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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Please join me in thanking ALL STAR Vacation Homes for sponsoring our "Staying in Style" forum.
Anyone who reads my articles knows how much I adore ALL STAR -- we've staying in one of the vacation homes every year for the last three years. It's a really relaxing way to do a Disney vacation, and particularly good (and cost-effective) for big families and groups. You can read my articles here:
I just noticed our newest forum sponsor a few minutes ago! How exciting! I remember seeing your vacation rental photos once before, Jennifer. What a beautiful, low-cost option for big families!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
We took a 10-day family vacation in August to WDW. A total of 8 of us traveled-my mom, sister, 2 nieces aged 12 & 4, 2 nephews aged 3 & 21 months, a 13 yr. old cousin and I- whew! We stayed for 3 days, 2 nights at Disney's Old Key West in a 2 bedroom villa. We then switched to an All-Star vacation home at 2615 Pawnall in the Windsor Hills resort community for 7 days. It was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-ly awesome!!! It was a 5-bedroom house, with a private pool and spa, an in home movie theater with a projection screen, reclining leather movie theater seating, foosball table, and an arcade game that had both Galaga and Ms. Pacman (I was in 80's era heaven). The house also had a Wii game system, PS 2, stereo system and a gas grill. 3 of the bedrooms featured king-sized beds, 1 had a queen and the last had 2 sets of bunkbeds themed to Peter Pan. Each bedroom had its own connecting private bathroom and each also had a flat screen tv w/ cable. The gated community of Windsor Hills had its own clubhouse w/ an olympic sized pool and waterslide, an arcade, general store and a fitness room. The house was located 3 miles from Disney. It took us maybe 5 minutes to get from our house to the gates of Disney. There was a full eat-in kitchen and a separate formal dining area. With all of these amenities, the house cost $100 less per night than the 2-bedroom villa at OKW on property!!! We loved the place and did not want to leave. We could see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the hot tub. Every night we watched a Disney movie (free movie check out from All-Star) in our private theater. Everyday we came home and had a swim. The kids even enjoyed going to bed, b/c the bunkbeds were "pirate ships" and there was a treasure chest in the room. Their bathroom had a Tinkerbell shower curtain and Peter Pan on the wall. There were different Disney character "portraits" around the house, so the magic continued even when we were away from the parks. The only downside is that since it's not on Disney property, going to the Magic Kingdom was a bear (i usually stay at Wilderness Lodge and just hop a boat to the park), but that is with any stay off property, so I will not hold that against All-Star. This was as close to being on property as possible and we LOVED it. We were near several restaurants and eateries, which helped us save money since we were not a captive audience to Disney dining. We still ate at Chef Mickey's, Akershus, Crystal Palace, etc for some dinners or lunches, but we also stocked up at Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie and made our own hot dogs, hamburgers, sundaes and smores. We saved so much by not staying on property and got so many more amenities.
The All-Star people were the friendliest and most helpful people and that's even compared to the people at Disney! They couldn't do enough to help us. Fabulous, awesome, wonderful experience!! I'll definitely be coming back! I love staying on property and was very hesitant about staying off property for the 1st time in my adult life. (We had previously stayed at Orange Lake Resort when I was a kid but I much preferred staying on property to staying at Orange Lake. ) But now that I've tried All-Star, I want to keep coming back. My family and I just loved the experience. My 12 yr old niece never thought she would like anyplace as much as Wilderness Lodge, but she now has a new favorite. We even have a picture of the pool as a screensaver!
So glad I just read the previous post. We are staying in the exact same house for our next trip. I was feeling a little bummed about not staying on property but with a group of 9, this was our best option. Now I am so excited that I have read other feed back. Can't wait for our trip!
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