Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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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.
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07-28-2005, 06:01 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,451
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Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
Both of these resorts have studios available for less than
rooms at WL & AKL for my new dates.  They are also a bit
larger with balcony/patio. If you have stayed there what was your opinion?
What are the pros & cons of the locations. 
Since they are DVC did that make a difference
in your stay, service, guest, etc?
Thanks for any info you can offer.  |
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07-28-2005, 06:55 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Lancaster, PA
Posts: 888
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Re: Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
I really like OKW. Its very laid back and relaxing. I stayed in a studio my last trip there was plenty of room. There was a microwave, coffee pot and fridge and they provided paper plates and plastic utensils. The resort is spread out so you may want to specify a room close to the Hospitality House or a bus stop.
I haven't yet had the chance to stay at Saratoga Springs so can't help you there but it sure looks like a nice place too.
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07-28-2005, 10:20 PM
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#3
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
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Re: Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
Even though I'm a DVC member and Saratoga Springs is my home resort, I still far prefer Old Key West. The studios are larger, particularly the bathrooms. We found the transportation services to be better at OKW plus SS does not have a sit-down restaurant while OKW does. Also, if you have a car, you can park right outside your villa at OKW instead of having to walk back and forth to a parking lot.
As for the services available at either resort, if you are not staying on points but are paying a regular resort nightly fee, then you will receive the same sort of housekeeping services as at any of the other Disney resorts.
Joy
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07-29-2005, 01:44 AM
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#4
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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
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Re: Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
We stayed at Saratoga Springs in December and had no complaints about the studio. It was a good size and we had a lovely view out over Downtown Disney. As Joy's already said, you won't notice any difference in the service, if you're paying for your stay, as opposed to using DVC points.
We did feel though that Saratoga Springs was best enjoyed with a car - it's a bit like Animal Kingdom Lodge in respect of they're a bit remote from a lot of Disney property. Also, because there's not a table service restaurant at Saratoga Springs, if that's important to you for an evening meal (as it is to us), it's useful to have a car to get to a table service place.  |
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07-29-2005, 12:02 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: May 2004
Location: northern california
Posts: 9,588
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Re: Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
I just stayed at Saratoga Springs. It was my first and LAST stay. Stay at Old Key West. Building 62 is great nice and close to everything. Have fun.
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07-29-2005, 01:58 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: BURLESON TX (near Ft. Worth)
Posts: 5,589
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Re: Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
I've stayed at both and while there's nothing wrong with SSR, I really prefer OKW. We had breakfast at Artist Palette(I think that was the name)SSR and waited 30 minutes to get our food which didn't make sense. There was an area behind the counter they were filling the orders so the food was sitting there and just had to be put onto the plate. I had Mickey waffles(I know the kids weren't with us  ) and DH had a plate with eggs, bacon and a biscuit. How hard is that? We also had breakfast at OKW-Olivias which was very good. Good luck deciding! |
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07-29-2005, 05:51 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Wayfarer 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Tulsa area
Posts: 160
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Re: Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
OKW, as mentioned in previous posts, is awesome! We've stayed at many other resorts, including some not listed on my "list", and our hands-down fave is OKW. It's is very laid-back, very quiet. You don't get that "hotel" feel like with the other resorts - even the DVC ones like BW and VWL. Great views if you get a pond/golf course view. It's so relaxing to sit out on the patio in the evenings or in the mornings with a cup of coffee. The restaurant, Olivia's is one of our favorites at WDW. If you get a building around the "Penninsular Road" bus stop (bldgs 21 - 28??) It's quieter than being around front (Hospitality House area), you're at the first bus stop, and it's quick walking distance to the Hospitality House. The rooms are BIG - love the layout much better than the other DVC villa rooms - the whirlpool tubs are huge (I think you can use them as lap pools). I'm sure SSR is beautiful, and it is new, but I don't think you can beat OKW.
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07-30-2005, 04:28 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,451
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Re: Saratoga Springs & Old Key West questions.
Thanks so much everyone for sharing your experiences.
You've been a Big help. Anything else you guys recall
is welcomed. : 
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