Hawaii Here I Come! TR July/Aug 2011 UPDATED 8/23 - Page 23 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
Thanks for the info--I just don't know when we're going to get to Aulani. We're going to do it eventually--Brandon spent four years living in Hawaii as a Navy brat and really wants to get back!
Thanks! I always budget for more purchases, but so far I haven't bought anything "nice" yet. There are some pieces of Hawaiian heirloom jewelry that I'd really like to have, but I'm waiting until I see "the right" piece before I bite!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Thanks for the info--I just don't know when we're going to get to Aulani. We're going to do it eventually--Brandon spent four years living in Hawaii as a Navy brat and really wants to get back!
I really hope you can try it out soon! Brandon would be a great tour guide for you! If I wasn't able to stay at the time share with Sherry (only cost me $500 for the whole week), I probably would've just stayed a few days on Oahu. Travelling in the summer was just way too expensive for flights, and it nearly wiped out my travel budget!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Thanks for sharing your awesome Hawaiian vacation with us! I remember melting at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. Hopefully someday I'll get back there to visit Aulani.
Looking at the picture from your brother's house. . . it's almost the same view from my Aunty's house . Does your brother live in Pearl City? Anywhere near Hoomahilu Street?
Great souvenirs! I would love some of those cookies and chocolates right now!
I love those cookies, although I have to admit that I'm kind of almost tired of them. You know how you mention you like something, and then all of a sudden everyone starts to give you that one thing as a gift? Well, every time my mom goes, she brings back some cookies (even though we tell her to bring back just a small box, she ends up bringing back one of the BIG boxes, lol).
Quote:
Originally Posted by todyzbud
Thanks for sharing your awesome Hawaiian vacation with us! I remember melting at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. Hopefully someday I'll get back there to visit Aulani.
Looking at the picture from your brother's house. . . it's almost the same view from my Aunty's house . Does your brother live in Pearl City? Anywhere near Hoomahilu Street?
I hope you can visit again soon! My brother lives in Aiea, which I believe is right next to Pearl City. I don't remember seeing Hoomahilu street, though. They are kind of up the hill from Pearlridge Mall, if that helps.
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Great report (now that I finally was able to finish reading!). I will certainly be taking notes when we manage to get to Aulani!!
Thanks for reading! I really did have a lot of fun writing this TR, and I'm looking forward to taking another trip and doing another TR, lol, but I don't know where I'm going next! Guess I have to go plan a trip!
I spent a little time with Cheryl and Mark at DLR today, and while we were walking around the Disneyland Hotel, we happened upon the DVC office, where we asked for and were given a little tour of their sample Aulani rooms. Cheryl took lots of pictures, which hopefully she'll share in her TR, and the rooms looked really nice, especially the 1-bedroom villa.
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
I spent a little time with Cheryl and Mark at DLR today, and while we were walking around the Disneyland Hotel, we happened upon the DVC office, where we asked for and were given a little tour of their sample Aulani rooms. Cheryl took lots of pictures, which hopefully she'll share in her TR, and the rooms looked really nice, especially the 1-bedroom villa.
My parents went to visit my brother a few weeks ago, and my bro and I decided to treat them to a night at Aulani. Here are pics of the t-shirt they bought me, and the toiletries from their room.
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Very nice! I love the H20 product line. Did they like Aulani?
They did enjoy it, but as they're not super duper Disney fans like I am, they thought everything was too expensive (well, ok, I think it's expensive too, but a lot of it I think is worth it!). My brother said the rooms were small, and he expected them to be a little bigger. The grounds were nice. He liked the two pool slides (one was a body slide, and the other was one you went down on a tube/floatie). There was a lazy river, but he couldn't get my parents to go on it !
Laurie, I hope you start your TR soon. I can't wait!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
They did enjoy it, but as they're not super duper Disney fans like I am, they thought everything was too expensive (well, ok, I think it's expensive too, but a lot of it I think is worth it!). My brother said the rooms were small, and he expected them to be a little bigger. The grounds were nice. He liked the two pool slides (one was a body slide, and the other was one you went down on a tube/floatie). There was a lazy river, but he couldn't get my parents to go on it !
Laurie, I hope you start your TR soon. I can't wait!
I'm not going to do a PTR, so will probably make my first posting the day before I depart. Thanks!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.