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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My husband and I are headed to WDW in May, 2014 with no kids... celebrating our 20th Anniversary. We were thinking of trying to save some money by not renting a car for the duration of our stay (10 days), but using the transportation provided by Disney. However, my concern is that we will be limited to how late we can stay out at night, concerned about getting to places in time for dining reservations, etc. And do the resort buses run to and from Downtown Disney?
The last two times we went (the only two times we went), once we drove, and the other time we rented a car. So we have very little experience with the buses or other transportation offered by Disney.
It's far quicker to drive everywhere at Disney IMO. Resort busses do go to and from DTD but you'd have to wait at the bus stop for it to arrive, then if it is a bus that shares, you'll hit every stop before reaching your destination. That's why Disney recommends allotting at least an hour to get from place to place using the busses. We have a vehicle all the time at Disney (some years we drove, some years we rented) and it's never taken me an hour to get anywhere. Maybe 20 to 25 minutes, but that was only because we took the long route back to our hotel (we actually followed the signs instead of taking the shortcut we know).
Darlene is right about the times needed by bus, but the only thing that is particularly difficult to do is resort to resort. The busses definitely run to DTD and they will run as long as venues are open in DTD. You can always take a taxi if you feel the need. It will run 10-20 min. depending on where you are going. If you are not leaving the Disney bubble at all for your stay then you can do just fine with onsite transportation. We drove many times and left our car sitting in the parking lot at the resort the whole time. It just depends on your preferences. Since you are going to be there 10 days, you can probably afford to take a more leisurely pace. If you want to leave WDW and go offsite for some things, you can rent a car at WDW for a day or two. They will pick you up at your resort and return you to your preferred location (resort, park, DTD...) when you turn the car in. It all boils down to your touring style and preferences, I think.
We love the Disney buses. Even on trips when we drive and have a car, we rarely use it! We just love not having to deal with driving and parking! We go to WDW almost every year and have had very few bad experiences with their transportation. They always get us where we need to go very efficiently.
The worst experience we had was totally our own fault! It took us over an hour and a half to get from the Polynesian to the Contemporary!! We were staying at Bay Lake Tower and decided to go over to the Poly one night to hang out at the lovely bar and have a few pina coladas (while Grammy & Grampy babysat!!). While we were there, the monorail stopped running for the night. Oh no!! After panicking for a few minutes, we went to the front desk to ask for help. A very nice Poly bell hop drove us over to the TTC in his golf cart. We then waited and waited for what seemed like forever for a Contemporary bus. Finally, we asked a bus driver if one was ever going to come! He was super nice and even though he was headed somewhere else, he took us to the Contemporary after a few other stops. In hindsight, we should have just called a cab! But it was an adventure and taught us a valuable lesson! From now on, I will make sure to find out how late the monorail is running!! (Or other forms of transportation depending on where we're going and how we plan to get back to our room!!)
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"Any wish is possible. All it takes is a little courage to set it free." -Jiminy Cricket
We always rent a car when we go to Disney. We don't really like to be on Disney's schedule. When we want to go back to the room, the car is waiting and we don't have to wait for a bus. At the end of the evening when TONS of people are heading to the buses, we head to our car and breeze out of the parking lot. We have never hit traffic jams leaving or going to the parks. We find the car to be convenient (sp) for us.
I would stick with the Disney transportation, too. Rental cars are expensive and sit in a parking lot all day. Personally, I'd rather let someone else do the driving. Also, driving feels like daily life and I hardly ever get to go to the grocery store in a boat or a monorail. Plus, it will take time to walk back to your car and if you have to wait for a bus/train/monorail and that takes time, too. If you are planning to go elsewhere, such as Universal or Space Coast, it makes sense to have a car, but otherwise, I prefer the Disney transportation.
Have a magical day!
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Julia Elzie
Family Travel Specialist
Affiliated with MEI-Travel and Mouse Fan Travel
E-mail: juliae@mei-travel..com
We always rent a car. We find it much faster to get around Disney property and off property if we need to. Also, if we want to go to dinner at one of the other resorts, having a car is pretty much essential, otherwise you're looking at a taxi or changing buses to get where you want.
I would stick with the Disney transportation, too. Rental cars are expensive and sit in a parking lot all day. Personally, I'd rather let someone else do the driving. Also, driving feels like daily life and I hardly ever get to go to the grocery store in a boat or a monorail. Plus, it will take time to walk back to your car and if you have to wait for a bus/train/monorail and that takes time, too. If you are planning to go elsewhere, such as Universal or Space Coast, it makes sense to have a car, but otherwise, I prefer the Disney transportation.
Have a magical day!
__________________
Julia Elzie
Family Travel Specialist
Affiliated with MEI-Travel and Mouse Fan Travel
E-mail: juliae@mei-travel..com
Personally, I'm a fan of using Disney transportation. We even drive our own car down and still use their buses, etc.. We leave the car parked the entire time we're there. It's nice to take a break from driving. And 10 days would be a hefty rental cost. I agree with whoever said if you're going offsite for a day or two, just rent a car for those few days and rely on the buses, boats, and monorails (or your legs!) the rest of the time. It does take some extra time to get from point A to point B occasionally, so if you're commando visitors, maybe a car would be the way to go. If you're not, the WDW transporation will be just fine.
You can get a full sized car through Priceline for 10 days for about $180. It is totally worth that little bit of expense to have your own car to get you around.
I wouldn't even go to Disney if I didn't have a car myself. JMO.
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10/27-11/6/11 All Star Music Family Suite (QSDP) --Family trip
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10/27-11/4/12 All Star Music Family Suite (DDP) --Family Trip
4/14-4/19/13 Quality Suites Lake Buena Vista- Adults Only Trip
11/10-11/17/13 Wyndham Bonnet Creek- Adults Only Trip
11/2015 Wyndham Bonnet Creek- Family trip
We drive every trip and our car sits parked. The only time we have ever used our car was when we camped and had to make a grocery run. We also would drive when the kids were babies to avoid having to collapse the stroller and juggle sleeping babies and bags and strollers on the bus. Haven't driven to a park in many trips now. I like just sitting back. No missed turns, no gas spent, just relax.
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Sandi
mom of 6: dd25, ds22, dd17, ds13, dd12, and dd9
mawmaw to 3 beautiful granddaughters: 5, 3, 1 and #4 due in February
16 trips to WDW
We never rent a car. We love Disney transportation. And nothing has ever taken us an hour to get to. I drive too much in my day to day life to drive while on vacation. My brother is renting a car for this trip as we are heading to the beach one day but my dd has already stated she won't ride it to any parks. Especially MK where you have to park at the TTC and then ferry/monorail to the park.
I've never rented a car at WDW so I can't comment on that, but for me the buses are usually good. They are hit or miss, though. I try to keep some cash for taxis that I might have used for a rental car. If I'm tired at the end of a day and the bus line is too long, I just take a cab. I would like to try a rental car, some day, but I can think of so many other things to do with the cash. And it is just me so that makes it easier.
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We were thinking of trying to save some money by not renting a car for the duration of our stay (10 days), but using the transportation provided by Disney. However, my concern is that we will be limited to how late we can stay out at night, concerned about getting to places in time for dining reservations, etc. And do the resort buses run to and from Downtown Disney?
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Plus, it will take time to walk back to your car and if you have to wait for a bus/train/monorail and that takes time, too. If you are planning to go elsewhere, such as Universal or Space Coast, it makes sense to have a car, but otherwise, I prefer the Disney transportation.
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Sandi
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