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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Aulani
Well, my 2013 vacation at the VGC fell through and now I have my 2013 points returned to my account.
My first thought was to go to WDW, but my DD wants to go to Hawaii. I checked air for this Sept and it looks reasonable. I am hoping it will work out. Last time we were in Hawaii was when DD was 21 months old. I used to live in Honolulu, and am not that familiar of the area where Aulani is. I know I will love the room as I have seen the models at the Disneyland DVC sales center.
Now for some questions:
Can you send boxes to the resort like at WDW?
How much (generally speaking) are the additional taxes and fees?
Is there a grocery store close by?
How is the view from a standard room?
Is there a car rental area near Aulani?
What are the chances of getting a standard studio at 7 months. We plan on going around 9/5/2013, so not a high season.
Yes you can send packages but beware the pitfalls of sending outside the continental US. Could take longer than anticipated to arrive.
The tax is currently $0.21605 per point. That amount is subject to change at the whims of HI lawmakers.
Standard view rooms generally look toward the parking garage. I would not wager on getting a SV room at 7 months during any season. Could happen but more often than not, that category will be full. Those rooms are VERY small in number and I suspect they will be popular among bargain-seeking owners.
There is an Alamo car rental desk within the Aulani resort itself.
How much (generally speaking) are the additional taxes and fees?
Is there a grocery store close by?
How is the view from a standard room?
Is there a car rental area near Aulani?
What are the chances of getting a standard studio at 7 months. We plan on going around 9/5/2013, so not a high season.
Thanks and Aloha
Hello! We just went to Aulani at the end of May and it! We were there for 9 nts and didn't want to leave. I can answer a few of your questions.
I believe the taxes and fees were less than $30 total for the 9 nts.
There is an Island Country Market across the street ( we walked over several times). They have a grill and make great burger, etc. for less than you'll pay at Aulani. Several times we got,our food and walked it back over so that we could look at the ocean and use our refillable mugs. BTW..refillable mugs are $19. If you're a soda, tea, or coffee drinker they are worth it. An individual soda cost about $3. Over the course of approx 10 days I probably refilled my mug 30 times. That would be $90!! As for the market, if you don't have a car and are just wanting some grocery staples, you'd be fine to shop there.
Anyhoo, back to questions...yes, if you have a car there is a Costco and a Target one exit down the road (approx 5 min drive). Really doable. As for the car, we rented at the airport and kept it for length of stay. DVC members get to park at Aulani for free, and the cost of the car for the better part of 10 days was about $250. It'll cost you a good portion of that to get rides to/from the airport. There's not too much to see right by Aulani, but if you've been there done that on Oahu, you could easily just stay at the resort. We spent only3 of our 10 days there out sightseeing. The other 7 were spent relaxing at Aulani!
We had a std view room and they were able to give us a 4th floor room overlooking the conference center. It was really nice! They had a patio and some grassy areas out in front of their conference bldgs. We occasionally saw some people walking around, but they were quiet neighbors! I'd ask for that view when you arrive and see what they can do for you.
I think you'll be ok. I would go online to DVC's site and play with the online booking tool. I've played around with it several times, and it let's you see what's available without committing. When you're ready to book, it's really easy to use. I used it last week to book AKLV and was surprised how user friendly it was!
Hope this helps a little!
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
Last edited by IdahoDisneyMom; 07-13-2012 at 09:28 AM..
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it! We were there for 9 nts and didn't want to leave. I can answer a few of your questions. 
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