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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 are using our points to stay club level at AKL (probably for the first and last time since I don't know if we's be able to get concierge other than January! )
Shortly after booking, I received an email acknowledgeing the reservation and explaining about certain programs such as Sunrise Safari (which we booked, can't wait!). They also asked to let them know when we would be arriving, but I haven't figured that out yet, so I haven't replied to that part of the email).
I have heard that they assist you with ADRs. Now, usually I obsess about ADRs and I love this part of trip planning. I made a few ADRs on my own, but not all of them.
Does concierge contact you to help with ADRs, or do I need to call them? If they contact you, how soon before the trip do they do this? We are traveling around mid-January, so I was wondering if they should have contacted me already
Thanks! We are concierge newbies, so I have no experience with this . . .
At one time we planned on staying club level and cancelled. They did assist me with getting my ADR's. I emailed them and then they called me. It was easy, nothing to it. I tried to get club level again on my Jan trip but alas, no openings.
We're staying concierge at Animal Kingdom Lodge next April and we received an e-mail at the start of this month, asking if there was anything they could do for us and, if so, the number to call them on.
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Yes- they will do the ADR's for you. Sometimes they contact you first, sometimes they do not. I have seen it happen both ways. Since you are less than 180 days I would contact them as soon as possible with any requests. While they will do them for you- they typically don't have any greater availability than anyone else so the sooner the better. Enjoy the Sunrise Safari. It's a lot of fun!
Thanks everyone I am going to try to arrange the rest of our ADRs myself, since I enjoy doing that, but if I run into any problems, maybe I'll call concierge to see if they can assist me. In the long email they sent me early on, maybe there was some reference to assisting with ADRs - at that time I was focused on the Sunrise Safari, which we are really looking forward to!
Enjoy your stay! We've stayed twice on points and will again next year. They book ADRs the same time as everyone else but always got what we wanted when we wanted it. I just emailed them and they took care of it. They were great in helping me surprise my DH on our birthday trip this summer.
We just returned from a Concierge stay there in mid-October.
You are going to love it. The staff really makes you feel special!!
I know if we ever have extra points we would do it again in a heartbeat.
We just returned from a Concierge stay there in mid-October.
You are going to love it. The staff really makes you feel special!!
I know if we ever have extra points we would do it again in a heartbeat.
Thanks for posting your impression of AKL concierge I had the tiniest idea that maybe I should cancel and get a 2BR at BLT (we love it there and have stayed twice) b/c I was feeling a bit guilty about the points needed for concierge, but I have been dying to try it and, since this is a relatively short trip for us, thought it was the perfect opportunity. Now I can't wait
We loved our stay in AKV concierge! I am a planning nut and was nervous about leaving my ADRs in other hands, but the concierge staff took care of everything -- perfectly! I sent an e-mail prior to the 180 mark and received confirmations immediately following the booking date. I got the exact times and locations I wanted, including the Sunrise Safari -- which was fabulous, by the way! Enjoy the splurge!!!
We stayed club level AKL (as non DVC members although this was the trip we bought into DVC!). I actually am a little too anal to hand over the reservations to someone else so I did them all. However I emailed all the confirmations to the CM and they send you back a written itinerary. It was helpful to have it all printed together with the confirmations. They also helped arrange a surprise for my DH so I was super happy. I have stayed club level and it was worth it to me, even if it was only once in a while.
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I made a few ADRs on my own, but not all of them. 
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I am going to try to arrange the rest of our ADRs myself, since I enjoy doing that, but if I run into any problems, maybe I'll call concierge to see if they can assist me. In the long email they sent me early on, maybe there was some reference to assisting with ADRs - at that time I was focused on the Sunrise Safari, which we are really looking forward to!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Aimee
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