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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are currently booked at our home resort AKV for February 16-23 (with a 4-night cruise following). We would like to switch at the 7-month mark to either Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge.
What is the likelihood of being able to book a 1-bedroom at either of these at the 7-month mark for February? View is not a huge deal for us.
Which of these would be a better option for us? We are a family of 4, DD13 and DS11 at the time of the trip. The kids love swimming, so I'm leaning toward BCV, thinking as they get older the pool will be less of a deal to them. But my DD also said she would like to stay at WLV sometime.
What park(s) are you most likely going to be spending most of your time at? If EPCOT and/or Hollywood Studios, I would go with Beach Club. If Magic Kingdom, I would go with Wilderness Lodge.
What park(s) are you most likely going to be spending most of your time at? If EPCOT and/or Hollywood Studios, I would go with Beach Club. If Magic Kingdom, I would go with Wilderness Lodge.
We spend the most time at Epcot and Magic Kingdom . So that doesn't help too much. We also always rent a car, so we aren't too concerned about proximity to the parks. We typically stay at AKV and have no problem with the location.
Hard to say but I think you stand a pretty good chance at 7 months to get in to WL or BC. My preference would be BC because of the pool. Both are nice so you can't go wrong either way.
Just so you know, I just had a quick look for those dates for you for a one bedroom villa at the Beach Club and all seven nights are currently showing availability. I would think you'd be OK, as it's not one of the busier times of the year and it's not a time of the year that people certainly go for the Beach Club, as that tends to be when Epcot has the Festivals on.
As our heart is at the Beach Club, that gets my vote, but then again, I'm biased! You could always split your stay between the two...
Hard to say but I think you stand a pretty good chance at 7 months to get in to WL or BC. My preference would be BC because of the pool. Both are nice so you can't go wrong either way.
I know we will love either and we will be perfectly happy if we end up at AKV. I think I am leaning to BCV. I know the kids would love the pool.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Just so you know, I just had a quick look for those dates for you for a one bedroom villa at the Beach Club and all seven nights are currently showing availability. I would think you'd be OK, as it's not one of the busier times of the year and it's not a time of the year that people certainly go for the Beach Club, as that tends to be when Epcot has the Festivals on.
As our heart is at the Beach Club, that gets my vote, but then again, I'm biased! You could always split your stay between the two...
Cheryl, thank you for checking that. I thought it wouldn't be too hard to get in during that time either. I am pretty sure we will shoot for BCV. I also realized that we could maybe, finally, hit Beaches and Cream. I have been wanting to take the kids there forever for a kitchen sink, but we never seem to make it. If we are staying there, I bet we could make it happen.
I don't like split stays. I like to unpack and stay unpacked. We have a cruise following this trip and I'm already not thrilled with the idea of packing to leave for the cruise.
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We got both in the past at 7 months, not often but it is quite possible. We love both and each have great qualities. Love stormalong bay but not sure how warm it is to swim in feb although maybe it could be heated at that time. We loved WLV too and the pools there are great as well and we loved the boat to MK. I don't think you can go wrong with either good luck !!!!
We could have booked either last January at the seven month window but ended up going with Wilderness Lodge Villas because of having two little ones in our party and wanting to be closer to MK.
We got both in the past at 7 months, not often but it is quite possible. We love both and each have great qualities. Love stormalong bay but not sure how warm it is to swim in feb although maybe it could be heated at that time. We loved WLV too and the pools there are great as well and we loved the boat to MK. I don't think you can go wrong with either good luck !!!!
Good to hear that it is possible. I think when we are going will help. We are originally from CO and my kid will swim as long as it's above about 60 degrees. We went in Jan 2010 and half the trip was record breaking lows of 30's and the other half was in the 60's-70's and they went swimming.
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I started chuckling when I read your post because I just booked 2/8-2/16 at VWL and BLT, both of which had availability for the whole time (for dedicated 2BRs).
However, at the risk of raining on your parade a bit (sorry), 2/17/14 is President's Day. It's still not as busy a time as Spring Break and Easter, but bear in mind that this may make it a busier time than, say, the previous week or the one next one due to the holiday.
I started chuckling when I read your post because I just booked 2/8-2/16 at VWL and BLT, both of which had availability for the whole time (for dedicated 2BRs).
However, at the risk of raining on your parade a bit (sorry), 2/17/14 is President's Day. It's still not as busy a time as Spring Break and Easter, but bear in mind that this may make it a busier time than, say, the previous week or the one next one due to the holiday.
Good luck!
I realized the President's Day thing after adjusting our cruise date. I even thought about doing the cruise first and then parks. We've been there on similar holidays, and have survived. Since we would arrive on the 16th we won't be in any parks that day and the 17th we will probably hit Epcot, since it holds more people. The rest the week shouldn't be as bad, I hope.
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. So that doesn't help too much. We also always rent a car, so we aren't too concerned about proximity to the parks. We typically stay at AKV and have no problem with the location.
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You could always split your stay between the two...
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