We Can Fly, We Can Fly, We Can Fly PTR - Page 6 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Just caught up on your PTR. I enjoy your reports and this one is interesting too. Great idea about getting the rental car to take you to the airport, in case things don't work out for your Mom to take you.
Also sounds like you worked a good deal with SW and the points from their credit card.
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Great job on getting the rental and airline tickets. That is the hardest part of planning in my opionion, especially when you don't know when the best discounts are given.
Room reservations, park tickets, rental cars and airfare were all set now so the next thing to look forward to was ADR’s and oh yeah , Lenny’s scooter rental. When the planning bug bit me again, I had placed a quick call to Walker Mobility to find out their drop off and pick up hours. Even though Disney has a new outside vendor policy, I had no intention of going with any of the companies. 2 of the places we purposely didn’t go with because Lenny didn’t like the looks of the scooters (too small for him) and the other 3 we’d never heard of. Once I looked into them, I didn’t like what I saw so we were going to stick with Walker. I made the call, found out the times and as I talked with the gentleman who answered the phone (John was his name - and he’s the CEO believe it or not) I told him how much we like their company and how we were going to stick with them despite Disney’s new policy. John then asked if I’d be willing to send an email to Disney telling them that and then call him back with any answer I received. I saw no harm in doing that so I agreed I would do it. John was happy about that and said he’d "throw in" the scooter insurance and a scooter canopy for us for my time with the email. We like getting both of those and if I could save a little bit of money, that was great but that wasn’t why I agreed to write the email. John mentioned it only after I agreed and I really didn’t expect him to remember he said it.
It took me several days to write up something that put Walker in the positive light they deserve without "villainizing" anyone (including Disney or their preferred vendors) and I finally sent that off after I bought our airfare. Much to my surprise, instead of the emailed response I expected, I received a phone call instead!! I received it on Friday February 8th - the day Winter Storm/Blizzard Nemo was just starting. Both Abby and I were home from school because it was canceled and I was in the middle of cleaning "Abby’s" office. The phone rang and I asked Abby to see who it was and she said "mom, it says Hollywood Studios". I was like huh?? so I answered it . It was David from whatever division of Disney he said he was from and he wanted to talk to me about their new scooter policy and make sure I understood what was behind it .
As we talked, I wasn’t surprised when David said that it was getting to the point that some companies were leaving their scooters in the luggage room for extended periods of time and Disney wanted to control that. What did surprise me though was he went on the explain that they want scooters that fit into certain "footprints" and that travel only certain speeds (no more details than that though). I had never thought of those reasons, but I understand the need for lack of speed, especially in the parks, and with new busses, I’m sure they want to accommodate the more compact scooters than the bigger, older ones. David continued to surprise me when he, himself, praised Walker Mobility for their customer service and how great they are to work with, even referring to them as a partner company several times. He also said how he has recommended Walker to many people for scooter rentals. David did want me to understand that even though companies such as Walker aren’t a preferred vendor at this time, it doesn’t mean they can’t become a preferred vendor in the future - or that they are not welcome on Disney property. Any scooter company can be used but only the few preferred companies can use bell services. Everyone else will have to set up times to drop off/pick up directly to/from the guest. So basically this new policy comes down to the scooter companies compliance with the new policy of the smaller, slower scooters (my words, not his but that’s basically what he meant). When and if that happens (and Disney understands that it might not always be possible to replace an entire fleet of scooters to comply) they’ll consider adding to their list. David lastly told me that he was going to keep my email and talk with other "high ups" (my words again, I forget what term he used) about my email and my thoughts and experience with Walker. Probably because I made the comment that for us a trip to Disney and a scooter rental from Walker go hand in hand as the service we receive from Walker is just as outstanding as that of Disney. We couldn’t do one without the other. By the time we were done talking, I was really pleased with the conversation and it was certainly one of the highlights of my day.
