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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Should we stay on-site in January? I know the crowds will be less but would it just as good to stay off-site since there will be shorter lines for the rides?
Thanks!
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Stay on site for access to the Extended hours that guest hotel guest get. And for me it is more of a vacation when someone else does all the driving and the cooking.
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I've heard their new value resort is awesome, so you might want to consider that. Plus it'll give you extra hours and transportation to the parks. The value resort doesn't give the FOL passes, so isn't as expensive as staying at the deluxes there. We stayed offsite once and that was enough! From that point on we stay onsite.
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I would say that if the ONLY thing you think you might miss is the extra hours at the parks then it isn't a big deal to stay off site. We stayed on site the past few trips in Jan/early Feb and never once went to the extra hours. We didn't wait longer than 15 minutes for a ride. The lines were short or we were able to use Fastpasses. We like not having to drive and it feels more like a Disney trip to us being on site, but I don't think it's necessary just to avoid lines.
We have done two January trips. One bonus of staying onsite in January is that the Disney Resorts bring some of the magic indoors when the weather is cold. We really enjoyed the Boardwalk Buskers in the lobby when the temps went down to the 20's. Plus if things do get chilly and you need a break or it warms up in the afternoon so you want to shed some layers it is easier onsite.
OOPS!
Ha! I missed what forum this is in! Well, I still think staying onsite always makes for a more relaxing vacation. The less you have to drive the better!!
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I've done both. I really like bring onsite there and Cabana Bay is a great value resort if you need to save money. But you should be ok offsite if you have a place you like.
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I think all the Universal HOtels are lovely so I would stay on site for the atmosphere and accommodations. If the quality of the hotel doesn't matter than you can find many, many rooms very close to Universal.
The other thing that was important when my boys were teens was they liked the ability to spread out and also have privacy that a villa type accommodation provided. I like being able to put lots of healthy snacks in a fridge.
I like staying on site, for Front of the line passes and early entry. You will wait hours on line to get on Gringotts without early entry.
Universal no longer have FPs (free). Plus I like having continuous boat transportation, or you can walk back to your resort.
Staying on site at Universal offers more convenience than at Disney because it is so close - walkable or short boat ride. It is more conducive to going back and forth from parks to hotel. For example, we enjoyed returning to the hotel for lunch - better food and a better value.
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