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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I won a free 7-day pass from that Superbowl ad. Woohoo!! Anyone know if we're going to do a package if that's gonna end up hurting me? We're planning on staying there for a few nights and DH & DS will both need tickets. I'm not sure how they'll account for the fact that I already have one ticket in our package purchase.
Congrats!!! I also won a free 7-day ticket!!!! woohoo!!!!
What my husband and I are planning on doing is paying for the resort and his ticket seperately. That way we will not be paying for extra ticket we will not be useing. I don't think it's possible to remove one of the tickets from a complete vacation package but I would definitely make sure, call the main number 407-363-8000 (if you do call and you can remove one of tickets, let me know). Remeber they also have a similar offer like WDW, stay 3 nights and get 2 nights free. We are hoping they extend this through Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Depending on how long you are staying, the AAA rate may be better that one of the discount rates Universal offers (if you are a member). The "Seasonal" rate for our dates - which is lower than the "Regular" rate - is $789.75 for 3 nights at the Hard Rock. The AAA rate is $672.30. I haven't been able to find a discount rate as low as the AAA rate, unless you are staying long enough for the stay 3 get 2 free promo (or something like it). Plus AAA members get discounts all over Universal. My membership has paid for itself many times over on this trip alone!
We do have AAA, that was one of the other things I need to look into. I saw somewhere that there's a difference between local AAA offices and the national ones, is that true?
Different states are under different national "groups". All local offices are under a national "group". They may offer different deals and discounts on some things, but the discounts at Universal (10% off at many shops and eateries) should be the same. To get the hotel rate, I can book on the aaamich.com site. Your local website may or may not offer that benefit (it hopefully does). If not, call Universal directly. You cannot book the AAA rate on their site.
I checked, and as I thought, Wisconsin is under the same national group as Michigan. So you should get directed to the same website as me. Try Road, Travel, and Financial Services - AAA. You will need to enter your zip code, and you should be good to go!
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Don't do packages - you can always come out better with a room only discount like AAA. Go to Universal's website and check out their hot deals for hotels too - sometimes they have some good rates there.
i got the free ticket too they had a buy 3 stay 5 at there resorts on site code plus you get there fast pass staying on site. and to buy the same ticket for son and dh it was 99.99 for those same free ticket. it says go to universalorlando.com/superbowl to learn about these offers.
good luck
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.