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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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It was just my daughter (4 y/o) and myself. We had an overall amazing time. There were a few setbacks but nothing to make me come home and say I'd never return.
The snorkeling was amazing and loved going on the boat to the reefs everyday. There are some nice reefs a short walk away on the beach but the best ones are where the boats go. There are 3-4 trips a day and its all free.
The Iguana Island tour was overpriced and only ok.
When we left from our home the weather said scattered showers scattered thunderstorms for the 7 days we were going to be there. Not once did it cloud over or rain. The reports are not accurate
~~~~~If you have any questions, please contact me. I'd be happy to help answer any questions~~~~~~~
I'll break it down into sections.
CHECK-IN arrived @ 12 p.m. I booked our room for the cheapest one and since it was the single parents month promo, they upgraded us upon arrival to the French Village. They whisk you off the van and give you a cold towel and a rum punch. They unload your luggage and you go inside to check in. Our room was ready @ 2 p.m.
ROOM French Village pool view 2nd floor. The room was great. Clean, comfy bed, dresser needed to be replaced. The Italian Village construction is there but it doesn't interrupt your sleep and isn't too loud. The only time I really heard it was when we walked out the door. The construction is all in the back of the hotels and our entrance door faced the construction
RESTAURANTS Reflections was great for breakfast and dinner
Guiseppies was a good breakfast, ok lunch, really good dinner
Schooners had a delish breakfast menu and dinner was good but limited
Arizonas lunch was great but dinner not so much
Pizza place was great.
French restaurant was good. I just ordered the food and picked it up 40 minutes later. I like having dinner with my daughter. The creme brulee is wonderful as is the filet.
French pastry shop is great too
Bobby D's is horrible but the kids all like it. Thats who its geared for anyway
HOUSEKEEPING It took me a few days to figure out why it takes so long for them to clean your room. They do all of the departures early so the incoming guests can get their rooms as soon as possible. The keeping staff is wonderful and very good at what they do.
FRONT DESK Could not really care any less about me on check in day. I realized after we got changed to use the pool that our stroller didn't get put with our other luggage. I was told to check in an hour at the desk. Our room was ready @ 2 p.m. No stroller yet....... No one seemed too concerned that my stroller was missing until I cried and cursed @ 7 p.m. (took me 7 hours to get to that point). The TLC manager came and told me she would search the grounds since the cab driver said he didn't have it. I went to the main building to get dinner at reflections and ran into the manager. She said she found a stroller in the concierge office but it didn't match the description I gave ( I said it had teal on it and she called it blue). I said I wanted to see it and she took my daughter in the room and asked her if it was her stroller and of course she said yes. I think the woman was thinking my daughter wouldn't lie and I would......... so I begged for the stroller and FINALLY got it.
PLAYERS They are really awesome. Very nice people and work hard. I found the guy who ALWAYS says "za za za hoo ahh" to be utterly annoying all week though. I don't remember his name but you will definately hear him everyday as he is everywhere. Bambino and AJ are adorable and super sweet.
KIDS CAMP WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! Scarlett was in the 2-3 class. can't say enough great stuff about them. I loved all of them as did my daughter. They treated her better than any sitter I've hired here. After her first morning, they all knew her name by sight. I've worked in child care and it took me a month to learn all the kids names and I saw them 5 days a week regularly. It was always clean, professional, friendly, and entertaining. There are always going to be children who cry from the time they get there until the parents pick them up and that isnt' the camps employees fault. Its the parents for leaving them when it causes trauma. There were the few everyday who cried for 20 minutes then stopped but the counselors gave them tons of love and attention. They tried to distract them and there is only so much you can do sometimes. I loved Maxine at the desk. She is amazing. I actually teared up when it was my daughters last visit and she was saying good bye to everyone. They all doted on her and made her feel loved. They went to the restaurants to eat lunch each afternoon and had constant activities. The security measures are great.
MAINTINANCE I had to call the front desk 3 times over 2 days to get a light changed in the shower
GROUNDS Beautiful. There were always grounds keepers working and replacing plants/grass that were not looking so good
POOLS/BEACH ALWAYS plenty of seating even at the hotel being at 100% capacity. you don't need to get up early like others have reported. NOT necessary for one second. When we would get to the beach or pool by 10:30 we had 2 seats every time. I had even gone later most days and had no problems. Beach is narrow but not an issue. I actually liked it more since I didn't have to go to far to get to the water. Pools were always clean and not slimy as reported in another review. I saw employees scrubbing them daily.
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