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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The cabins are a great choice. I hope you will report back how it works out. We are a family of 5 and have always stayed at POR. It is a great resort and we do really like it. However, that trundle bed looks less and less "fun" as the kids age.
If you want extra space, POR is not the way to go. The rooms are quite small and once the trundle bed is pulled out, everyone better be in bed because there is no space!
Maybe we should try the cabins!
I hope you love them! Sounds like it will be great for your family!
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--Walt Disney
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If you do decide to stay there, please report back to us! I would love to know how you like it. We are considering staying there in Sept 2011 - I love everything that FW has to offer!
I can't say much about the cabins because we never stayed there. We did stay at one of the POR rooms with a trundle. DD used the trundle and DS used the bed. I felt really cramped, and there was only 4 of us.
We stayed at the Cabins in 2004. They are VERY nice, but consider the time you spend there. We spent a lot of time traveling. It's big and you have to take internal buses to get to boat dock, or to bus stop at entrance to take another to the parks. You may have to wait a while sometimes. A 'quick dip in the pool' required a long walk or a bus ride. That wasn't so fun when it started to rain one afternoon. The golf carts are nice but X-TRA $$ and sometimes booked! It's not like you can just take the elevator down to the pool like in many of the other hotels. The grounds, pony rides and beach are fun to walk around. The Trails End buffet was good too, my kids eat better at the buffets. I wouldn't want to STAY there again unless I was indeed camping. Simply because it was a lot of extra commuting.
We stayed there last summer with 3 adults and 3 kids (1,4,6). We LOVED it! We stayed 10 nights and I still don't think we spent enough time just enjoying everything the resort has to offer! We loved the kitchen, great for quick bk in the morning and having the big frig was great! We always drive to the parks (we have a double stroller too!) so the buses weren't a problem for us. One night we felt really adventurous and took the boat over to MK instead of driving. It was fun but definitely took ALOT longer to get back to our cabin. We left MK after wishes and didn't get into our cabin until well after midnight. On the other hand, once we got off the boat, we WALKED back to the cabin instead of using the internal buses. Made for a longer trip but we enjoyed the nice, peaceful walk (kids sleeping sounding in the strollers!).
That is a great advantage to staying at the cabins is being able to park so close to your front door. Mousekeeping also loads and starts your dishwasher, yea! If you opt for the cabins over the value suites I would definatley drive to the parks the bus service at the campground is so-so. Also request a loop near the pool some cabins can be quite the hike to get there. Try not to go to the store in the campgrounds the prices are astronomical!! Go offsite for supplies. Regardless where you stay you will be at Disney havin a blast!
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We stayed in the cabins in Dec 08, It was amazing, we loved all the space. We did splurge on the golf cart (LOVED IT!!) We would just hope in and drive to the boat dock, a great boat ride to MK in no time. It is a splurge, but we had so much fun driving through the grouds and the extra space was wonderful! We are staying at the POR this time (saving$$), I'm hoing it's not too small of rooms. The POR was cheaper than ASM suite and got the upgraded dining. If you can spend the $ for a cabin...do it!
We too are a family of 5 and have stayed at POR 3 times. My parents have also gone with us so we have always had connecting rooms (with a door) and my eldest son usually sleeps in their room on the trundle bed most nights.
It IS a tight fit with all 5 of us in the room but doable. My problem now is the ages of the kids and that they don't want to sleep together (I don't blame them - the beds are POR are only full size).
If you can swing the cabins, I would probably consider them for your trip. If not, I think with the ages of your kids, you would be fine at POR.
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Having stayed at PO, the cabins and camped in a tent, the cabins win hands down! Transportation does take longer and would be frustrating if your time was limited. FW is def layed back, but I do believe the kids enjoy the down time. I feel that I get my money's worth even while exploring the campground. Loved having a car which is very convenient although the trans systems have always worked for me. Golf carts are a hoot and expensive but one of our fondest memories. Renting bikes is fun as well. It is not a normal resort by any means but that's what makes it unique esp. if you can take the time to enjoy what FW has to offer. Trails End dinner was delicious and the service was very enjoyable, they paid special attention to me because I was traveling alone. I took the plunge and camped alone for a week. I'm from CO so what can I say. Love it! Wish I was in a cabin right now.
We are family of 5 also. My girls are ages 13-18. We have stayed at POR & in the cabins at FW. We were fine with the trundle bed at POR. We loved the space we had in the cabins. I think you will be fine with either choice. We would happily stay at either resort.
We stayed at POR in 2008 and had a family suite at ASM last year. The suite was really nice and spacious, just what was needed to get ready for the wedding. But.....why spend the extra $$ on a suite? It has a kitchen?
Like I told my husband, how long are we going to be in the room (awake). My girls won't sleep in the same bed anymore either. I'm running the marathon in 2012 so I've already started thinking plans and where to stay, blah blah. Why so few options for a family of 5+? Not everyone only has 2 kids!
I'm glad I found this forum, never thought of the cabins!
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