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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Could anyone please direct me to a " NEW " Layout of the rooms at Wilderness Lodge now after the re-construction. I have been told there are only half as many rooms as before. 1/2 was remodled into villas. ?
Could anyone please direct me to a " NEW " Layout of the rooms at Wilderness Lodge now after the re-construction. I have been told there are only half as many rooms as before. 1/2 was remodled into villas. ?
Thanks !!
Sadly yes, half the rooms are gone in the Lodge. The entire south side is now all DVC. The studios in South side are typical DVC layout with 1 queen plus pullout sofa. From video I saw it looked like carpets are gone, and replaced with a wood like flooring. This seems the direction WDW is going with all room refurbs.
I'm of 2 minds with the new flooring and getting rid of carpet. From a cleanliness view I like it. But from a noise view, carpet does have a sound muffling factor, and I'm concerned about noise, from small ones running around room, and from children and adults alike who haven't discovered inside voices
The north wing rooms remain Wilderness Lodge "hotel" rooms. They were not renovated.
The south wing rooms were converted into DVC villas, specifically the new resort Copper Creek Villas and Cabins, which also includes lakeside cabins that they are building. The south wing rooms are no longer part of the Wilderness Lodge "hotel", but now are CCVC (well, will be when it opens). The former south wing rooms, now villas, are made up of Deluxe Studio, 1- to 2-Bedroom Villa or 3-Bedroom Grand Villa.
CCVC is scheduled to open July 17, 2017.
Info about it including pictures and layouts, is available at many places, but Disney's two sites are:
I didn't realize that there were cabins on the North side too. Wow. They've added a lot of rooms to the DVC. Sorry for those that like WL as a hotel though, we so many fewer rooms. Prices are bound to go up.
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I didn't realize that there were cabins on the North side too. Wow. They've added a lot of rooms to the DVC. Sorry for those that like WL as a hotel though, we so many fewer rooms. Prices are bound to go up.
Yes it seems WL has turned into mostly DVC. and north side cabins took out my fav lakeside nature trail over to FW. I may be in the minority but I really don't like the direction they are moving with the resorts. At first when they added DVC to existing resorts, it didn't infringe on existing resort. Now it seems they are taking over existing resort. So sad about this. First DVC took over half of Poly. Now WL. Ugh.