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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Has anyone stayed at Animal Kingdom Villas Killamanjaro Club Concierge level? We banked our points from this year and are going between staying at AKV-KCC or staying at Bay Lake Tower for our trip next year. I could't seem to find a whole lot on what is included when you stay at the concierge level at AK or if it is worth it. I read something about being able to book the breakfast safari but didn't see how much it costs to do it.
This will be our first trip as a family of 4, DD will be turning 4 on the trip and Baby Nugget (trying to be surprised) will be turning 1 when we go! We think DD will LOVE being able to see the animals at AKV but she also loves the fireworks and thought it would be so neat to see them from the top of BLT.
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We did it a few years ago now, but we really enjoyed it. One important thing to be aware of is that if you're staying concierge at Animal Kingdom Lodge and using your points is that you're not guaranteed a savannah view. We lucked out and got one, but if I remember right, half the rooms do have savannah views and the other half done, so it really is luck of the draw.
We did the Sunrise Safari, but if I remember right, sadly that was discontinued last year. I never understood why, as the day we did it, it was packed.
As far as the food goes at the concierge lounge, there was a really good selection at breakfast, but later on in the day, the choices could be a bit more limited, depending on the time of the day you visit - there are different times when they have certain items out. There used to be a website I visited that had all those details, but I can't find it now.
We stayed at Kidani Club Level a few years ago for one night before a Disney Cruise. We enjoyed being just steps away from breakfast and snacks, but frankly, I'm not sure it would have been worthwhile for a longer stay. We did not have a savanna view, which wasn't a big deal because we were in the room mostly at night anyhow and because we could easily see animals from elsewhere in the building. We did receive an e-mail from the concierge staff a few months in advance offering help with any reservations we needed on property. As soon as we disembarked the Magical Express bus, we were escorted directly to the Concierge floor where a member of the concierge staff verified the dining reservations we had made and offered to help with anything else we needed.
With a small child, you might be better off with a non-concierge Savanna view room, unless you need to use up points.
I have never stayed at Bay Lake Tower. I have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge several times, and my family always enjoys it.
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Do you own at AKV? If not, getting a club level DVC room may be near impossible. They book very quickly at 11 months as there are very few CL villas. - I want to say 10 2BR, which can be split to 10 1 BR and 10 studios. The longer your stay, the less likely you'll find availability. Finding a day or two might not be as bad. It's worth a shot, don't get me wrong, but I would have a back up plan if you decide to go that route. And Cheryl is right, only half of those rooms will have a Savannah view. With little ones, I would think the Savannah view would be more important than CL, JMO of course.
And I don't know it this will help or hinder your decision, but the TOTW lounge is available to any DVC member staying on points, not just BLT (with a few block out dates -July 3 and 4 this year for example). Also, there are special nighttime safaris available to AKL guests (not just CL) but there is an age restriction of 8 years or older. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ev.../night-safari/
Some more advice....with your party, I would choose Kidani over Jambo if you decide on AKV. Some rooms can be a long walk so request near lobby, but here is why I think Kidani might be a better fit for you:
1. The pool area has a very nice kids water splash area.
2. If you will be using the buses, Kidani is first on and first off making getting seats and a stroller on the bus easier. If you will have a car, parking is in a garage below the hotel accessed by elevators, easier access than trekking thru the hotel and out to the parking lot.
3. There is a nice DVC activity room at Kidani which has crafts and activities that your DD might enjoy.
Note there is no QS location at Kidani (mugs can be filled in the gift shop or by the pool bar which does offer a limited menu), but if you get a 1 BR villa you will have a full kitchen available. (And in room laundry! A big plus with little ones).
Thank you to everyone for their tips! SS is our home resort and we always book it at 11 months out and see where we are able to switch to at the 7 month mark. We have a few other options but AKV and BLT were two DH and I really want to stay. As soon as DD saw the animals online at AKV she immediately said "Mommy, I wanna stay there!" We were trying to use up some points so we don't lose any since we had to put vacation plans on hold this year. Maybe we could stay an extra night or so if we can't get the club level room.
I am sure in September/October I will be in planning mode since I will be on maternity leave and need something to do in the middle of the night! So I'm sure that will lead to lots more questions for you!
Thank you to everyone for their tips! SS is our home resort and we always book it at 11 months out and see where we are able to switch to at the 7 month mark. We have a few other options but AKV and BLT were two DH and I really want to stay. As soon as DD saw the animals online at AKV she immediately said "Mommy, I wanna stay there!" We were trying to use up some points so we don't lose any since we had to put vacation plans on hold this year. Maybe we could stay an extra night or so if we can't get the club level room.
I am sure in September/October I will be in planning mode since I will be on maternity leave and need something to do in the middle of the night! So I'm sure that will lead to lots more questions for you!
I bet your daughter would love AKV.! What size villa are you planning on? If you were thinking studio, upgrading to a 1 BR is a good way to use those extra points. The balconies for the 1 BR are huge, which is great for animal viewing. Also, I find I spend more time in my room at AKV because of the animals so I appreciate the extra space.
I bet your daughter would love AKV.! What size villa are you planning on? If you were thinking studio, upgrading to a 1 BR is a good way to use those extra points. The balconies for the 1 BR are huge, which is great for animal viewing. Also, I find I spend more time in my room at AKV because of the animals so I appreciate the extra space.
I agree - I think that would be a much better use of your points than trying for concierge and sadly at seven months out, you'd have to be really lucky to get a concierge room, given how few of them there are.
Do you own at AKV? If not, getting a club level DVC room may be near impossible. They book very quickly at 11 months as there are very few CL villas. - I want to say 10 2BR, which can be split to 10 1 BR and 10 studios.
There are actually far fewer -- there are only 5 2BR lockoffs, which can be booked separately as five studios and five one-BR.
I own at AKV and was able to book a studio this past December for five nights exactly at the 11 month window. Even for owners, booking anything more than a single night is difficult during the 8-11 month period. It becomes even more difficult at 7 months, but not impossible. Before I owned at AK, at exactly the 7-month window I once managed to book a 1BR CLfor a full week in September. Yes September is a slow time of the year and I got lucky... But the moral of the story is, nothing is impossible, and therefore always worth a try.
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There are actually far fewer -- there are only 5 2BR lockoffs, which can be booked separately as five studios and five one-BR.
I own at AKV and was able to book a studio this past December for five nights exactly at the 11 month window. Even for owners, booking anything more than a single night is difficult during the 8-11 month period. It becomes even more difficult at 7 months, but not impossible. Before I owned at AK, at exactly the 7-month window I once managed to book a 1BR CLfor a full week in September. Yes September is a slow time of the year and I got lucky... But the moral of the story is, nothing is impossible, and therefore always worth a try.
Well, I didn't say impossible, I said near impossible .
It's always worth a shot, IMO, but it's important to know that the odds are against you so you can formulate a back up plan. And thanks for the correction on the # of villas. "10" stuck out in my mind, but I guess that I was thinking of the total of studio/ 1 BR.
Well, I didn't say impossible, I said near impossible .
Oh, of course! I wasn't directing that part of my reply to your message to the OP. I think you were giving a vfery realistic perspective.
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It's always worth a shot, IMO, but it's important to know that the odds are against you so you can formulate a back up plan. And thanks for the correction on the # of villas. "10" stuck out in my mind, but I guess that I was thinking of the total of studio/ 1 BR.
You were right - 10 villas in total.
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