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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 just got it for 2nites in June. Has anyone stayed there??? They look nice. My DH and DS keep teasing me that I'll see snakes because of being in the woods. Which of course I really don't like!!!!!!!!
What is the best thing about them?
What is the thing you don't like about them?
Treehouse's our fav by far. My parents loved them. I love the layout. 3 bedrooms is great. I wish it did have 3 bathrooms. only negative, if you don't have a car transportation could be a problem. Also those stairs look and feel terribly high after a long day in the parks. FYI there are wild life around there, yes very possible to see a snake.
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We just stayed in one in June and LOVED it! It was as big a part of our vacation as the parks were. If we do a longer trip we will be staying in a treehouse for sure. It is light on themeing but the natural surrounding makes you feel so transported. It was a nice break to our senses. The only bad part was the distance to the amenities but we had a car so it was no big deal. I have a severe phobia of those leggless creatures and never saw one. We saw plenty of butterflies, lizards, frogs, and birds but no signs of snakes.
The treehouses are very nice. Not my absolute favorite but nice.
The third bedroom is a nice feature but the beds are really only sized for a small teen and under. Most grown adults would not be comfortable in the bunk beds. The two other bedrooms only have queen beds and the non-master BR has very little space to move around. Just some things to be aware of.
The treehouse area is thoroughly wooded so snakes are a possibility. You'll see all sorts of wildlife scattered through there.
You could also encounter another sort of wildlife if your villa happens to be directly alongside the golf course.
For me the biggest adjustment was realizing that the stay will not have ANY sort of a hotel feel to it. There are no lobby greeters waving to you as you return from the parks. No air conditioned hallways. No room service. Most of the amenities (gift shop, restaurants, Community Hall, front desk) require a car ride or a 10+ minute walk to reach. Personally I found myself missing that pampered vacation feeling more than I thought I would. It's more like staying at summer camp rather than a $500+ per night hotel.
And as other posters said, I would highly recommend having a vehicle. There is a walking path between Saratoga Springs and the treehouse area but the actual walk time will vary greatly depending upon where your building is located. Minimum to the SSR Carriage House is about 7-8 minutes but it could be 20 minutes from one of the more distant buildings.
The treehouses have shuttle buses which run over to SSR. If you are relying on bus transport for visiting the theme parks, you'll have to take one bus to SSR then switch to another to get to the parks. If your timing is good, the shuttle doesn't add much time to your journey. If timing is bad, it could take much longer than you anticipate to reach a park.
The two times we've stayed in the treehouses, we had two pairs of adults plus an assortment of kids. In that sense, the treehouse is perfect since each of the adult couples have their own room while the kids spread out between the 3rd bedroom and living room. Aside from an expensive Grand Villa, I can't think of a better accommodation for a group like that. But it's not without its drawbacks as noted.
We just got it for 2nites in June. Has anyone stayed there??? They look nice. My DH and DS keep teasing me that I'll see snakes because of being in the woods. Which of course I really don't like!!!!!!!!
What is the best thing about them?
What is the thing you don't like about them?
YES ONLY THE 3 OF US BUT WAS A MUST DO LOL
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BWV- 2005 Steven's 6th Birthday\DVC Member since 2003-BCV 2005 SSR\POLY,BWV,SSR,VWL,DCL,AND BCV-2007\ BWV & Cabins-2008\ Disneyland 2009\ Disneyland & Disneyworld- 2010 wdw. universal.vero beachand disney dream aug 2011. wdw 15yr anny june/july 2012
Congratulations. We stayed there in April of 2011 for a week. (Yeah!!!) My DS and DD each got to bring a friend. The best trip ever.
Having a car helps. (Almost a requirement for the Treehouses.) And, sorry, but there is wildlife. From what I remember, the area is a protected wild life area. As noted, there is not lobby or "hotel" feel. I loved the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, yet close enough to everything. It was a wonderful get away. I hope to stay there again in the future. It helps to own at SSR, but still, there aren't that many treehouses.
I've got bad knees, and I didn't have too many problems with the stairs. Then again, with 4 kids when I'm used to only 2, I was a bit distracted.
We've havent stayed there yet, but a friend of ours did. You have to have a car and you will see non human carbon life forms, which can be disconcerting to some city folks
We've havent stayed there yet, but a friend of ours did. You have to have a car and you will see non human carbon life forms, which can be disconcerting to some city folks
I haven't stayed in the current version of the treehouses but way back when (in the late 80's) when we stayed there, it was like home away from home. Back then, it was 2 floors so we could really spread out and it was nice to feel like you were far away from the crowds of Disney. I agree with everyone else that a car is a must. Back when we stayed, we could rent golf carts and drive them all the way to the Shopping Village (DTD now) which was fun and made life easy. And as for the wildlife, it's possible. We use to have a peacock that would show up during the day and sit on the balcony (or whatever you want to call it) between the front door and the stairs. I never saw snakes at the Treehouses but we have seen them at FW so I know they're there. The only reason why I don't go back and stay there again is it's very cost prohibitive for me. The value resorts are about all we can afford (and that's because I refuse to stay off property).
You don't need to be staying at the Treehouse Villas to see snakes. We saw one right outside our room in the courtyard of OKW. It makes sense with the vegetation up against the buildings, water available, grass on golf course, and plenty of lizards to eat.
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