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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Who: me, DH, DD ( age 9) and my mom.
When: end of July 2017. approx 2 weeks.
None of us have ever been to Hawaii.
We plan to get a studio (DVC) for about 2 weeks. We plan to eat out because none of us want to cook on vacation.
We plan to spend most of our time at Aulani enjoying the beach. DH wants to visit Pearl Harbor and I heard about a zoo/aquarium that sounds nice. We want to spend more time relaxing than driving around.
Questions: Should we rent a car to get to/from Aulani/airport or get a shuttle? If we get a rental, should we keep it for the whole two weeks? If we don't keep it, how difficult is is to get a rental at Aulani when we do want to go do something?
What are the water temps like? Everyone but me is a polar bear. They are fine with cold water. DH says maybe I should buy a wet suit. I am not a small girl. I can just picture me looking like a whale or something worse
I have no idea what I need to know about this trip, and of course I am the OCD planner so they expect me to do it all and give them an amazing trip like I usually do for all of our trips. No Pressure right?
Tips, advice, ideas all welcome!
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Next Trip: Christmas 2025
High School Teacher
Scentsy Independent Consultant
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Oh you will have a fantastic trip. We went last year mid September but we were only able to stay a week. We did rent a car, but only because we had our 28 year old son to do some driving. We are not fond of driving in areas with a lot of traffic where we don't know where we are going. That said it did seem to not be a huge issue if you stayed with leaving the resort after the hour of about 9 am as the traffic isn't bad at that point going into the city. Make sure you leave to go back to the resort before 3 pm to beat the traffic going back the other way. We drove to Manoa Falls and took that hike and I would highly recommend that. If you don't drive Aulani offers a excursion from the resort there. If you are interested I have a TR about our stay which could give you some more info. Not sure how to do the link though. We never went into the ocean by the resort, so I can't comment on that. We did however go kayaking on the otherside of the island and it wasn't cold. The pool water was not cold and the slides were fun. Loved the lazy river as well. You can rent a car from the resort. It is a little more expensive that way but cheaper than keeping the car for two weeks. I don't think you would need it enough to keep it for the whole time. That's just my opinion. Also the book "Oahu Revealed" is an excellent book for planning. We used the maps in them a couple of times to see where things are located.
__________________
Living life to its fullest!
Julie
Last edited by jandsdennis; 06-18-2016 at 12:26 AM..
The resort is beautiful. So very relaxing. The hot tub and the infinity pool were very wonderful looking out to the ocean. Great view. We are hoping to go back in 2019 and just really enjoying the resort more and will be taking a shuttle from the airport.
Are you using dvc points? A studio might be a bit cramped. If you can swing it I'd go with a one bedroom to give you a living room space. You don't have to use the kitchen although we bought breakfast foods across the street and had breakfast in the room each morning. Coffee and oatmeal or cereal on the balcony was wonderful. We also played games at night at the table. My husband also took a nap each day and we could be in the living room and not bothering him. Just a thought if you can swing the cost.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I agree, the studio for 3 adults and a child might be a bit cramped for 2 weeks.
I stayed there by myself for a week back in 2014 (hurricane Ana) and it was really nice.
I don't know if anyone operates a shuttle to get you there - Disney doesn't. I rented a car for the week. I elected to do the excursion to Pearl Harbor which turned out to be the smart choice because of the hurricane. I had made the reservation for that day weeks before and was guaranteed a ticket to go out to the memorial. The state parks closed early that day because of the on coming storm. I had also signed up for the island circle tour on my birthday (2 days later) before the trip. The hurricane didn't hit the island but we got a day and a half of rain. The tour still went on, but some of it was cut out because of the state parks being closed. I ended up doing a surf lesson which was fun.
The resort is beautiful. There is plenty to do and a good luau down the street if you don't want to travel far. I considered going to the Polynesian cultural center, but due to time constraints and the storm, I did not - it's on the other side of the island. For the same reason, I did not get to go into town to visit some historical sites. Just an excuse to go back again!
I have to say I did not get used to the time change. It was a 6 hour difference and I was waking up at 4 am every day. My last full day started out this way so I drove to diamond head and enjoyed a hike there. Note I am not a hiker and didn't realize that most of the way would be rough. There are places to stop and rest and the views were totally worth it.
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