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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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01-26-2010, 12:50 AM
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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 Hilton Head Island Resort - A Resort Review
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort - A Resort Review
by Sue Kulick
Shhhh . . . this may be Disney's best kept secret yet!
Did you know that Disney Vacation Club (DVC) has a resort on Hilton Head Island? It was one of the flagship properties in the DVC family of resorts, opened in 1996. It is available to DVC members using points, but there are also rooms available for non-DVC guests as well! Disney's Hilton Head Island is themed in the style of the hunting and fishing lodges of the 1940s. The décor is rustic with a bit of ocean theme thrown in. You know right away by the attention to detail that you are on Disney property.
When you arrive, you immediately notice the Disney touches, from the Bambi and Thumper topiary to the Mickey flags flying. You enter Live Oak Lodge to check in, a beautifully structured building which also holds some of the resort's recreation areas. The resort is spread out over 15 acres, and each building cluster has several villas in it. Parking is usually adequate, although it can get a bit tight in the main lodge area.
After a painless and seamless check in, you will be directed to your room. As at other DVC properties, rooms are generally ready at 4:00 pm, but if they are available earlier, you will be allowed room access. The room types available are studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom villas that will sleep up to 12 guests. There are only a few three-bedroom units, and they are hard to get. One-bedroom villas tend to go quickly, also. All the rooms have all the amenities available in other DVC resorts - kitchenette in the studios/full kitchen and washer/dryer in the one-, two- and three-bedrooms; coffee makers, microwaves, flat screen TVs, DVD players, and pull out sofas. After check in, you might want to spend some time checking out the resort. Just walking around the resort is an adventure, as the landscaping and theme carries throughout. The resort is built on a marsh, and you can go crabbing right from the dock. There is a pool as well as a children's play area, and there is a hot tub. There's a workout room and a community center, where organized activities take place every day. You can rent bikes or fishing poles and try your luck!
One downfall of the resort is that there is not a full-service restaurant on the property. You can get breakfast and lunch at the Tide Me Over Café, but it's mostly sandwiches and burger-type food. However, there are two things that make this okay to deal with. First of all, the nearby Shelter Cove area has some wonderful restaurants, several within walking distance. And second of all, these are villas, so you have a kitchen if you choose to cook in. There is also a decent amount of outdoor barbecue grills for your use. Not too far from the resort you will find a Publix supermarket as well as a Wal-Mart if you choose to shop and eat in!
One thing that is a little different and takes a bit of getting used to is that the resort is not on the beach. However, Disney does have beach access available to its guests. How, you might ask? Well, about a mile away from the resort itself is the Disney Beach House, a private facility available only to Disney guests. You can take the shuttle bus over (it runs about every 20 minutes), you can drive, you can bike, or if you are in good shape, you can walk it! You need your key card to gain entry. Once inside, there is another pool, smaller than the one at the main resort but still nice. There is a snack bar, an adult bar, and access to the beach. The beach is owned and governed by the town of Hilton Head, so make sure you read the rules first. It is a wild and beautiful piece of land, right on the Atlantic Ocean. There are beach chairs available, and a whole schedule of activities. At night there are campfires, and on Thursdays in season, they have a shrimp boil!
When you check in, you will get a listing of the resorts activities. You can choose to do them all... or choose to just relax and do nothing! Some are free, some have a nominal charge, and some are expensive. Most require pre-registration, so it's important to decide what you want to do. As with all DVC resorts, cash guests get daily housekeeping whereas guests using DVC points get normal trash and towel service on day four and a full cleaning on day eight. There is a small mercantile store that carries the basics, as well as some DVC- and Hilton Head Island-themed merchandise. The weather is beautiful in the spring and autumn, hot in the summer, and too cold to swim in the winter months. Bring your casual clothes - there is nothing fancy about this resort.
Take time to spend some time at Disney's Hilton head Resort. You'll be glad you did!
View the full article and download a free formatted PDF of it here!
Added to PassPorter's Article Collection on 01-21-2010 07:46 PM
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
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