children, I would say get a Family Suite at either Art of Animation or The All-Star Music Resort. The family suites have a master bedroom with a Queen-size bed, a pull-out sofa and a dining table that converts into a third bed. There are 2 baths, a mini-kitchen, chair, 2 dressers, 2 TVs and a wall safe. They are around 565 square feet.
If you can stay at a deluxe, that's what I'd go for. The rooms are larger and the deluxes are generally closer to the parks, which makes a difference when you have little ones. The only caveat I have is to avoid AKL. We found the furniture to be too large for the room leaving little floor space.
I'd go for a deluxe. With the youngest being 3 I'm assuming you have a young family and woukd prob spend a lot of time at MK, so I'd pick one of the monorail resorts, and they have the largest rooms too. They have 2 queens & a day bed full size. Plus you have the monorail.
If you decide on a moderate IMO you'd be pretty squished in one room. I'd do 2 moderate rooms.
Another benefit of the deluxe is most rooms have a balcony or patio giving the adults somewhere to hang out after the kids go to sleep or nap.
If it were me, id go for 2 rooms at a moderate. ..have you considered renting DVC points? We are staying at OKW 2 bedroom with 5 people. It costs about the same as staying at a moderate resort. Its nice though bc you get a kitchen , washer and dryer and all the great deluxe amenities but for a much cheaper cost. I dont think ill ever book directly through Disney again.
If it were me, id go for 2 rooms at a moderate. ..have you considered renting DVC points? We are staying at OKW 2 bedroom with 5 people. It costs about the same as staying at a moderate resort. Its nice though bc you get a kitchen , washer and dryer and all the great deluxe amenities but for a much cheaper cost. I dont think ill ever book directly through Disney again.
A couple of other options would be the Fort Wilderness cabins and the Family Suites offered at AS Music and Art of Animation value resorts. We normally stay at a value and are very happy with them. We don't use the fancy amenities so having a clean, comfortable place to sleep, a nice pool and a food court pretty much sum up our needs. The family suites sleep up to six, with a bedroom featuring a queen bed, and fold-out sleeping for four in the second room. Two bathrooms, a kitchenette and two TVs make the suites a good choice for families. The suites at Music are less expensive than the themed suites at Animation, where everything is suites except the Little Mermaid rooms.
Also, the All Stars are five minutes from Animal Kingdom and about the same from Blizzard Beach and about 8 minutes from DHS. Animation is located near Pop so it is a bit closer to DTD and the other parks
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The benefit of two rooms is much more space and two bathrooms which could be a plus. Art of Animation suites are extremely comfortable and are well designed rooms. The kids will love it.
AOA also will price out less than two rooms at the moderate resorts. It is in a good location and not really far from any park. Also having a mini kitchenette is a nice option with kids. Unlike most Disney resorts that have a table and only two chairs there is a table that fits the entire family.
When my kids were teenagers we went with the two rooms at a moderate. It was so nice having 2 bathrooms and we each had a bit of space. I love staying deluxe and the location of those hotels, but space was a priority for us. If your kids are younger and need naps ( and you did say you ave a 3 year old) staying at a deluxe hotel near the park you'll spend the most time at makes it easier to head back for a midday break.
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If you have a younger family, I'd also go with a 1-room option -- either a Family Suite, Cabin, POR or deluxe resort (deluxe if that fits the budget). WDW will NOT guarantee connecting rooms, regardless of children's ages. While most requests for connecting rooms are granted, there is possibility of not getting that. And you could even end up with rooms in separate buildings, floors, sections. For that reason alone, I would avoid doing 2-rooms unless the kids are older and you feel comfortable with the possibility of splitting up.
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