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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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07-24-2009, 07:40 PM
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#1
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PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Feature Article: Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - Resort Review
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - Resort Review
by Cheryl Pendry
If you've been keeping an eye on recent Disney developments, you'll be aware that the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is expanding at an amazing rate. The last year has seen announcements about new resorts, which will include DVC villas at Disneyland California and in Hawaii, and has also seen the debut of the latest addition to the offering to DVC members -- Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. This new addition has included a number of firsts for a DVC resort. For starters, the rooms are being split between two locations. Currently the only ones open are those in the existing main building at Animal Kingdom Lodge, now being referred to as Jambo House. By sometime in 2009, the remainder of the rooms will be open at a new location at the resort that will be known as Kidani Village. By the time work is finished, there will be 134 new villas in Jambo House and 324 in Kidani Village, which will be surrounded by a brand new wild animal savanah. Kidani Village will also be home to a new table service restaurant, feature pool, and interactive water play area.
But let's stop there. I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now, the only way DVC members are going to be able to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas is by booking a room in the main building, as Kidani Village is currently just a mass of cranes (and I don't mean the birds!) in the distance. Well, that's exactly what we did. We booked on June 6, 2007, which was the day bookings opened to those who hadn't already purchased points at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Understandably, the new resort was exceptionally popular with members and all I could get for our dates was a one bedroom villa with a standard view. Sure, it's a shame we couldn't get a savannah view, but I wanted to see what the new addition was like, so I took what I could get.
Well, the verdict is that we are really impressed with what they've created. I guess it helps when your room is literally only three doors away from the main elevators and is overlooking the main Uzima pool. Somehow, once we saw that, the lack of a savannah view didn't bother us that much, as we still had some beautiful scenery to admire outside.
The first thing that struck us as we opened the door to our one bedroom villa was the size of it. For those who don't know, you can book a studio, which is essentially very similar to the usual hotel rooms you're used to at Disney, albeit with a kitchenette that includes a fridge, coffee maker and microwave. Then you can also go for the one bedroom or two bedroom villas, the main difference being how many people each will sleep. Both boast full size kitchens - and boy do I mean full size! We couldn't think of anything that was missing from our kitchen, with a stove, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, microwave and more storage space than I think anyone could ever use on a Disney vacation! The other bonuses with the villas are the washers and dryers you get, which make doing laundry so much easier and the wonderful whirlpool baths. With our room, we walked straight into the kitchen and entrance area, which immediately opened out into the living room, complete with flat screen TV, which is guaranteed to impress anyone who enjoys new technology! The furniture is African in feel, as you'd expect, and we loved the little touches, such as Simba designs on the back of the chairs and elephants and zebras appearing on the storage units.
Turn left and you're in a hallway that leads to the bathroom on the left and the main bedroom on the right. I don't think I've ever seen such a huge bathroom area before at Disney! The floor space in it was incredible, with my favorite spa bath sitting there, under a beautiful tiled design of the African savannah at night. There were two sinks, a separate toilet and even more storage space. I really came away impressed with how much space they give you to put everything away and I really want to meet the family who can fill up all that space!
Across the hallway is the main bedroom, with its brightly colored bedding, closet and set of drawers, along with another flat screen TV and a table and chair, and the patio doors leading out on to the balcony beyond.
The colors vary throughout the villa, from a fairly bright orange in the bathroom to beiges elsewhere. The colors of the walls need to be light, as all the furniture, without exception, is made of dark wood, which does darken the rooms somewhat. That was really our only complaint during our stay -- not only does this make the rooms appear dark, but there is a lack of lighting in the rooms, particularly at night.
The place seemed huge for the two of us and perhaps that's because these are the first one bedroom DVC villas that will sleep up to five people. I could see that, even with five, there would probably still be more than enough space to move around without treading on each other's toes.
Despite the fact that we were overlooking the pool and, with the doors to the balcony open, it was noisy at times, once they were shut, we never heard a thing, which just goes to show how good the soundproofing is in these rooms.
I'll be honest here. I wasn't a huge fan of the Animal Kingdom Lodge before our most recent trip. I was certainly keen to see what the new DVC rooms were like, but I wasn't expecting to be so impressed by them. They're a great addition to the DVC range of resorts. Disney Vacation Club members should definitely try out the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas at some point, as they don't disappoint [Ed.- and they're a great choice for anyone interested in booking villa-style acommodations at Walt Disney World]. Now I can't wait for 2009 to see how the new Kidani Village looks. Perhaps that's the time to return for another stay there. That's something I certainly wouldn't rule out in the future.
Read more reviews of the Animal Kingdom Lodge in PassPorter's Reviews & Ratings area.
View the full article and download a free formatted PDF of it here!
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 07-24-2009 06:01 PM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcome and encouraged.
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