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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Does anyone have good luck renting homes off site? Seems like you get so much more for the $$. Just wondering what to do for meals if we do stay off site. I just feel like the dining plan is so convenient. Thank you!
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Hi and welcome to the boards. My family owns a vacation home near Disney and we have stayed off site since 2004. You do get more for your money-space, amenities (usually your own pool/spa) and $ saved on meals, water and snacks. For me, I love that everyone has their private space, multiple bathrooms!!!, and laundry so you don't need to pack as much. The only thing I miss about staying on property is the transportation, usually after an evening at Downtown Disney or during the food and wine festival. Someone has to be designated driver.
For meals, we usually have a quick breakfast at the house, cereal or bagels. There is a grocery store 5 minutes from our home on the way back from Disney, so it's convenient to stop there. Lunch is usually a little later as we come back for an afternoon swim, especially in the summer when it's too hot out. We get something quick like Subway or McDs on the way back to the house. Dinners are usually on property at a nice restaurant, but we can go offsite. We eat in Celebration or go to Sand Lake Rd where there are many restaurants. One time, we even ate at Mortons.
Our home is only a 10 minute drive to get to Disney Studios, 15 for Epcot and AK and 20 minutes to the MK. We can be in most of the parks in about 20 minutes with the exception of the MK. The parking, monorail/ferry, is at least 1/2 an hour. However, I've waited quite a while for Disney buses, so even that time may not be that bad.
Yes, staying off site is a different vacation then onsite. I find that staying offsite is a bit more relaxed. We don't spend all the time at the parks and take time off to swim or do something else in the area. I always felt we had to be at a park to get the value of staying onsite. If you're interested, you can check out vacations sites like vrbo.com or homeaway.com. There are hundreds of homes for you to choose from!
If you have more specific questions, please ask.
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I haven't stayed at a vacation home near WDW, but I have in Anaheim. My experience was really positive. I will say that I have never stayed on-site, so I don't have that experience to compare it to.
I stayed at a motel on the Lynx (city bus) line at WDW last summer. That went really smoothly. They run till about 11:20pm, and no designated driver required! One night I really wanted to stay late, so I took a cab back. It was pricey, but worth it!
At DLR, we stayed at a large vacation home 1.5 miles from DLR. We walked to and from including a break time mid-day on most days. It was extra exercise we didn't really need, but was pleasant. The pool, BBQ, in-house washer/dryer, ironing board, blender (margaritas!), oven and crock pot all got use. We packed snacks for the park and had our meals back at the house.
Yes, it's a different trip, but I think it's a great option if you aren't planning on the dining plan. It's a great way to house multiple folks in one space with room for hanging out.
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We always stay on site. I feel that I get more for my money by being on property. A true vacation where I do not have to cook, clean, and especially not have to deal with driving and parking and finding my way around etc. I think our time is worth something too. We love the evening extra magic hours. So off site you might save a few bucks but you are not getting the convenience of a true WDW vacation. IMO But we are only a family of 4 so space has never been an issue for us. I can kind of see the benefit if you have a big family.
Other possible drawbacks are for starters that you'll have to buy Magic Bands for everyone age 3 and older. At $12.95 each, that can add up, plus they'll do nothing but let you into the parks and allow FastPasses. No charging anything to your room obviously, along with no dining plan. You also won't be able to choose FastPasses until 30 days from your arrival date rather than 60 when staying on-site. As essential as FP's are anymore for the most popular attractions, your choices could be more limited at just 30 days out.
You didn't say how familiar you are with WDW; however, unless you've been more than a couple times and know pretty well already where things are, I'm not sure I'd try it. But then, we've never stayed off-property, only driven our own car some last trip, using Disney transportation more than we drove.
Finally, being "in the Disney bubble" gives a feeling that's indescribable and priceless, IMO. Yes, you can stay elsewhere and may find that more beneficial after weighing the pros and cons, eapecially if you want to see and do things other than just Disney. (Are there actually people who do that? ) Good luck with your decision.
