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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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'm looking at the Radisson, too. Last time we stayed at the French Quarter, but I don't think we are doing that again. By the time you arrive at the Port, you are rushed to eat lunch and all . If we stay at the Port, we can check in a little earlier. So, I am trying to research all the possibilities.
Travelocity runs specials at Radisson Port , for 1bedroom suite for $139.00 a night, didn't check the other rates as I needed the suite for 6 people. That same suite is 199-239.00 on Radisson website (depending on when you stay). So it pays to shop around.
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check out the Residence Inn in Cocoa Beach. We stayed there last year. There is a shuttle service that will drop you off at the port and pick you up and bring you back to the hotel after the cruise for $6 per person round-trip. If I recall correctly there was a rental car agency located next door (hertz? I think) One of the families we met on the cruise rented a car and dropped it off at the rental agency next to the hotel, then used the shuttle service the next morning. If you need to rent on the way back, you can pick up a one-way rental at the same place.
The port is so close to the hotel that this year, we are considering pricing a taxi to the port from the hotel. it may be cheaper than the $24 for a family of 4 on the shuttle and provide more flexibility in timing.
The Residence Inn also offered free breakfast, so you can get up early, eat and head over to the port for early check-in.
Okay, I may be reading this incorrectly... so I apologize if my answer is totally off base. We just returned and flew into Orlando on Sat, was put up at the Hyatt AT the Orlando airport. They have a shuttle that we used (as well as being able to check in for the cruise AT the hotel/airport area-- so nice!!) and then they return you back to the airport on the same shuttle bus (I am assuming you could just go back to the hotel instead of checking into a flight). Something to look into
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We thought of doing the rental car thing, but found out it was more money and more time wasted.
We discovered staying at a Disney resort ( even the value hotels) and using the complimentary shuttle from airport to hotel to port and back to hotel was much cheaper and less headache.
We were able to get a great deal at the Port Orleans with shuttles to everything cheaper than staying at the Radisson at port and payig for all the shuttles or car rentals.
Just an option.
We thought of doing the rental car thing, but found out it was more money and more time wasted.
We discovered staying at a Disney resort ( even the value hotels) and using the complimentary shuttle from airport to hotel to port and back to hotel was much cheaper and less headache.
We were able to get a great deal at the Port Orleans with shuttles to everything cheaper than staying at the Radisson at port and payig for all the shuttles or car rentals.
Just an option.
I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding you or not. So if we got off the ship on a Saturday, took Disney transportation back to WDW value resort and stayed overnight, it doesn't cost anything for the transportation from the port to WDW resort? Then, I know on Sunday we could be transported from resort to airport for free, but didn't think the transportation from port to resort (on Sat.) would be free.
No, it's not complimentary from hotel to port - it's either an included part of a Land/Sea package, or the cost of transfers was included in the quote. The trips between airport and resort are free as part of Disney's Magical Express.
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Do all the hotels near the port charge for their shuttle service?? Or, just some??
I am still thinking that we will probably rent a car before the cruise (turn it in at port) and then get another rental for the ride back to the airport... unless prices are sky-high in 2010 and then I'll look into a car service....
No, it's not complimentary from hotel to port - it's either an included part of a Land/Sea package, or the cost of transfers was included in the quote. The trips between airport and resort are free as part of Disney's Magical Express.
Thanks, that's what I thought. We haven't sailed on DCL out of FL since 2004 and I thought maybe something had changed! Guess I'll keep our car rentals, then.
We are trying to figure out the same thing. I have my travel agent looking for a deal, even though I doubt there are very many these days. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
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Do all the hotels near the port charge for their shuttle service?? Or, just some??
I can't speak for all of the hotels, but the Radisson's shuttle is complimentary.......as was the shuttle from the Budget rental car office. We returned our rental car in the morning and took the Budget shuttle to the port. It was less crowded and ran more often than the Radisson Shuttle.
We were able to find a car from MCO to port Canaveral for about $35-40 (Compact car, using Mousesavers codes), but coming back to the airport after the cruise was more than $70.
I wonder if you could get a rental car on the way to the port (especially if you are coming in the night before) and then book the Disney shuttle in one direction only to get back to the airport?
Does anyone know if you can do this, or does the disney shuttle have to be round trip?
Okay, I may be reading this incorrectly... so I apologize if my answer is totally off base. We just returned and flew into Orlando on Sat, was put up at the Hyatt AT the Orlando airport. They have a shuttle that we used (as well as being able to check in for the cruise AT the hotel/airport area-- so nice!!) and then they return you back to the airport on the same shuttle bus (I am assuming you could just go back to the hotel instead of checking into a flight). Something to look into
We are crusing this May and we reserved a town car service (Quicksilver). They'll pick us up at the airport (the night before when our flight arrives), take care of our luggage, and drive us to the Radisson at the Port (with a stop at a grocery store on the way). Then the next morning we will use the complimentary Radisson shuttle to the cruise terminal/port. When we disembark on our return, the towncar driver will be waiting to pick us up at the port and drive us back to the airport. Total cost for four is $247 including tip. It's easy, no hassle, and doesn't cost that much more than renting a car. Good luck and happy planning...
If you arrive the same day as your cruise, then let Disney handle your transportation ($35 one-way for each person over 2yrs old). The convenience of not having to get your luggage from Baggage claim, the ease of the 45-minute ride to the terminal and the simplicity of the bus dropping you right at the Port outweighed the slightly higher cost.
Coming back, we chose to rent a car one-way since our flight wasn't until that evening and we got off the ship by 9am. Right outside of the terminal there are rental car bus stations that will take you to their office. We went with Budget which is closest to the Port (less than a mile away). Able to get a minivan for $105 (total cost) to accomodate 4 adults, 2 kids and 10-month old infant.
We went to Downtown Disney for the day and then returned the car right at the Budget airport office.
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