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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi, we're a 24 year old couple heading to WDW in March. The week before the Easter holiday I believe. We're definitely staying off-property and trying to save every dollar we can without sacrificing things like distance to the parks or...hygiene. :-)
What are some off-site suggestions for decent hotels for serious budget. We know that there are some "name" hotels for about 60-70 bucks. Are the ones for 45 like Masters Inn worth it or are they disgusting. Are there any hotels that are pretty nice for 80-100 bucks? We're not going to be in our hotel for anything but sleeping and if there's somewhere cheap to eat, we'll take it. So is it worth 100 bucks somewhere or just stick with the 60-70, or is it "safe (I guess is the word) to stay in a 45-50 dollar room?
All feedback is appreciated. We were supposed to be in the family timeshare but our week is apparently 100% booked everywhere our timeshare owns property. So the extra 7-800 dollars is not keeping me sane.
Knights Inn is a super low budget motel. I understand you get what you pay for. I can get a room there for 7 nights for only 295 dollars...apparently you get a Cont. breakfast as well. I don't care about amenities however. I care about cleanliness.
Is it worth it to save 300-700 dollars for the week right here and spend it on our dining at Disney which I've never done before?
We have used Days Inn at Kississimee(?) the one near Old Town. We were a family of 2ad, 2 kids and we stayed 10days for $300. Absolute bargain! It was clean, serviced daily, helpful staff, clean pool with bar and also a small laundry. It was walking distance to shops, food outlets and good for shuttles to every place except Disney. The Disney shuttles were packed each morning and we chose to rent a car instead. Shuttles to other places were great. If you are looking for room service - forget it, but if you just need a bed , bath and somewhere to lock your passport - this is perfect! Have a great trip.
PS You may read about their restaurant. Think school cafe. Very, very basic and for the same price you can go to Denny's instead.
We stay at Choice Hotels all of the time, all over the country. Try their web siye, Hotels, Rooms, Reservations, Hotel Lodging, Motels - Choice Hotels, and sign up for the choice club. Also, try mousesavers.com. Right now they have some specials for local hotels on their site.
If you're looking for 80-100 range the value resorts are all 80-100. Just a thought. We figure we're not going to find a decent hotel for a whole lot less and no rental car cost staying on property.
If you're looking for 80-100 range the value resorts are all 80-100. Just a thought. We figure we're not going to find a decent hotel for a whole lot less and no rental car cost staying on property.
AGREED! Its my believe based in FACT that it is mighty tough to beat the value in a VALUE resort price. With parking included in your room rate and being on property...
You wont find there is really any true bargains staying off site.
__________________
Regards, Shawn
God Bless America
Life is too good! Be happy!
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The Comfort Inn hotel listed above is VERY nice. If you could get it for 60.00 ish, That wouldnt be bad. The rate will depend on your ability to use ..AAA or Government rates. Internet rates can give you a discount also.
__________________
Regards, Shawn
God Bless America
Life is too good! Be happy!
If you're looking for 80-100 range the value resorts are all 80-100. Just a thought. We figure we're not going to find a decent hotel for a whole lot less and no rental car cost staying on property.
When I read your post, that was exactly what I was thinking, book the Value WDW resort & save on a renal car. You can get an AAA discount too. Or depending on when you go there may be WDW discounts for that time frame. Book with a Disney travel agent & they will know when the discounts come out. This will save you $$$.
I have stayed off-site once and found the hotel shuttle service not so good. Esp. at park closing, a few times we had to wait for an hour for the bus. And this was a Marriott.
Good luck!
Sue
The cheapest the values will do is 124 a night that week. I'm not sure if I'm fond of WDW transportation yet anyway. The buses don't seem terribly efficient. Idk. I've never been on them. I wish the whole "World" was monorailed though. I'm a transportation nut, especially trains. Since I was 3 years old, the monorail has been one of my favorite parts.
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The cheapest the values will do is 124 a night that week. I'm not sure if I'm fond of WDW transportation yet anyway. The buses don't seem terribly efficient. Idk. I've never been on them. I wish the whole "World" was monorailed though. I'm a transportation nut, especially trains. Since I was 3 years old, the monorail has been one of my favorite parts.
That's rack rate; there might be discounts available for AAA members, or through a travel agent like Mouse Fan Travel.
I hate the busses, because they take so much time to get from point A to point B, but they do work just fine.
Dunno, I stayed in WDW for 10 days in Aug, & used the busses without any problems. They were pretty fast & efficient.
The other benefit of staying on site is it's easy to go back to the resort for a mid day break, & getting the extra magic hours.
Have you checked out the mousesavers,com site? They get good discounts on their 'preferred hotels" with a special link or code you use. Alot of them are in the DTD area or near by off site hotels.
Sue
We stayed at the Ramada maingate in 2005 and it was less than $60 per night and got a cheap room loaded with church tour bus groups who overwhelmed the pool and ran around all night. We used the comp bus service, but decided after it took an hour to get back to the hotel from the resorts the free ride was not worth it and paid the parking fee. After adding in the parking costs, the noise factor, etc. and we decided to pay a few extra dollars and stay at a value resort. We stayed at POP and loved it. Enjoy your trip.
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