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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Just booked on Southwest to Las Vegas for 10 days in February! We plan on going to Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, and maybe even the Grand Canyon and Zion. Should all be very pretty in the winter with crisp clear skies.
Anyway, any recommendations of internet sites to get good deals on hotels in Las Vegas? Expedia and Travelocity don't seem to have too much to offer. What about condos? I'm all in to saving money on meals and cooking in our room if we have a kitchen. Any help would be appreciated!
Believe it or not it is kinda chilly that time of year. Just thought I would let you know. We went 2yrs ago in mid Feb and I was surprised it was chilly. We went horse riding at red rock canyon and I thought I would freeze I only had on a sweatshirt and jeans
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Cnrtygirl
Time for the magic?
Let's plan another trip!!
Here are the sites you requested. For the location sites change to the place (like Zion, Death Valley, etc.) or to the city of your choice. You did not mention if you had any children or not and I added the last site.
You'll love seeing all those places. Don't discount any of the major hotels on the Strip - you can get offers with them. If there are any that take your fancy, sign up for deals, we got a good one a few years ago for the Venetian.
Believe it or not it is kinda chilly that time of year. Just thought I would let you know. We went 2yrs ago in mid Feb and I was surprised it was chilly. We went horse riding at red rock canyon and I thought I would freeze I only had on a sweatshirt and jeans
We are coming from cold and snow and will think it is warm ... at least we will see some sun, which is sorely lacking here in the winter. We also won't have to pack any different clothes. We went to Las Vegas a few years ago in December and loved it. It was amazing to see the cactus in Zion along with the ice freezing on the rocks. Thanks for the heads up, though.
We get pretty good deals through our player cards and promotional emails. You might not have any players cards, but you can sign up for emails. Just go to the hotels websites and sign up for the promotional emails. The offers will start pouring in. And since you are going for a long period of time, you probably can get some kind of package as well. Do you have any hotels in mind you would like to stay at?
Also keep your eyes open for coupon books in casinos, hotels, restaurants, businesses, etc. These coupon books contain discount coupons, a free roll of nickels for slot play, discounted meals, small free gifts and other offers.
I was at a casino a couple years ago and as a couple we were offered $80.00 (yes, $80.00) in CASH to attend a Time Share for one hour.
I enjoyed the free ride around town, the coffee, doughnuts and the cash But they were not too happy when we didn't purchase the time share.
We are coming from cold and snow and will think it is warm ... at least we will see some sun, which is sorely lacking here in the winter. We also won't have to pack any different clothes. We went to Las Vegas a few years ago in December and loved it. It was amazing to see the cactus in Zion along with the ice freezing on the rocks. Thanks for the heads up, though.
December is actually quite a bit warmer than February around here...so be prepared for a chilly wind - end of January/beginning of Feb is one of our "monsoon" seasons and the end of February tends to be some of the chilliest weather we get!
Most hotels now price match if you go through their own site, so aside from "name your own price", you don't necessarily have to use the discount sites to get the discounts. Also, if you are thinking of a particular area of the Strip you want to be on (The Strip runs from the Sahara hotel south to Mandalay Bay - Downtown/Fremont Stree is VERY different), then you can always use Priceline and try to name your price. Start really low and keep upping the amount (as long as you don't go over your "that's a good deal" price) until they accept it. Even though you can't select the hotel, you can narrow down your choices by ratings and by location (South Strip, North Strip, Downtown, Near Strip, etc). I recommend the South end of the strip, for ease of getting to everything you want to do - you can take a taxi (or The Deuce, our double decker bus) downtown one night.
Regarding your recreational activities, you've chosen well. Red Rock is just outside of town - easy 1/2 day or full day if you hike. Valley of Fire is a full day visit. Grand Canyon and Zion might not work together, as Zion is in Southern Utah, north of Grand Canyon. Usually, the north rim of the Grand Canyon is closed until spring, so you'd have to go up to Utah, come back down and go around and into Arizona for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Death Valley is in the opposite direction of pretty much anything else, but I'd recommend visiting Furnace Creek and/or Scotty's Castle. Both are great, though Furnace Creek is more just visiting one of the only towns to exist there. And when you visit Lake Mead, make sure you plan on seeing Hoover Dam. You'll need to plan, because where you see the dam, you can't go out on the water, so you'll need to know what you want to do (a river raft tour that leaves out of Boulder City would be cool, or a sightseeing boat).
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We saw Hoover Dam on our last visit, and were thinking of the Lake Mead sightseeing tour. it look slike there is a scenic road from Lake Mead up to Valley of Fire. We were also at Valley of Fire State Park last time on our way back from Zion, but we were so late that it was almost dark. It was beautiful at sunset, but we would like to see more of it in the daylight. Thanks for all of the suggestions ... and keep them coming!
I don't know if you want a full kitchen or maybe a mini kitchen but we stayed at Alexis Park Resort a few years ago. We had a huge room with a hot tub, lofted bedroom and a mini kitchen with microwave, frig and sink. It was clean and affordable with lots of parking at the time. Usually we stay on the strip but this trip we were on a tight budget and had our own car so it worked out.
The first time I went to Vegas many years ago was in February and we did an air tour to the Grand Canyon. It was amazing but also freezing so be prepared. I was not.
It sounds like you have some great things planned!! I am sure you will have a blast!!
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We plan on going to Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, and maybe even the Grand Canyon and Zion. Should all be very pretty in the winter with crisp clear skies. 
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Pixie Dust
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Don't discount any of the major hotels on the Strip - you can get offers with them. If there are any that take your fancy, sign up for deals, we got a good one a few years ago for the Venetian. 
And since you are going for a long period of time, you probably can get some kind of package as well. Do you have any hotels in mind you would like to stay at?
Love being Goofy on Space Mountain!! LOL 
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
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