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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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There is one at the GF and also one at Saratoga Springs. I haven't tried either yet, but I hope to some day. SSR is one of our home resorts, so maybe I will on our next stay there.
I have been to the SSR Spa. Very nice. Nice area to relax before spa treatments as well with a steam room and jacuzzi. A nice break from the craziness of the parks
I've been to both before and they're both very nice. I enjoyed the one at Saratoga Springs more, as I felt more relaxed there (it had a less formal atmosphere to me) and it was newer.
I had a massage at the SSR spa and I had a facial and mani/pedi at the GF spa. They were both really nice. Expensive though (luckily my treatments were part of a prize package).
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I have been to the one at GF and also at CS...I think Coronado's is full service..my daughters and I had manicures, pedicures..and it was very nice...GF was quite elegant...Hubby and I had a trade of..he had a day of playing golf..I opted for a massage...it was nice..
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Notice my trusty PASSPORTER tucked away in my handbag..
I have done two of them--the Grand Floridian and the Coronado. I have read on numerous forums that the spa at the Saratoga is the best. The GF was nice--but I didn't appreciate the fact that they tried to push their products on me when I was leaving (this was back in 2000) and the front desk was not very friendly. I get a massage every year at the Coronado. I'm not real fussy with my surroundings for a massage--as long as there is low, soft music playing, lights dimmed and I'm getting a good massage, I'm happy.
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Headed "Home" for a Mini Trip -- 9/18 - 9/22 at CSR
I got a massage at the Animal Kingdom lodge while we were staying there. I was looking forward to going back to the room and taking a nap afterwards. It seems useless to drive home from the spa after being so nice and relaxed. By the time I get home I am wound up again. But when my massage was over, she said, "I am going to spray something in your face to make you alert." So that was crummy-I had gotten up early and was planning to be out late that night, so I really needed to take a nap at that time, and then I couldn't because of some aromatherapy thing designed to undo the relaxation from the massage? Go figure. It wasn't a spa-really though-just a massage room at the 'fitness center.' I wouldn't reccommend it.
I've used the spa twice at SSR and think it is excellent. The best experience was when my daughter (I think she was three at the time) and we both had a pedicure.
Having said that, I agree it is expensive. I think there are some decent deals out there for DVC and AP holders, so it is worth looking out for those.
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