Forums Closed
|
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
|
|
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.
|
 |
02-23-2005, 06:33 PM
|
#1
|
|
Community Rank: Tourist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Western Lower Michigan
Posts: 21
|
Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
|
|
|
|
02-23-2005, 07:30 PM
|
#2
|
Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 3,968
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
I haven't stayed at the Dolphin or Swan.
But I've stayed at the Beach Club twice. They would love the pool at the Beach Club. Also its a quick walk to Epcot and Boat Ride to MGM.
|
|
|
|
|
02-23-2005, 07:36 PM
|
#3
|
Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Florida Big Bend
Posts: 17,133
|
Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
To be truly immersed in Disney magic and pixie dust stay at a Disney-owned resort like Beach Club or Poly. Those are actually two of our favoritest. As Irene mentioned, your kids would really enjoy Stormalong Bay as its the only pool on the property with 'sand on the bottom'. The Poly's Volcano Pool is pretty neat too with its zero entry level, slide, and underwater speakers.
|
|
|
|
|
02-23-2005, 08:38 PM
|
#4
|
Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
Of those four resorts, my choice would definitely be the Beach Club. We stayed in a studio villa there last December and absolutely loved it. The pool is amazing as is the proximity to both Epcot and the Boardwalk which means you have a plethora of restaurants to choose from. It's also great having a character breakfast buffet right there at the hotel. Personally I wouldn't stay at either the Swan or the Dolphin because I really like the magical atmosphere to be found at the Disney-owned and operated resorts.
Joy
|
|
|
|
|
02-24-2005, 01:43 AM
|
#5
|
PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
We've never stayed at the Dolphin or Swan, but have looked around them both and find that they're both lacking that Disney magic. We love the Beach Club - it's our favourite resort on property for many reasons - Stormalong Bay, the proximity to Epcot and the theming are just some of the reasons.  |
|
|
|
|
02-24-2005, 03:00 AM
|
#6
|
Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London, UK
Posts: 1,468
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
I want to rock the boat here and say that we LOVE the Dolphin. Again as with the BC it's location is fantastic and having the choice to either walk or take the boat to Epcot and MGM is great. We love the Dolpin BECAUSE it's NOT owned by Disney and although I and the boys are complete Disney freaks !!!!! we find it's actually nice not having Mickey Mouse shoved down your throat 24/7.
I probably get lynched for saying all that but at least you've now got another opinion.
|
|
|
|
|
02-24-2005, 09:44 AM
|
#7
|
Community Rank: Wayfarer 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 137
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
Of the 4 choices, my personal favorite is the Poly. However, your children will probably love the BC pool complex (it's far from an ordinary pool)so that is probably the best bet! I have no experience with the Swan or Dolphin, so I can't comment on those.
|
|
|
|
|
02-24-2005, 09:55 AM
|
#8
|
|
Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 34,171
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
I would say either Poly or Beach Club. If you are spending more time at the MK because of the kids, you may want the Poly to be on the monorail. The pool slide there is a volcano. If you want MGM or Epcot, definately the BEach Club. The kids will love that pool!
|
|
|
|
|
02-26-2005, 02:55 PM
|
#9
|
Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 1,302
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
[ QUOTE ]
I want to rock the boat here and say that we LOVE the Dolphin. Again as with the BC it's location is fantastic and having the choice to either walk or take the boat to Epcot and MGM is great. We love the Dolpin BECAUSE it's NOT owned by Disney and although I and the boys are complete Disney freaks !!!!! we find it's actually nice not having Mickey Mouse shoved down your throat 24/7.
I probably get lynched for saying all that but at least you've now got another opinion.
[/ QUOTE ]
Oh Isabel I couldn't agree more!!!!!! I  the Swan and Dolphin. There pools are great complete with waterfalls, volleyball nets, hot tubs, a kiddie pool and spring pool. Another nice benefit with kids is that all you have to do is show your room card at the cabana and get life vests for the kids and volleyballs, basketballs or balls for the pool. They have a nice beach area and keep it very clean. The heavenly beds are amazing. After our last trip, my parents are actually going to buy a heavenly bed. Now, when we go to Disney my dad and hubby won't stay anywhere else. The service is great. At the Swan, they have a list of specialty items that you can request for your room...everything from stools for children to reach the sink, potty seats, bathrobes, slippers and a scale. Things do happen(we had a broken hair dryer) but they take care of you and brought us a new one within 30 minutes and left us a box of chocolates with an apology not. And, people say its not Disneyish...well, you don't have Mickey waking you up in the morning but we had a wonderful view of Illuminations from our room. I think that was great. Oh, and my son LOVES the fact that we were the closest hotel to the mini golf course!!!
My point is, don't overlook 2 great hotels. All of your choices are wonderful and you can't go wrong!!!! Have fun!!! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
Sponsored links
 | | 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. |
|
|
02-27-2005, 09:20 AM
|
#10
|
|
Community Rank: Tourist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Western Lower Michigan
Posts: 21
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
Thanks everyone for you awesome feed back. I think we are going to stick with the Beach Club. For our first time to Disney we want to be immersed in the Disney Magic!!! (Although, for me it was a tough call, due to the comforts at the Swan and Dolphin, namely the beds.) But the kids want DISNEY DISNEY DISNEY!!! Thanks.  |
|
|
|
|
02-28-2005, 01:18 PM
|
#11
|
Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Florida Big Bend
Posts: 17,133
|
Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
Oh you will NOT regret it! Be sure and say Hi to Art the Greeter. |
|
|
|
|
03-01-2005, 07:07 AM
|
#12
|
Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 1,500
|
Re: Dolphin, Swan, or Beach Club
Enjoy your first trip to the World Katy! I think you made the right choice staying on property for your kids first experience. I have stayed at the Dolphin, and liked it very much, for all of the reasons previously stated. My children prefer staying in Disney owned hotels, and chose Boardwalk for our next adventure. You'll love being within walking distance to EPCOT!
|
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
