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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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I went to Disney World for the first time in December 2007 unfortunately a cold hit me at the airport the night I was flying to Orlando. Although I had a good time I really don't remember much of the trip since I was sick and on cold medicine for most of it which means by February I was already wanting to go back. So back in March I got a couple of emails from Northwest Airlines. One was a milage statement telling me I had 20,000+ miles and the other told me of the program they had going that allowed you to pay for your flight in a combination of miles and money. I let that info percolate and ferment as it rolled around my brain for several days before going to Northwest's website to see if I could find any good deals for a quick and cheap trip to use up some of those miles. My first thought was Disneyland as I have an AP and and tend to stay at a nice but cheap hotel anyway so it would have made for a very cheap trip. After many attempts I finally gave up on the Disneyland idea as I was unable to pull any reward flights to Los Angeles International, John Wayne, or Burbank. I played around and couldn't come up with anywhere else I wanted to go so on a whim I decided to look for flights to/from Orlando in January. Having looked in my 2008 PassPorter for value season dates I picked Monday January 26, 2009 to Tuesday February 03, 2009 for my travel dates. Bingo! I was able to score a round trip ticket for $166.50 + 12,500 miles. Granted, I have a connection both ways and both the 26th and the 3rd are going to be long days but for $166.50 round trip I can live with that. I called Disney and made a room only reservation for January 26 through February 03, 2009 at All Star Music and then booked and paid for my flights. I decided to return to All Star Music because it's a value resort so the price is right and I had thoroughly enjoyed staying there in December.
I was thrilled when Disney announced the quick service dining plan. I love good food and great dining but sit down meals take up alot of time and imho take away alot of your flexibility. Plus even with the removal of the appetizer table service meals on the dinng plan just don't fit the way I eat. With the quick servic plan I get the convenience of my refillable mug and most of my meals and snacks being already paid by the time I arrive and the flexibilty to be where I want when I want and eat where and when I want without being tied to dining reservations. So in late August I called and converted my room only reservation to a package with MYW tickets with park hopper option and the quick service dining plan. A few days after that I decided that I wanted to do something fun at the end of my trip and since I wouldn't have the time to go to a park or Downtown Disney on my last day decided to do a table service breakfast my last morning. After again consulting my PassPorter and the wonderfull folks on the PassPorter message boards I decided on Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary resort. Upon learning that Chef Mickey's was one of three exceptions to the temporary 90 day advanced dining reservation (adr) policy I called Disney Dining and made my reservation. I was able to get a 7am reservation on February 03rd which is perfect as I will need to board Disney's Magical Express shuttle service at about 10am to get to the airport in time for my flight that leaves at 1:15pm. The only other dining reservation I'm going to make is for Boma and am hoping to get a reservation on January 27 at about 6:30pm. That will bookend my trip with sit down meals leaving the rest of the trip a blank slate and allowing me to go where my whims and Tour Guide Mike's least crowded park charts dictate. I'm considering buying a ticket for LaNouba as I saw it in December and fell totally and completely in love with the show and would love to see it again. However I'm not sure if I will or not as I've realized that I really want this trip to be very unstructured and unscheduled.
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WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
I like it! Some of my best vacations (albeit not WDW ones) have been when it's totally unplanned - leaves a lot more room to enjoy things you might not otherwise. Can't wait to read more
Woohoo!! My planning is done. I just called and made my last adr. I am now officially eating dinner at Boma on January 27, 2009 at 6:15pm. I've also decided how I'm going to handle the problem I was having deciding whether or not to buy a ticket to LaNouba before I leave in January. I've decided that I'm not going to buy a ticket in advance and that if I'm at Downtown Disney and want to go and am able to get a ticket I'll see it and if I can't get a ticket or end up not wanting to I wont see it. Thus ends my planning. I need to pick up or order a some things, place a hold on my mail, and make sure I have all my travel documents and Tour Guide Mike information current, printed out, and in my deluxe PassPorter before I go and I'm set. Well, I will have to pack. I'm seriously considering making a reservation at a hotel near the airport for the night of Sunday January 25, 2009. I looked online and I found a DaysInn near the airport that offers a free shuttle to the airport and a free breakfast for under $100. The only other thing I need to do is get another $85 put on my Disney gift card so that I have my table service meals and breakfasts paid for in advance or rather the money to pay for them set aside. So I'm pretty much down to paying off my package and waiting for January 26, 2009 to get here.