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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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After researching numbers and different scenarios for deals I decided to play with the dates and see what I could come up with for re-booking my postponed trip! (Originally I was supposed to be flying out this Saturday with my teen son for a Mom and Son only trip....however, trip was postponed due extenuating factors)
So.....it looks like I can re-book my trip for THIS coming FEB the week of the 5-12th (and my son would only miss 3 days of school due to teacher convention being that same week!)
I can book the Poly CL garden view with normal dining for @ $2800.00
for Feb 5-10th then move over to Universal Studios for our last 2 nights.
OR I could book The Beach Club, for about $2700.00 Garden view Club Level for the same dates, then head over to Universal Studios for 2 nights (my son wants to see WWOHP)
OR: Add on an extra night and stay Garden View, Beach Club with DELUXE DINING (which would take care of the need for the club lounge for snacks/drinks because we'd have extra snack credits and our refillable mugs)....then move over to Universal Friday, Feb 11th and stay 2 nights there, flying out Sunday evening (we'd leave on a 8 pm evening flight, so still have much of Sunday to tour Universal). To add on one extra night at Disney with DELUXE dining would bring the package up to about $2900.00
OR.....I can keep with the current plan for FD next September....but in that case, the prices are about $800.00 more for the same scenarios (5night stay with dining)
What do you think would be best? THIS Febuary with what seem like very much lower prices (at least $800.00 lower!) .... OR wait until next Sept. and go with either FD or hope for a room discount again next summer?
One small con......If I go next September (which I have currently booked) then my son will miss 5 days of school (looking at the week of Sept 17-24) As I mentioned earlier....he will only miss 3 days if we go this FEB.
Only con I can see is unpredictable weather in February!!!
I need some advice!!! TIA
Marie
ETA: Right now I have the POLY Garden View Club Level booked for the week of Sept 17-21 then we'd move over to Univesal for 2 nights before flying home (21-23 of Sept.) the cost is about $3,600.00 for 5 nights with 2 ppl .....with tickets and FREE DINING PROMO (BASIC PKG. )
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Disney Trips: First Disney Trip, Disneyland with my DH (then DBF) August, 1990 | January 15-23, 2008 AKL CL Celebrating DH leave from Afghanistan | Sept 1-12, 2009 - Storming the World with Friends, AKL CL/ Free Dining| FEB 5-13, 2011 BC CL GV/HRH CL @ US/IOA| Next Trip: Sept 28 - Oct 4, 2012 POLY GV CL/ Oct 4-7, 2012 HRH Club at US/IOA Mom, Sons and BFF do FD, first MNSSHP & F&W
Last edited by chimo2u; 08-17-2010 at 04:32 PM..
Reason: addtl info
OK.....thank you so far, starting to lean towards FEB. I am NOT a hot-weather person, I LOVE FALL weather, a slight breeze, just warm enough for a sweatshirt/light jacket, and still nicely warm in the day.... lower risk of sunburn!!! LOL
What resort??? POLY or BC would you go for????
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Disney Trips: First Disney Trip, Disneyland with my DH (then DBF) August, 1990 | January 15-23, 2008 AKL CL Celebrating DH leave from Afghanistan | Sept 1-12, 2009 - Storming the World with Friends, AKL CL/ Free Dining| FEB 5-13, 2011 BC CL GV/HRH CL @ US/IOA| Next Trip: Sept 28 - Oct 4, 2012 POLY GV CL/ Oct 4-7, 2012 HRH Club at US/IOA Mom, Sons and BFF do FD, first MNSSHP & F&W
I vote for BC since you've got a teen...I've never stayed there, but heard great things about the pool.
Depends on which parks your son likes more: MK? or Epcot/DHS? I know my teens would want Epcot/DHS and the BC would be great! some day....
I'd vote Beach Club
Club Level or Deluxe, that is really a hard decision, Deluxe would let you have some cool meals since the parks aren't open quite as late. So. . .that is a tough one
I'd go with February and I'd choose the Poly. Why? Dole Whips every night. "Wishes" from the beach. Tonga Toast. Monorail to Epcot and MK. Beautiful landscaping. It might be a little too chilly to swim in Stormalong bay and it would just sit there taunting you your whole vacation!
