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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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We're going to be spending about 5 days in Orlando after WDW, can anyone reccomend a good family friendly hotel? We prefer moderatly priced, we'd love a suite or at least connecting rooms.
I stayed at the Holiday Inn Universal right across the street. The suite rooms are rather huge, but they seemed a little worn too. The suites have a stove, sink, fridge, a table, a couch, and beds. There's a sitting room and a bedroom. The rooms are a little overpriced, but you can't beat the location -- it's right down the street!
There's a Country Inn on Universal Blvd. It's about 2-3 miles from Universal. The suite rooms have two rooms for a sitting/TV area and two beds for sleeping. The rooms have a small microwave and a fridge. The rooms are smaller than the Holiday Inn, but they're very clean and nice. They have a nice breakfast buffet (included with your stay). They have these breakfast burritos that are pretty good, but they disappear fast!
It depends on what area you want to stay in? We've stayed at Marriott Courtyard on Palm Pkwy, near DTD, Holiday Inn Sunspree, which has family suites also near DTD, Hilton Garden Inn across from SeaWorld, Hyatt Place on I-drive which is suites and free cold breakfast, Doubletree across from Universal, large room, nice hotel, and Sheraton Four Points, also near Universal. There is also a Residence Inn near SeaWorld which is suites, I believe, but haven't stayed there.
I forgot, there is a Marriott Village near DTD too, that has a Springhill Suites in it, I've stayed at Springhill before in other cities, and they are very comfy, 1 bdrm with 2 beds or 1 king, and a double pull-out in the living room. Hot breakfast incl.
In April, we stayed at the "Quality Suites near Univeral Studios" (that is the official name ) It was very simple and inexpensive - about $70 a night. It was an older style hotel with outdated furnishings. However, it had a pool and a hot breakfast every morning. (There were even grits for us southerners!) We also had a fridge and a microwave. Our fave part, however, was the fact that it was a 2 room suite. It had a bedroom and a separate living room. The girls (6 & 7) even decided to sleep on the pull out sofa in the living room, so DH and I had the 2 beds in the bedroom to ourselves.
The girls set up their toys in the LR and even had their own TV. It was very nice to shut the door while they were playing and have some peace and quiet.
The hotel is located right across the street from the Pirates Dinner Adventure. There is a Fridays restaurant next door. We were one block away from International drive so we could walk to many stores and restaurants.
It wasn't very luxurious, but it was very convenient!
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) It was very simple and inexpensive - about $70 a night. It was an older style hotel with outdated furnishings. However, it had a pool and a hot breakfast every morning. (There were even grits for us southerners!) We also had a fridge and a microwave. Our fave part, however, was the fact that it was a 2 room suite. It had a bedroom and a separate living room. The girls (6 & 7) even decided to sleep on the pull out sofa in the living room, so DH and I had the 2 beds in the bedroom to ourselves. 
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