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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 go for a conference, so proximity to our headquarters and meetings is more important than proximity to the sights.
My roommates and I like the State Plaza because the rooms have small kitchens and there's a CVS next door to buy milk, OJ and cereal. We could also get good rates by going through some state delegations with our meetings.
We stayed at the Hotel Lombardy last year and liked it a lot, too.
Are you driving or flying? You can take the Metro from the airport to your hotel if you're close enough to a station. Metro access is nice, but many of the DC sights are in a "metro free zone" so you'll need to do some walking no matter what.
If you can get a good hotel rate in Arlington or Crystal City, it's easy to hop the Metro into the city for sightseeing.
If you're driving to DC, you can stay a bit farther out and get a better hotel rate -- but then access to a Metro stop is key. You'll want to Metro into the city for your sightseeing. DC is not exactly a driver-friendly town.
There are several threads in this forum and many trip reports regarding must-see DC sights. You'll want to look into those for reviews of museums and help prioritizing. My question is a little different because this will be DD's third trip in 3 years and my 20th in 22.
We like the Savoy Suites in Georgetown. The hotel is clean, comfortable and very accommodating for families (we have kids between 7 - 22).
They have a free shuttle to the Metro which drops you off at the Metro stop on Connecticut Ave within an easy walk to the National Zoo. The hotel is within walking distance of the National Cathedral, which has some really fun activities for families including a Gargoyle Tour. And is also close to Embassy Row, which is worth checking out.
Because of the proximity to Georgetown, there are some great, and not too expensive dining options in the neighborhood.
So glad I saw this! Hubby and I are going for a quick trip sometime this year ( Korean MIA Family Briefings) and then we are taking our daughter in March 2013.
We never used our vehicle until the day we left and we went to Arlington. Everything in DC was within walking distance, but we did do a lot of walking. We had our nine year old son with us and he never complained about the walking. It was a very nice room, we enjoyed our stay.
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Offsite May 2005, POR September 2006, POR August 2007, POFQ December 2008, POR February 2010,
Pop Century April 2011,
Last edited by carters_mom; 01-21-2012 at 08:23 AM..
I stayed at the Washington Hilton last summer with DS who was 8. It's close to a metro stop and there are plenty of inexpensive places to eat around the hotel. There is also a drugstore at the end of the block. Great for grabbing a quick drink or snack. Although it's mainly a convention hotel, there is a pool area that DS liked.