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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Going to Boston for a week in early April. I know absolutely nothing about the northeast, and am looking for suggestions on where to stay that is affordable, yet close walks to restaurants, shopping, etc. I thought about going with vrbo.com, but I'm not sure which neighborhoods to look at, and the prices seem steep! I was hoping to get away with something less than 150 a night that is still decent.
It really depends on where you are going in the city and how comfortable you are with public transportation. Driving is a challenge. If you list your destinations, I could make better suggestions.
You may want to consider staying across the river in Cambridge.
It was very nice and clean and in your price range. It has a great view of the Charles River and the Boston skyline. It has it's own parking garage underneath. It has a free shuttle to T stations . . . but I am from Massachusetts and I am very comfortable riding the T. There is a mall down the block with several restaurants and quick service/food court options.
I can't remember the hotel we stayed in, as it was nearly 10 years ago now but we stayed near Copley Square and really liked it as a location. We took public transportation around the city and had no issues with that.
Do without a car and use public transportation. It is EXTREMELY difficult to drive in Boston: lots of one way streets, narrow streets, crazy drivers, etc. What to you want to see in Boston? I like the Plaza in the theatre district. I think it's on Tremont Street. It's right near a T stop and within walking distance of many of the most popular theatres. It's near the common, too.
Places we plan on going: Fenway Park for a game, whatever the location is for the Boston Symphony, House of Blues for a concert, and we will probably rent a car for a day or two and see New England.
Hotels in the Boston area are very pricy and most of the ones that are lower dollar are in areas I couldn't recommend. When we go we stay in Braintree at a Hampton Inn and they offer free shuttles to the Red Line train station and you call them when you need a ride back to the hotel from the station. It is very handy if you plan to go to Plymouth because you can get on Route 3 easily. Please be aware that it is a bit of a commute into the city on the train but the Red Line is a handy train that can get you to House of Blues and lots of great tourist areas. You switch to the green line to Fenway.
If you can get anything in Copley Sq., Harvard Square, Beacon Hill, Newbury Street area in your price range you will be right in the middle of the action. Other outskirts areas that have good train access but may be cheaper are Brighton, Davis Square (Sommerville), and Jamaica Plain.
Stay away from the South End, Dorchester, & Roxbury. East Boston is kinda iffy too. One of my friends is a manager at the Hyatt Place in Braintree, they also have a shuttle to the red line. I actually stayed there myself a couple of months ago, I "secret shopped" it for her. It was kind of strange staying in a hotel less than 5 minutes from my house, lol. I would say just keep looking, sometimes you can get the Park Plaza for like $100 per night. There are a bunch of us on here from the Boston area, and while I can't speak for everyone, I'd be more than happy to help you decide whats good and what's not.
Oh, and depending when in April you are going, the marathon is in town, so prices are pretty high. I'd say your best bet then would stay on the outskirts of the city.
I have stayed both at the Royal Sonesta and Park Plaza. Both are nice and even though the Royal sonesta is in Cambridge, it is pretty easy to get to the green line. When I was there I had three young children (probably an infant, three year old and five year old and we had no trouble walking to the Museum of Science.
You can save some money by staying out of town ut need to watch the neighborhoods.
I just saw a groupon special for the Inn at Longwood for 119-129 a night.
Like everyone else said, use public transportation. The T is easy to navigate and parking is outrageous!
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Thanks all! So I found a Priceline deal on the Hyatt Regency Cambridge for 160 a night. It looks like a nice place and in a nice area where we can walk to food and such. How would we get down to Symphony Hall from there? Take a shuttle to a train station?
Any really good food you guys would recommend? I'm sure the seafood/lobster is probably something not to be missed?
I am not sure exactly where the Hyatt is but if you can get to the red line you take that to Park Street and then switch to the Green line E (Heath) or go another stop to Downtown crossing and get the orange line. Both have stops at Symphony Hall. I have never taken the orange line, only the green.
As far as food, it depends what you like. I would recommend a trip to Quincy Market. It's fun to walk through and smell all the food. It's a Boston must do for my kids. There is also a Legal Seafoods in Cambridge (actually more than one I think).
I noticed your from Colorado. If you don't have them there, you should check out a Dunkin Donuts (located on every other corner throughout New England). Not endorsing their coffee, just think it's part of NewEngland. McD's in NE serve Newman's own coffee, for $1/cup.
And while NE is small compared to Colorado, there is lots to see and do so you may want to focus on one or two other areas. I love the northern part of the region but depending on which part of April you come in, you may hit mud season, not the best time to see the beauty of the area. The Cape and Newport can be quite nice-maybe far from hot enough to swim, but preseason and much less crowded and IMHO more enjoyable.
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I agree with Huntermom......if you haven't had Dunkin Donuts, that's a 'must do". I personally love their coffee.
I'm not a fan of seafood so can't help you there. I really like the Border Cafe in Cambridge (Tex Mex food, not exactly "New England-ly.....but good stuff!) My mother always has to buy a lobster roll at McD's in Boston, just because she can. Durgin Park in Faneuil Hall is a Boston institution. Check it out on-line to see if it's an experience you would enjoy.
The North End has a lot of Italian restaurants. For me, Mike's Pastry in the North End is a must (Hanover St.)
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too funny, we just spent this past weekend in Boston!! We actually went for the purpose of seeing Disney on Ice, as it was the closest location for us (7.5 hour drive), except for in Manchester, NH last month. yes, I know Huntersmom, that would have been sooooo much easier! what an ordeal driving around Boston area in a snowstorm!!
anyhoo, in case you haven't firmed up your reservations, I highly, highly, highly recommend the Homewood Suites in Canton, MA - just about 10 minutes from Braintree area. the hotel is gorgeous, rooms are gorgeous, lovely daily breakfast and they have the weeknight dinner too. We got it for about $113/night.
we were just a 10 minute drive from the Braintree T-station. being from the northeast, everyone knows it is not wise for an out of towner to attempt to drive in downtown Boston. the T really is straightforward and we did it with our 2 little girls. so convenient to get to the TD Garden Centre where Disney on Ice was held, since it stops right there. plus the Museum of Science is just one stop further and right across the street from the T-station (we did that on Saturday afternoon as the storm was coming on).
as for "seeing New England", it really is vast and you I agree you need to pinpoint where you want to go. It would be a convenient drive to Cape Cod and Rhode Island from Braintree area.
oh, and yes, there will be some sketchy characters on the subway. after two trips, I have had enough of that. I would have you all peeing laughing from the scene that transpired on our last train ride this weekend! that being said, if you're going to Boston, it really is the way to go. it is extremely well laid out for an out of towner to get to places.
We stayed in Boston last year at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. It was a great location, we were able to walk to Fenway, it was connected to the mall for shopping, close to many good restaurants and there is a stop there for the HOHO tour. Highly recommend it! Also, I'll mention Mike's Pastry as well, my mouth is watering just thinking of it!
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but we stayed near Copley Square and really liked it as a location. We took public transportation around the city and had no issues with that.
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