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Thank you for the info all. This will be our first time going to WDW with our 2 children ages 2 and 4. I have been multiple times as a child and 3x with my husband. I guess at these ages, it does make more sense to stay in the world. Convenience is key with the little ones! I have to stop exploring the idea of staying offsite until they are a little older.
when my kids were teens we usually split our time off site and on staying in a two bedroom condo/villa and then two rooms at WDW. My boys preferred off site. They liked having the extra room to spread out, snacks and quick meals at their finger tips and we felt it was much easier to eat healthy when you have a kitchen.
This past trip we stayed in a one bedroom on site with 4 adults and a baby. It was probably three times the price of staying in a vacation home. BUt this was a vacation where I was not thinking about money and my son (who once preferred a stay offsite) really enjoyed it. I think for us, having a kitchen means a lot. It's noce to have a relaxed breakfast and make a sandwich before bed.
I do not use a lot of the conveniences of on site (I don't charge to the room, have packages delivered and we try to avoid the EMH parks. If moeny or space is an issue, go offsite, With having an infant it was nice that the baby could go to bed and the adults could enjoy time. With two very young children I might be inclined to go off site if I could not get (or be willing to pay for) a one bedroom or two bedroom on site,
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Other possible drawbacks are for starters that you'll have to buy Magic Bands for everyone age 3 and older. At $12.95 each, that can add up, plus they'll do nothing but let you into the parks and allow FastPasses.
You don't need to buy Magic Bands. The tickets work just fine for admission and using FP.
Thank you for the info all. This will be our first time going to WDW with our 2 children ages 2 and 4. I have been multiple times as a child and 3x with my husband. I guess at these ages, it does make more sense to stay in the world. Convenience is key with the little ones! I have to stop exploring the idea of staying offsite until they are a little older.
I agree about the convenience! We have used VRBO.com to rent vacation homes in the past for various locations. When traveling to WDW we always stay on site. You can't beat the convenience of the dining plan, transportation, etc. & I love being in the Disney bubble!
We stayed off site our first visit, at The Marriott Courtyard on Palm Pky, really close to DTD. Great hotel, but decided after that we'd stay onsite. It's just a different experience. There's something magical about staying in WDW. Especially if you have young ones.
We've only stayed off site. We loved it. I've always hated staying in the same room as my kids. The stress of having to tiptoe around the room in semi-darkness for the evening while they sleep isn't my idea of a holiday. Listening to me and their father snoring isn't theirs
We rented a house through AllStar Vacation Homes and really enjoyed having some space after spending all day together at the park. And it was delicious to have our own quiet, peaceful pool to relax in when we got 'home'.
This time we're doing a split stay - 4 days Grand Floridian, 2 Days Universal and 1 week in an AllStar Vacation Home. We decided that we wanted to experience staying 'in the bubble', but with such a long stay (We're travelling from Oz.) we really wanted the chance for some 'down time'. Plus, we can rent a 4 bedroom house with a Games room and private pool for less than one room at GF! As someone above said, you can rent homes that are actually closer to some of the parks than some Disney Resorts and from what I've heard, Disney Transportation isn't all it's cracked up to be. Renting a car isn't that expensive and you still end up way up on the deal.
I know a lot of families are quite happy spending their vacation in one room together. We are not that family
This time we're doing a split stay - 4 days Grand Floridian, 2 Days Universal and 1 week in an AllStar Vacation Home. We decided that we wanted to experience staying 'in the bubble', but with such a long stay (We're travelling from Oz.) we really wanted the chance for some 'down time'. Plus, we can rent a 4 bedroom house with a Games room and private pool for less than one room at GF! As someone above said, you can rent homes that are actually closer to some of the parks than some Disney Resorts and from what I've heard, Disney Transportation isn't all it's cracked up to be. Renting a car isn't that expensive and you still end up way up on the deal.
I know a lot of families are quite happy spending their vacation in one room together. We are not that family
Please be sure to post your reflections after your trip! I'm interested to hear how on-site works for you compared to off-site. I'm too greedy for trips to wait and save to stay on-site!
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