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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 own over 400 points...but only 60 are at OKW....yet we have stayed here 90% of the time...it is absolutely our favorite and it is not even close!!...we occasionally will begin our trips with two nights at another resort to "check it out", but that's about it...we own 300 points at VWL and we have stayed their a grand total of 10 nights in 15 years
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We are checking in to OKW in 19 days. We bought DVC back in October when we were on our fall trip, however, when trying to change from Riverside to a DVC resort for February trip, the only one they could get us two studios was at OKW. I'm nervous since we've never stayed here.
How are the busses? is the time from the rooms to the bus stops reasonable? It looks very spread out. Also, we are getting a dining plan. Where do you fill up your mugs?
When we booked I didn't know there was a "near hospitality house" category so I didn't know to ask for that, I'm sure its too late at this point. I did speak to a cast member about being near transportation due to the newly diagnosed arthritis in my knee. Hopefully they can accommodate that and 2 studios close by each other since we are traveling with our best friends.
Any advise is welcomed!
Ok...there are a couple of "types" of OKW people..there are those like myself who always request being near the HH, and then their are those who like being down by the Turtle Pond pool. Then there are those who could care less....as far a bus transportation goes, there are stops at all sections of the resort with benches and cover for when it rains....We have always used the bus at OKW with minimal issues...the only thing that remotely annoys is that when you get on at Peninsular Road Stop, you go in the grand tour of all the other stops....the last bus stop before departing for your destination is the HH...so if you are planning on getting off at HH, the smart thing is to get off at Peninsular...but overall , you should have zero problem with transportation regardless of where you are
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I'm glad you posted this. We had a really rough stay with all kinds of issues with both rooms our family had so I had declared that I would never return. Well that was 7 years ago and I am softening to the idea of giving OKW a second chance.
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Peninsular rd is close enough that you could walk to HH and catch the last bus out of the area keeping from having to ride it all the way through. We also really enjoyed turtle pond area.
We stay at OKW almost exlusively. the lower point cost and largest rooms make it so nice. Then you add the three smaller pools (with no lifegaurds, so my girls can use the mermaid tails) and how quiet it is, and it is a winner. Top that with we usually rent a car, and parking within 50 feet of your room after closing out a park is HEAVENLY!!
Ate at Olivias for the first time and loved it too. If we can pull off a trip in March we will have to stay at SS, which is nice, but not our favorite. We are out of points and trying to see what we can pull off to make this work.
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WDW August 1987 (wife), 4 trips before kids (married), Oct 2012, April 2013, Nov 2013, March 2014, Sep 2014, Nov 2015. DCL March 2014. DL May 1985 (me..Senior Trip), plus 4 trips or so before kids (married), June 2015.
We love OKW because its a lot like Riverside the first resort we stayed at. Its also peaceful, quiet, easy to drive to parks from, close to DTD, boats to DTD, great pool, great quiet pools and the people there are some of the nicest in all of DVC in community halls and marshmallow roast. It also lets us stretch our points - cheap villas at WDW. If I can't be with animals at AK- I want the Florida feel of OKW.
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Checking in to hear what people have to say. We just bought in, in December to OKW!! We will be making reservations for Thanksgiving week this year, so excited. We are getting a 2 bedroom villa. My question though is youtube videos make the beds look pretty tiny. However I have read that in the second bedroom the beds are both queens. Is this correct?
From what I have read here so far, it seems I need to really look more into the whole resort area, as we have only walked around the hospitality house area. This turtle pond area sounds pretty tempting!
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