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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We will be leaving in a few weeks and I just thought of a few questions:
1. Does the hotel have guest laundry rooms? Are they busy? How much does it cost to do a load?
2. How are the in-room amenities (soap, shampoo, etc)? What is there? How is the quality?
Thanks all - we are getting really excited now!
I can't really answer your questions because I was there a few years ago and I think what I know is outdated. But I just wanted to tell you I loved staying at the Hard Rock, I would say that it is my favourite Orlando area resort. I felt that it was quite lux and everything about it is high quality.
Yes - they have guest laundry areas, but I don't remember the cost.
They have a good selection of toiletries; shampoo, conditioner, lotion, cotton balls, qtips. I can't say much about them because I usually bring my own. I think they're pretty good - I always bring them home for my guest bath or for the kids to pack on short trips.
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Don't know about laundry, but they have lots of toiletries, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soaps, cotton balls, Q tips, body lotion, and they are good quality.
The only thing I found with HR is the halls were loud, they echoed and amplified sound. We were woken up by people walking down the hall late at night and don't think they really were over loud, everything just echoes. Next time I would ask for a quiet location.
Ditto on what everyone said about the supplies.We just asked housekeeping if we needed extras and it was no problem.We just returned a week ago and I have to say that Disney could learn an awful lot from the resort staff at the Hard Rock and Universal staff in general.Happy,shiny people who went out of their way to help you.We actually liked the HRH better than the Poly for a whole lot less money and we felt very relaxed at this resort.We never heard a whistle around the pool because kids were starting to have to much fun.It was my wife and I and it just seemed like there weren't a bunch of rules,just have fun.Sometimes at Disney it gets a little too much like a cattle shute instead of a vacation.Make sure you eat at Momma Dellas at the Portofino.Overall we loved this place and will be back again many times.Disney is still my happy place but this place really is wonderful.Have fun!
As far as toiletries are concerned, I've never stayed at Hard Rock but have stayed at Portofino Bay and Royal Pacific. My DD really liked the lotion they had in the rooms, so I went to the desk and asked if you could purchase it in the gift shop. The next thing I know, housekeeping is at the door with a large zip lock bag of the lotion.
I have had a similar experience Peter, in that we have always had exceptional service at the Universal resorts. Service at Disney has varied, but we've stayed at Disney many more times than Universal, so we may have just hit it right.
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I can't really answer your questions because I was there a few years ago and I think what I know is outdated. But I just wanted to tell you I loved staying at the Hard Rock, I would say that it is my favourite Orlando area resort. I felt that it was quite lux and everything about it is high quality.
Michelle - with my step sisters!
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