Ok maybe it's just me but I went the week of Valentine's and had a worse winter down there then we do up here in Delaware! Look at what we are wearing on the pic below it was so cold many attractions were closed. Can you go Spring break maybe? They have free dining then I think.....
Ok maybe it's just me but I went the week of Valentine's and had a worse winter down there then we do up here in Delaware! Look at what we are wearing on the pic below it was so cold many attractions were closed. Can you go Spring break maybe? They have free dining then I think.....
Don't go by this past winter as a gauge for a normal Florida winter - they had a very abnormal, record-breaking cold winter this year! We were there in January and it was one of the only weeks that had normal weather; it was about 70-75 during the day and in the low 60's at night. We swam every day. However, my grandparents are "snowbirds" who are there every year, and for the rest of the winter they said it was awful.
Don't go by this past winter as a gauge for a normal Florida winter - they had a very abnormal, record-breaking cold winter this year! We were there in January and it was one of the only weeks that had normal weather; it was about 70-75 during the day and in the low 60's at night. We swam every day. However, my grandparents are "snowbirds" who are there every year, and for the rest of the winter they said it was awful.
I'd also vote for February!
That was 2006! Not this year! And they said it was record breaking then too. Just MO but my grandfather lives in FL and said Feb is their winter so I would go Jan or March but never Feb again!
[QUOTE=samg0627;3396733Look at what we are wearing on the pic below it was so cold many attractions were closed.[/QUOTE]
Having melted a few times in August, I'd to be at WDW with a sweatshirt on
I vote for Feb...probably less crowds. We went in Jan of 08 and the weather was AWESOME! But I understand that weather changes. Missing less school is important for those teens...and the better deal sounds great! As to which resort? I've only been once, so I can't say. Enjoy your trip!!!!
Ok.....the more I think of it, the more I am thinking I like FEB....for one thing, it's only 6 months away, and the quicker we can get back to the Happiest Place on Earth, the better Secondly, Winter in Alberta is brutal....anything has to be better than minus 40 degree celcius weather and 10 feet of snow!!!!
February is value season, and my son has a teacher convention during that time frame, so he'll only miss 3 or 4 days (at most) of school.
I am currently booked at Poly for Sept 2011, but first thing tomorrow I am calling to switch things around to the Beach Club, in February.
I really think that this resort will offer all my son would love being a teen....great pool, close to his favourite parks and close to Epcot showcase for dinner!
Unfortunately Disney's site is not working tonight to price out things, or I'd be playing with numbers and prices, etc...
The only thing I have to figure out is, will they let me use a GP room discount and add dining/tickets on? The trip I originally had booked for this August had a room discount/summer savings.....I believe it worked out to 40% off the room, AND I was able to add dining and tickets....that was a great deal! So I hope the same thing is allowed in February. Tomorrow I have some more pricing/researching to do, but I think February may just work out!
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Disney Trips: First Disney Trip, Disneyland with my DH (then DBF) August, 1990 | January 15-23, 2008 AKL CL Celebrating DH leave from Afghanistan | Sept 1-12, 2009 - Storming the World with Friends, AKL CL/ Free Dining| FEB 5-13, 2011 BC CL GV/HRH CL @ US/IOA| Next Trip: Sept 28 - Oct 4, 2012 POLY GV CL/ Oct 4-7, 2012 HRH Club at US/IOA Mom, Sons and BFF do FD, first MNSSHP & F&W
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Need help deciding on Time/Deal
| FEB 5-13, 2011 BC CL GV/HRH CL @ US/IOA| Next Trip: Sept 28 - Oct 4, 2012 POLY GV CL/ Oct 4-7, 2012 HRH Club at US/IOA Mom, Sons and BFF do FD, first MNSSHP & F&W 
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Thank
Pixie Dust
with your decision.
If you like it hotter than maybe Sept is for you)
for Disney?
Cassie
Andie
Secondly, Winter in Alberta is brutal....anything has to be better than minus 40 degree celcius weather and 10 feet of snow!!!!
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