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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We made our way over to the Casitas area. Each area/section of the resort has a slightly different theme. The Casitas were themed more to the regions urban areas, offering beautiful accommodations amidst colorful plazas, fountains, and palm-shaded courtyards.
On a side note, for those who don’t know, Coronado Springs has a Northern Mexico and American Southwest theme….basically Tex Mex.
I’m not sure what these plants are (I never see them around my area), but I thought they were just so cool looking and I would see them all over WDW.
We headed over to Casitas one to take a look at a room. We would be touring one of the suites. The one side, was basically the suite side, and it was beautiful, the other side was extra beds, which is really like what a regular room looks like…for the most part at CSR.
The little details in the room were just so neat.
Here is a picture of Mindy in the mirror…..It’s kind of a cool picture…it would be really neat of her if the others weren’t in it as well.
I wish I got a better picture of this light fixture. It was really neat. The lighting in the room itself made it hard to get fantastic pictures.
I must add that we were a group of 21 plus Tommy, when touring these rooms, so at times it was hard to get pictures with all the people in there. Either you got pictures with others in them or you were bumping into each other…we just did the best we could.
What a gorgeous bathtub…..
We all made our way to the bedroom with 2 queen beds (I think they were queen, I know all Mods should have Queens in the next few years). This room is what a typical room at CRS looks like.
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.
We then headed out and worked our way towards the convention center.
Many of us stopped and grabbed a quick drink of water.
We peeked in a conference room.
Tommy stopped to point out a few things.
We must’ve taken a potty break then.
I believe these are a few pictures I took as we left…I am not sure if I was randomly taking pictures, or if I was actually trying to shoot something. LOL!
Something about this next picture, just made me have feelings of when I was young…it’s like it triggered a memory…but not sure what it is…but it makes me feel good.
We were now on our way to Caribbean Beach Resort. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of CSR, like the main pool, but we had very limited time at each resort, and we did see quite a bit in the short time we were there.
While we traveled, Rita would get up and talk to us……usually reviewing what we had just seen, or giving us info about the next stop.
And then we make it to CBR! Tommy ran into the Custom House, the main building where Guests check in. This is a separate building from the rest of the resort.
While he was in there, Rita explained a bit about the Custom House, which in theory sounded good, something many places in the Caribbean have, but here …not such a great idea. Disney soon found this was kind of pain in the butt, basically. Guest complained about the distance to the “front desk”, so Disney added a Desk at Old Port Royale where guests can asks questions and get some basics services.
Tommy was back soon and we drove over to Old Port Royale.
Once again we gathered in the lobby area and separated into our groups.
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.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.