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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Hi everyone! I'm soooo excited!! I had booked the GF for a couple of days next October, but while I was on the phone with Disney, I decided to check to see if BLT was available. It was and I booked a one bedroom MK view!! I haven't seen any pictures of the rooms, and although I've seen the outside of the building, I don't recall whether it's conveniently located close to the main hotel or not, and how close of a walk it is to MK. Also, what about the pool? Is there a good slide? Can anyone give me a sense of what the place is like? We are not DVC members, by the way. Thanks so much in advance, and happy holidays!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
OMG there is so much info out there on BLT. Here is a link to a You Tube video that I love. YouTube - Disney's Bay Lake Tower hotel at the Contemporary Resort - A Video Tour
It shows a grand villa and two bedroom but you will get the idea. Check out You Tube and do a search on Bay Lake Tower and if you can stand looking at other people's vacation videos, there are so many good videos of the villas and the grounds. It is only a 5-10 minute walk to MK (I am told). We haven't stayed yet but we just bought into the DVC and BL is our home. We have reservations for 8 nights in a 2 bedroom villa and I can't wait.
We're staying there on Thursday night and I hope to get some photos while we're there. Mind you, I may not be sharing until early 2010, as we're going to be away for three weeks in total!
Yes, the BLT is right by the Contemporary and you can walk there. Walking to the MK is no problem either. Not sure about the pool slide but it looks fun (from what you can tell from the photos).
I expect the overall feel of the resort to be upscale, elegant, and vibrant. And don't forget it's brand new! So long story short: I'm sure you'll LOVE it!!!
OMG there is so much info out there on BLT. Here is a link to a You Tube video that I love. YouTube - Disney's Bay Lake Tower hotel at the Contemporary Resort - A Video Tour
It shows a grand villa and two bedroom but you will get the idea. Check out You Tube and do a search on Bay Lake Tower and if you can stand looking at other people's vacation videos, there are so many good videos of the villas and the grounds. It is only a 5-10 minute walk to MK (I am told). We haven't stayed yet but we just bought into the DVC and BL is our home. We have reservations for 8 nights in a 2 bedroom villa and I can't wait.
Thanks so much everyone, but especially jenjen1127 for the YouTube link! Fantastic! It's great to have a better idea of what the place looks like, and it was nice to be able to show it to the kids!! Thank you!!
wow that is impressive - did not think they were letting anyone but DVC members have the MK view.
been there twice - love it! only stayed in studios but was very happy both times.
you need to request as high as possible. many of the complaints on the mK views are with the lower units.
are you taking your kids - then definitely go visit the activity area (also called community hall) - it has activities and games for them to play.
the swimming pool is small but very nice - it is zero entry.
a 1- bedroom has a full kitchen, washer/dryer, nice livingroom, king in the master, whirlpool tub, shower in with the toilet.
it only has one balcony - in the bedroom.
the livingroom does not have a balcony - but does have floor to ceiling window.
Thanks for the info. That's interesting about MK view being for DVC members only, at least for now. We won't be going until October of 2010, so perhaps they've opened it up to non-DVC members. On an unrelated subject, the CM told me that there is a sofa-bed in the living room, and also that there is a chair that converts to a twin size bed. Can anyone confirm that? I hope that that is the case, since it would be nice for the kids to have separate beds. And in terms of the higher floor, how would we get that? Room request fax? Thanks again!
Thanks for the info. That's interesting about MK view being for DVC members only, at least for now. We won't be going until October of 2010, so perhaps they've opened it up to non-DVC members. On an unrelated subject, the CM told me that there is a sofa-bed in the living room, and also that there is a chair that converts to a twin size bed. Can anyone confirm that? I hope that that is the case, since it would be nice for the kids to have separate beds. And in terms of the higher floor, how would we get that? Room request fax? Thanks again!
the sofa bed is a queen one.
the chair bed is just a twin. (brown/tan chair in the pictures)
would call CRO back and make them put on the reservation.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
the chair bed is just a twin. (brown/tan chair in the pictures)
would call CRO back and make them put on the reservation.
Thanks! I have to call back anyway, because I added an extra night, but the park passes are still for the original number of days and I need to get that changed. Notably, I received an email confirm last night, and it definitely says MK View. They must have opened that view up to non DVC members effective a certain date. Also, if you go on-line, you can reserve that view as well. Can't wait to see it in person!! DD and DS were really excited!
Thanks! It feels good to have someone else say that BLT MK View is a good choice! Now I can't wait to go, and I guess I'll be dreaming about it for months to come. No complaints about that!
About This Page: 
Questions about Bay Lake Tower
I haven't seen any pictures of the rooms, and although I've seen the outside of the building, I don't recall whether it's conveniently located close to the main hotel or not, and how close of a walk it is to MK. Also, what about the pool? Is there a good slide? Can anyone give me a sense of what the place is like? We are not DVC members, by the way. Thanks so much in advance, and happy holidays!
JulieB 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
I saw the model BLT villas last spring and loved them! Can't wait to stay there myself someday. And a MK view - way cool! 
Linear Mode