The other highlight of that day was when I called Walker and let them know I heard back from Disney. I told John about my conversation with David from Disney and he was very pleased too with what he heard from me. For all I know, he already knew the information and I was just confirming it for him (thus proving I did send an email like I told him I would) but he did seem surprised that David referred to them as a "partner" and that they could certainly become a preferred vendor. At one point in time, John asked me if I thought it was a positive conversation I had with David and I heartily agreed that it was a very positive phone call. And for Disney to praise a company that isn’t theirs in that phone call? I don’t think it happens often (and if it does, I haven’t heard of it). So after talking to him for a few more minutes, I asked if I should speak to Samantha (the lady who answered the phone when I called) to book Lenny’s scooter for the trip and he took care of it himself (the CEO booked our scooter - how cool is that?). John even remembered that he said he would give us the insurance and a scooter canopy for free. That was a very pleasant surprise because I didn’t expect him to remember, and I told him he didn’t have to do that. I told him I promised I would send the email but he said that he would give them to us because he appreciated the fact that I took the time to write the email, took the phone call from Disney and then called him (John) and to let him know how it turned out. Needless to say, when I got off the phone with Walker Mobility, I was once again very satisfied with their service. Throw in the fact that my final price for a 10 day scooter rental was far less than I had budgeted for (and actually less than that of other companies at Disney - it still would have been less even if I had paid for the insurance and canopy) and I was pretty happy with everything for my upcoming trip . The only thing that would make me happier - short of being in Disney - would be to have my ADR’s in place. Lenny, Abby and I even discussed them at dinner that night to make sure we were in agreement on when and where we would eat this year.
Before I travelled with my own scooter I always used Walker. Great customer service. When I called to book I don't think I ever spoke with anyone EXCEPT John! He always recognized me right away and was super helpful.
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I too love Walker and have always used them. I am hoping next trip to rent from the parks and just walk it the rest of the time. I really loved last trip, being able to hop on the bus, no problem. But we'll have to see what 2015 brings with my health and walking skills. If they aren't up to par, then hopefully Walker will be a preferred vendor, bc I too don't like to change.
Now that is customer service!!! Very glad you got everything you needed and for less money. I'm looking forward to reading your ADR's. i really enjoy your PTR's and TR's and am very glad you shared that story. It is most helpful!
Darlene - I remember reading about your call from WDW about the ECVs, but didn't know the back story. Wow - that worked out well, and hopefully you helped give Walker an additional boost to work towards being a preferred vendor.
Now, can't wait to hear how your ADR choices go. I find that part both fun AND stressful.
How awesome it is that Walker really went above and beyond with their customer service! I can see why they get such high ratings. I can't wait to read about your ADR's.
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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, Lenny’s scooter rental. When the planning bug bit me again, I had placed a quick call to Walker Mobility to find out their drop off and pick up hours. Even though Disney has a new outside vendor policy, I had no intention of going with any of the companies. 2 of the places we purposely didn’t go with because Lenny didn’t like the looks of the scooters (too small for him) and the other 3 we’d never heard of. Once I looked into them, I didn’t like what I saw so we were going to stick with Walker. I made the call, found out the times and as I talked with the gentleman who answered the phone (John was his name - and he’s the CEO believe it or not) I told him how much we like their company and how we were going to stick with them despite Disney’s new policy. John then asked if I’d be willing to send an email to Disney telling them that and then call him back with any answer I received. I saw no harm in doing that so I agreed I would do it. John was happy about that and said he’d "throw in" the scooter insurance and a scooter canopy for us for my time with the email. We like getting both of those and if I could save a little bit of money, that was great but that wasn’t why I agreed to write the email. John mentioned it only after I agreed and I really didn’t expect him to remember he said it. 
. It was David from whatever division of Disney he said he was from and he wanted to talk to me about their new scooter policy and make sure I understood what was behind it 
. 
. The only thing that would make me happier - short of being in Disney - would be to have my ADR’s in place. Lenny, Abby and I even discussed them at dinner that night to make sure we were in agreement on when and where we would eat this year.
If they aren't up to par, then hopefully Walker will be a preferred vendor, bc I too don't like to change.
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
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