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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I have a question about the convenience of renting a car at the airport (Dollar) vs. off-site (Thrifty).
The difference in price for renting a mini-van for the week is $50. Is it worth paying the extra $50 to have the rental right at the airport. We aren't getting in til 8pm and I don't want to waste time getting to Port Canaveral. Also, there are 6 of us carrying all that luggage.
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I prefer right at the airport since the car rentals are in the garage right across from the terminal. Thrifty is only about 2 miles away though and you can all pile in the shuttle bus. For $50. , considering how much you are spending on the trip anyway, I would go for convenience!
Personally, I won't rent off-site. I'd rather just walk across the street and into the parking garage, especially if I'm arriving late with 3 kids. If it were me, I'd book with Dollar, then keep checking mousesavers.com for a discount code for a cheaper rental. I'd also keep checking the other rental places, too, for a good rate. I can't tell you how many times I've had as many as 3 cars booked (minivans included) and kept the cheapest one and just cancelled the others just before I've left. If you have a Costco membership, check them out too for a good rate.
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First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
You can also book through Priceline and name your own price. A friend who just got back from WDW rented a car for her family of four for 10 days and paid a TOTAL of $130!!!! How great is that?!?!?!
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Just got back Sat. night and I would recommend on site. It was easy to go to bottom floor after baggage pick up and check in and walk across the terminal to pick up your rental. The return was just as easy as they check you out when you pull into the terminal parking lot for returns and just walk across to get to your airline check in..
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We rented from Budget which is onsite and has an office near the port. There shuttle service was great!. Got a discount code over at mousesavers for walmart shoppers and booked online. We arrived at like 1 in the morning (flight was delayed due to mechanical problems w/ Logan Airport) and we were upgraded to a nicer car since they had already rented everthing else. So a great rate for economy turned out to be even better for a midsize.
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Love, April
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass;
it's about learning to dance in the rain.
This is an openended question.... are we talking Orlando?? Both their and LAX do not have "True" onsite rentals. With Orlando they take you via bus to a location off property. So if Thrifty is cheaper and they pickup at airport it may not be a big deal... BUT if you are dropping at either San Pedro or Port Canaveral then you have to look at who has service in the area... and if you drop on Sunday or Saturday will they continue to charge you until Monday if the location is closed on weekends... Such is the case with some in the Long Beach area..... I for the most part always use Hertz... but with San Pedro the Enterprise is not far from the port and is open on Sunday... and in Port Canaveral the Budget is one of the closes, but is a bit of a distance from the port.... so just keep that all in mind... hope I didn't confuss the issue more for yea.....
Orlando does have true "on site" - the on-site agencies have their cars in the main parking structures - no shuttle required. LAX is definitely a different story.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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How great is that?!?!?!
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