a little help, please, for college students! - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Thanks! wow, you went during exam week? how'd you pull that one off? haha were you done with exams? And thanks for the advice. I'll check out the room discounts
thank you
I was student teaching that semester so I didn't have any exams . It was a great week to go -not very busy. It was just after the spring break season (for college and K-12 schools) and it was before everyone got out for the summer.
Welcome..
wishing Id discovered WDW long ago....
As for value, I strongly recommend staying away from All Star Movies on a first experience. They desperately need to renovate the rooms....all the AS will be same price so Id pick music...
HollyH:
Lucky! I wish I didn't have any exams during exam week! also that I was going to Disney World during exam week haha. My potential trip would actually be during spring break and I'm hoping it won't be too crowded... if I were going, that is. But I have heard that it can get crazy crowded during spring break.
trixiedixie:
haha thank you! and thanks for the tip! Music looks awesome and that was my first choice but it is looking like POP has lower room prices. It'd be amazing to stay there though.
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Follow along as I begin my journey in the Disney College Program!! My DCP journey
My Disney Dream Cruise summer 2011 Disney Dream
Now I don't know what your credit situation is, but check out the Disney Visa Card, sometimes they have a 200 point bonus for signing up. That's 200 to spend at Disney.
We bring our own food from home and split meals while there. The combos are huge so we cut it in half and order and extra side if one of us is really hungary. Stay away from snacking...we very rarely got a snack and saved major bucks. Another thing that helped us is we gave ourselves a 'carrot'...so if we had enough money in the food budget at the end of the trip we would treat ourselves to lunch at Crystal Palace. We had more than enough. If you don't want a nice meal, a souvie you had your eye on, or a photopass.
Undercover Tourist offers discounted tickets and like others have said check out the Disney Website for special offers. And as much as we love staying on property we were dirt poor when we got married. I hunted expedia, orbitz, and travelocity for a good deal and would up stayingin the Downtown Disney area on our honeymoon. The holiday inn was 68 a night and had a shuttle to the parks, we just had to pay a taxi to get to it and back to the airport.
If you have a birthday coming, ask for Disney gift cards.
I also take online survey's, just be careful some of the companies are total scams. Pinecone is really good and I belong to Knowledge Networks.
Tax time is here, we usually set aside part of our refund for a vacation or big purchase.
Finally I clip coupons (yes a crazy coupon lady but not like the ones you see on TV clip for items you buy all the time and stock up when there is a sale, google for couponing sites in your area. If you live in Idaho/Utah/California Fabulessly Frugal - Coupons, Grocery Store, Free Printable Coupons, Idaho, Washington, Oregon or crazycouponlady.com will work or just check them out for ideas), saving 20-50 on groceries each shopping trip. Take that money and put it into your trip fund.
Good Luck and Happy Planning!
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Disney Vacation Specialist Magical Memories Travel Chelsey
I don't think I'm quite ready for a Disney Visa card just yet but sometime in the future I'll definitely be looking at it!
The 'carrot' idea is great! That would motivate us to not spend as much for sure.
I'll check out Undercover Tourist as well as all the Disney websites for special offers. You also just gave me another option for which hotels to stay at. Downtown Disney sounds great, especially if there is transportation to the Disney World parks. I hadn't considered that and will now check it out
Online surveys scare me, I have to admit haha I guess I just have a mindset that all of them are scams. But it helps that you and others are recommending them from experience.
haha coupons sound like a great way to cut back costs and save up more money for the vacation. I will be looking at sites like you suggested and see if I can use any coupons for grocery trips and such.
Thanks a bunch! You helped a lot and I really appreciate it
__________________
Follow along as I begin my journey in the Disney College Program!! My DCP journey
My Disney Dream Cruise summer 2011 Disney Dream
A group of 5 friends and myself did this and it was a BLAST! It was my fiancées first time ever in Disney and my first with just friends. It was a great time. Are you guys campers? That would save a good chunk of change. We were supposed to camp but when we were about a half hour out from the resort it started pouring rain. It rained a lot. So we ended up rooming in All Star Sports for the duration of out trip since our tents would have been washed away, lol. But seriously sites are generally $62 bucks a night and I'm actually kind of disappointed that we missed out on the camping opportunity. With the outdoor Disney flicks each night, bonfires and other fun activities at FW we thought it would be a great way to do Disney as a group of college kids on a tight budget! There are restrooms with indoor plumbing air conditioned and showers. I get that camping isn't for everyone or maybe you don't have the supplies but just thought I would put it out there.
That trip sounds amazing!! We've been camping before and that's something I didn't think of. When did you all go? That all sounds really great. Especially the indoor plumbing, air condition, and showers haha I've been on enough camping trips where the bathrooms are just plain scary!! Well, thanks for putting it out there I will look in on that more, as another option!
Thanks so much
__________________
Follow along as I begin my journey in the Disney College Program!! My DCP journey
My Disney Dream Cruise summer 2011 Disney Dream
That trip sounds amazing!! We've been camping before and that's something I didn't think of. When did you all go? That all sounds really great. Especially the indoor plumbing, air condition, and showers haha I've been on enough camping trips where the bathrooms are just plain scary!! Well, thanks for putting it out there I will look in on that more, as another option!
Thanks so much
We went in May of 2009. It was a bit warmer then so thats why we were more concerned with the air conditioning and such. Yeah I did a lot of camping growing up and I hear ya on some of those bathrooms
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. It was a great week to go -not very busy. It was just after the spring break season (for college and K-12 schools) and it was before everyone got out for the summer.
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Pixie Dust
Disney Vacation Specialist Magical Memories Travel Chelsey
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