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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am in charge of planning for our vacation with friends in December. I was originally thinking POR would be the best choice of resorts, mainly for the location. Our friends have a son who will have just turned 4 shortly before our trip, and I figured we would be centrally located by staying at POR. Now I am second guessing myself. We have stayed at POR and CBR in the past and really enjoyed them both. I don't remember POR being a kid friendly as CBR. I'm afraid that CBR will be too overwhelming for them. My kids are asking to stay at DAAR since we have not ever stayed there. I'm looking for reviews for this resort. How is the transportation service? Will this be an overwhelming resort? We would get two rooms as there are 8 of us total. Is the location of the Little Mermaid rooms close to the food court and the busses? Overall thoughts on these three resorts with a 4 year old. My kids wil be 16 and have done the parks multiple times, and completely know what to expect.
How many beds do you need? Long before 16 my kids were not into sharing and we would get two rooms (or a villa) for our family of 5.
I am not sure what you mean by overwhelming. I have never stayed value but I think all the moderates I've stayed at (all but POR) and deluxes were not overwheming even if they were large.
For out trip last April/May, a one bedroom was cheaper than two rooms and had a king, double and single bed, Fine for 4 adults and an infant.
Haven't stayed at any of these but AoA frequently is reviewed as very appealing to kids, especially younger ones, whereas POR and CBR aren't nearly as "Disney" and are said to have less kid appeal. Dave's Your First Visit site, the one we use to help decide where to stay when wanting to try a different resort, highly recommends AoA for kid appeal, I recall.
Quite a lot may depend upon how important being near any given park may be to both families. I can't advise regarding bus service or location advantages for any of those, but someone else will happen along who can, I'm sure.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Just as an FYI, AoA is the common abbreviation for Art of Animation. I didn't know what you meant by DAAR until you mentioned the Little Mermaid rooms and realized you were abbreviating the full name of Disney's Art of Animation Resort.
We've stayed at POFQ as a family of 4 with the youngest in a pack-n-play and at CBR when we were still 3. We love POFQ and stayed there the last two trips, haven't stayed at POR or AoA. Now it's myself and DH, along with DS (16) and DD (4). For our upcoming trip in August we decided to go back to CBR. We love this resort too so the themeing wasn't a big deal. Here's our thoughts on why we chose CBR:
Location: We love the location. Very close to EP and DHS. No boat ride to Disney Springs but oh well. I'd say it's virtually equal to POR/POFQ as far as location goes.
Food Court: CBR has a large food court with lots of options - easy to find something for everyone.
Pool: CBR has an awesome pool. There is a dedicated kids area that is fantastic. Perfect for a 4 year old. Plus the regular pool has two slides which DS will think is great all with a pirate theme. Time it right and you can see part of Illuminations from the pool.
Pull down bed: This was huge for us. In fact it's already noted as our number one priority as a room request. Because DS will be 16 and DD turned 4, we really need that pull down murphy bed. Having the kids share just doesn't seem right at this age and DS doesn't want to share a bed with DH. Having that small extra bed for the 4 year old is a perfect solution. POR has them as well but we're not really fans of the Alligator Bayou theme.
POR is our fav moderate resort. We love the mansion section and request to be near a foot bridge.
They also have all queen beds.
I've only visited AoA, for a look around. Haven't stayed there but the Mermaid section is furthest away from main building and transportation. Rooms are smaller, and beds are double, not queen.
It's Disney, I think all resorts are kid friendly.
It's Disney, I think all resorts are kid friendly.
We must have different understandings, Sue.
I certainly agree every resort is kid friendly which to me means how well kids will be treated and feel welcome there.
Kid appeal means to me which resorts would kids most enjoy and want to stay at. For me (thinking like a kid since I haven't any), AoA would probably be tops, the various AllStars next among the less expensive places, and PopC ranking with those depending upon interests. Definitely BC/YC (Stormalong Bay) and maybe BWI for pool appeal despite some thinking the clown slide at BWI is scary-looking. WL also has a great main pool and on the whole seemed to be fun for the kids I saw there.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
I certainly agree every resort is kid friendly which to me means how well kids will be treated and feel welcome there.
Kid appeal means to me which resorts would kids most enjoy and want to stay at. For me (thinking like a kid since I haven't any), AoA would probably be tops, the various AllStars next among the less expensive places, and PopC ranking with those depending upon interests. Definitely BC/YC (Stormalong Bay) and maybe BWI for pool appeal despite some thinking the clown slide at BWI is scary-looking. WL also has a great main pool and on the whole seemed to be fun for the kids I saw there.
Dot, I was thinking along the lines of POR having pool party, camp fire, movies, fishing hole, boat ride to DTD, carriage rides and a fun evening entertainer. Plus the fact that there are also 16 yr old teens, and parents that may be more comfy in a queen bed and have a little more room. So to me while POR doesn't have the giant icons, it does have a lot going for it, for everyone.
I haven't stayed in those Little Mermaid rooms, but I have visited AoA a few times, and I can assure you the LM section is pretty far from the hub of the resort. I have been told that you can cut some steps off your walk if you cross the parking lot after getting off the bus (and vice versa), but I think that takes away from the enjoyment of the public areas of the resort. If kid appeal is on top of your list, you won't find more than at AoA.
My kids loved POR We stayed in the standard room with the trundle bed My daughter called it her bed When we went back for our next visit I booked the Royal Room for her because her favorite Princess is Tiana and she was mad at me because she did not have her own bed! It was too funny
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We stayed in the standard room with the trundle bed 
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