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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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That's cool about Machu Picchu! Years ago there was a trip report here from someone who went there, so that may be worth checking out. If I recall correctly, there was a lot of hiking involved to get there, but it was worth the effort.
That's cool about Machu Picchu! Years ago there was a trip report here from someone who went there, so that may be worth checking out. If I recall correctly, there was a lot of hiking involved to get there, but it was worth the effort.
I came across that report recently while browsing this forum. "In the footsteps of the Incas", posted by DouglasE.
Sounds like a great choice to visit Machu Piccu as one of those sites if you have the opportunity to visit, then you must go for it!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Alaskan Mom: We have been a lot of places. DH used to travel for his work. I feel pretty lucky that I've been able to see a lot of the planet. But this is new for me, I've never been to South America before!
Cam:I've always been kind of a curmudgeon with the BIG destinations. Never wanted to see Paris. I was there for 4 hrs during a traffic jam, we pulled off and toured by metro. LOVED IT. Didn't care about going to Ankgor Wat. LOVED IT. So, I'm sure Machu Picchu will be amazing too. I just don't get excited about the big name spots.
Dave: You sound a lot like my husband. If you are there, you HAVE TO GO!
Penny: Thanks for the name of the thread. I'm going to check it out soon, though I understand that there is more transportation options now than there used to be.
Pam: I think there are other methods to get to MP that require minimal walking. There is an amazing true hike, with a guide, and maybe overnight lodging, that I would love to take. They limit that to preserve the old trails from overuse, and I'm sure it's very pricey, like most adventures that require a guide. I love to hike, but unfortunately, DH's legs won't let him go far anymore.
Cheryl: I'm sure it's going to be a huge pain to get to MP. But I think a lot can happen by train, which we love.
Disney update: I got both Biergarten and Crystal Palace at the desired day and time. DS is now wishy washy about the second park, so this could change. He wants to see Pandora, but I'm not sure I want to spend a whole day at AK. He loves star wars, but I'm not sure I want to spend a whole day at DHS. Since we will be off site, we have a long time before FP+ day comes.
Thanks Cheryl! I have enough new info that I can do a mini update:
First, Bolivia. DH and I were going between 2 different budget room options for our first 2 nights in Santa Cruz de la Siera.
Option 1: 17 dollars per night, 3 twin beds, 0.7 mi to center of City, great customer service marks. Building and rooms are modern in a bad way. Cramped, not stylish, but clean.
Option 2: 31 dollars per night, beautiful colonial building, right on the town square. Ooozing charm. Bad customer service reviews, reception is unfriendly.
In the end, because we arrive at 10pm, we decided to go with the cheaper option, since we wouldn't be enjoying the hotel for day 1 anyways. Also, I like being just slightly out of the center so that I see more than just the main tourist area of a place. Less than a mile walk is do-able even for DH, and we can use the extra $ on a nicer meal, right?
We may end up staying in Santa Cruz for a whole week, but we'll decide the next few night's lodging once we get there and can get the lay of the land.
Check out the fruit market in Santa Cruz. I stole this from a travel blog, "Uneven Sidewalks". Hope they don't mind, thanks guys!
Disney mini-update: Still no word on the resort my sister and her husband plan to get. Fine with me. They have a ton of family stuff going on with their son (who is not at home due to behavioral problems) so this trip is not on the top of their to-do lists right now. If they decide they can't go, I'll go to my Disney "home", the Rodeway Inn on Irlo Bronson across from Publix.
I got the 2 park ADRs I wanted, but this AM I decided that I wanted to try for Beaches and Cream for Saturday, a non-park day. Sadly, there is nothing available. The only table the entire day is table for 2 at 10pm. I'm not sure if they seat parties of 5 or 6 there at all. Looking at the pictures, it looks like MAYBE a party of 5 would work, 6 would be a bit of a stretch. That said, I'll keep trying, because it's fun to keep trying!
Those are some cheap rates and I don't think you can go wrong with either. Love the fruit market.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Wow, that fruit market looks amazing! I think you’ll be happiest with the room option you chose since it’s has great customer service ratings. Good customer service is so important!
Dave, I agree. If we stay longer in Santa Cruz, which I think we might, we can switch to the other place later in the week if they have rooms available.
Cam, It really looks awesome, doesn't it? Such a great mix of both temperate and tropical. I'm thinking because of it being a mountainous region, we can get just about anything that grows anywhere!
Pam, I agree, although DH and I are pretty good at winning over staff that most guests would consider distant and aloof. Having a 9 year old blond kid with you helps a lot!
Cheryl, it really really looks amazing, doesn't it?
I am especially happy with my decision to go with the cheaper hotel option now. I made a mistake in my "non-refundable" booking and accidentally booked a room for last Saturday. Yeah, I'm not in Bolivia at all. I couldn't cancel without being charged, but I hadn't paid yet. I called the hotel, and the reception guy was so kind and understanding, happy to hear I had also booked for 2 nights in June, and he told me not to worry, he would take care of it on his end. I received a note from Booking.com that my "request" had been honored later that day. So yeah, I made the right call!
Dave, I agree. If we stay longer in Santa Cruz, which I think we might, we can switch to the other place later in the week if they have rooms available.
Cam, It really looks awesome, doesn't it? Such a great mix of both temperate and tropical. I'm thinking because of it being a mountainous region, we can get just about anything that grows anywhere!
Pam, I agree, although DH and I are pretty good at winning over staff that most guests would consider distant and aloof. Having a 9 year old blond kid with you helps a lot!
Cheryl, it really really looks amazing, doesn't it?
I am especially happy with my decision to go with the cheaper hotel option now. I made a mistake in my "non-refundable" booking and accidentally booked a room for last Saturday. Yeah, I'm not in Bolivia at all. I couldn't cancel without being charged, but I hadn't paid yet. I called the hotel, and the reception guy was so kind and understanding, happy to hear I had also booked for 2 nights in June, and he told me not to worry, he would take care of it on his end. I received a note from Booking.com that my "request" had been honored later that day. So yeah, I made the right call!
Glad to hear they're refunding the money you made on the mistake with the booking. Always got to be careful when doing these things and pay attention to the dates and all the fine print. Especially, with non-refundable rates. Even though cheaper, I generally don't do these as I don't want to pay up front for something several months in advance. It's different with flights as that's the only option.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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getting your ADRs! 
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Alaskan Mom aka Bonnie
I'd always go for good customer service - I think that's so important. 
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