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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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last year we drove our 2002 ford windstar (97,000 miles) and had no problems...2 weeks before we left we had to replace the transmission but our trip was fine....this year we will be driving our "new" van down....
Right there with you. Had to trade our 2000 Windstar with over 100,000 miles on it this spring because the transmission was starting to act up. We too are driving our "new" van to WDW this year.
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We used to drive all the time (with our own pieces of junk) until we discovered how affordable Southwest airlines was! We have since flown for the last 5 trips (including the one coming up). I always weigh it out as 1.5 hour flight as opposed to a 13 hour drive for really not that much money more.
Also, Disney is the EASIEST place to travel to without a car. You show up at the airport, they pick you up with DME, you take resort transportation everywhere, and then they take you back to the airport. Very stress-free! You can't beat that. It is certainly worth the extra money.
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Beach Club Villas - Jan 2014, Villas Wilderness Lodge - Jan 2013
All Star Music - January 2011, Saratoga Springs - June 2010
Port Orleans Riverside - October 2009, Caribbean Beach - June 2009
Coronado Springs - June 2008, All Star Movies - April 2008
Pop Century - June 2005
Offsite: June 1997, 1999, & 2000
I guess it depends upon your definition of stress. For me, I was on a bus when it got in an accident years ago and everytime I get on a bus (which thanfully is extremely rare), it's anything but stress free. And with an airline, I'd be stressing about Lenny's scooter getting damaged (a CM at Disney didn't know how it worked and almost crashed it - who knows what an airline employee could do to it).
We rented a Suburban for our trip in the Spring. It probably would have been cheaper to fly for the cost of a full size SUV, but my kids like to drive. I should say, they like to be driven there. Neither one of my kids has flown before, plus they like to take a lot of stuff that we couldn't if we flew. There was 5 of us in the Suburban & not one bit of space left after all our stuff. We even had stuff in the floor
We drive every time we go and I wouldn't have it any other way since we usually go with a big group so the flight savings are substantial. We've made it with no issues with an older vehicle and we have had a new vehicle break down. Twice we've had a mechanical issue and both were able to be resolved quick enough not to deter our trip. One issue happened while we were at Disney and they picked up our car and fixed it while we spent the day in the park and returned it to our hotel. It was great service and we didn't miss a beat that day. As long as you do all you can to make sure the vehicle is in good shape before you leave you should be ok. Listen to the others here and make sure you have Roadside Assistance available.
Several years ago, we took our 8 year old van with 200,00+ miles on it to Arkansas with no problems. The next year we took our 2005 van, and blew out a tire--it had 32,000 miles on it. I guess the moral to the story is that the unexpected can happen on any road trip, no matter the age of the car. I told DH at the time--with the amount of trips we have taken without incident, it was bound to happen sometime or another. ( We have driven to WDW from Pa many time without incident)
You really have to be comfortable taking your vehicle on a long road trip. Have it serviced and mention that you will be taking a long trip and would like them to take a quick look at everything to avoid problems. To avoid any stress with a rental take out the insurance policy as it will cover any and all expenses in the event of breakdown/accident. It is pricey but well worth the cost if you do experience problems.
I think it depends on how comfortable you are with taking your car on a long trip. It's true that problems can happen with any vehicle, regardless of the age or mileage, but it is more likely that an older, high mileage vehicle will have a problem.
If you do decide to drive, have a mechanic check your vehicle out before hand. I would also suggest you do some research on the vehicle type and typical issues. My 2000 Chevy Venture had been running fine, we had kept up on the maintenance, then one day (ironically on the way home from the car wash) both head gaskets blew. Turns out that this is a somewhat common occurance on this vehicle at this mileage according to the mechanic who fixed it. Again, there was no warning or indication before this that there might be a problem. Does it mean that all Ventures will blow a head gasket at 120,000? No. If I knew that my vehicle type tended to have trouble at that mileage, would I take it on an extended road trip? Probably not.
I drove my 1998 Chevy P/U to WDW last June. It did a great job and I have to agree that maintenance is key. If you car is in relatively good shape for its age then you should be ok. I also agree about taking it in and having a mechanic you trust look it over before you leave.
We have driven our 2002 Grand Caravan down last year. It was fine. DH throws tools and extra belts in the back just in case ,and off we went. We plan on going next year so we'll see, it is still in great shape. We have a 2006 Colorado but it is too small for comfort for a trip with 6 people. If he feel the Caravan is up for another round I feel pretty secure(he's a certified mechanic as well as being a truck driver). If not we'll rent. The airlines have just gone too fee crazy for me, although I dearly miss being there quick.
I'd be more likely to use my own car over a rental - you never really know the history of them and on a long trip, it's a vehicle you are unfamiliar with. Of course anything can happen at any time so I think if you are prepared (do you have AAA? or roadside service through your insurance?), have your car checked out before you go, and have a good trip!
(If there is anyway you can fly, that would be my first choice though)
We have driven each year. Both of our cars are older (one has over 200,000 miles and the other has 190,000). Last year, we had a flat tire which slowed us down a bit (had to get it fixed) but we were focused and headed on to WDW!
I will say, it is quite nice to have a car once in the world. We have driven to early morning breakfast ADR's and it saved us a lot of time. Also, we have had to travel to a medical center and then a pharmacy. So, having the car (as old as it may be), was very useful!!
Maybe have your car checked over by a reliable mechanic or car-suavy friend before the trip?
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"Disneyland has that thing - the imagination and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid."
--Walt Disney
We've always driven to Disney World from NE Ohio. In fact both of the cars we have nnow have made mutiple trips down. One's a 2006 Saturn Vue and the other's a 2005 Vue. Before that we had a 1998 Dodge Caravan we drove down. We like the drive and like to take side trips on the way down. Besides that, we just take too much stuff.
Liz
I'm driving my 2003 Windstar down this summer. It will 4000 miles round trip - we are doing a side trip to Savannah & then driving over the Great Smokey Mtns on the way home. Ok, it will probably 4500 miles. I always have the car serviced before we go. This is the 3rd time I drove and 2nd time with the Windstar. I am planning to drive again in December. I only have about 70K miles on the car now, so it does run great.
As I tell my mother, I am a princess and I need to have my own coach.
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my car has 150,000 + miles on it. forgot to mention that.
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