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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I apologize for the length of the post but I want to give you all the pertinent info before I get your opinion. We are currently scheduled for 11/4-11/11 at BWV 1 bedroom (rack rate) for me, DH, DD and DS. My parents are scheduled for the same time, resort, room type. We usually do a 2br but no availability when I booked - this is a reschedule from a cancelled Feb trip b/c of Superstorm Sandy. Both of y parents will be using ECV's this trip, mom used one last time but not dad. It's will be their last trip since moms Parkinson's has progressed to the point that the high meds have jacked up her anxiety to crazy levels. That said, they've stayed WL, VWL, BWV and BCV. Now to the point - I am considering switching from BWV to GF. Crazy? Yes we like to have a kitchen BUT the food choices at GF are soooo much better than BW and therefore more availability = less eating in room. I can get a garden, lagoon or theme park view for cheaper than we're paying now because of the current 30% deal. I can also get my parents a handicap accessible room and based on the pictures of the wheelchair ones the shower with the seat would be wonderful for mom. I'm also thinking being on a monorail resort would help with the 2 ECV's. DH and I stayed at GF on our honeymoon and coincidentally, this trip is our 15th anniversary present to each other.
For me there is no question I would book GF. I have stayed there 3 times in the main building and I love it. We now switched over to the Yacht Club because of the pool and walk to Epcot and because my husband likes the Yacht Club better. For me the minute he says ok lets go back to GF I would make that switch.
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You'll be giving up space if you move from the two 1-bedroom units.
I've stayed in a BWV handicapped accessible 1-bedroom before (1st floor behind elevator) and the bathrooms are well suited for roll-in. (We didn't need it, it was what they gave us). Our location was great.
As far as food choices, if you use park hoppers, staying at the BW actually gives you great choices because you can come and go into Epcot for restaurants as well as eat at any of the restaurants bordering the lake area (BC, YC, Dolphin, Swan).
That said, I can see that you'd probably save money staying with a discount at the GF and the fact that the resort has sentimental value can't be dismissed. I wouldn't give you a hard time if you changed, that's for sure.
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I'd be concerned about transportation. Staying at BW, you have boat access to two parks, but bus access everywhere else. Why but? The busses have limited space for EVC/Wheelchairs. With two parents needing them, you might be better off with a monorail resort because you would have easy transportation to two theme parks without having to worry about splitting up if a bus only has room for one EVC. Bussing is also an issue because depending on the park, and time of year, multiple Epcot resorts share one bus. We didn't encounter problems in July, but at slower times of the year, you might. Finally, the food options might be a concern because Epcot typically closes early. We did find food options to be limited during our stay.
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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I'd switch to GF. You have good memories of it, right? You'd save money, you have excellent dining choices and monorail transportation to the two main theme parks. Go for it.
I think I would probably make the switch to GF as well, for what it's worth Being on the monorail loop would definitely help with 2 ECV's. A couple of years ago I ended up in a wheelchair half way through our WDW vacation due to a knee injury. We were staying at Bay Lake Towers so we used the monorail quite a bit. Definitely easier to get onto with a wheelchair, and I am sure, even more so for an ECV!
Okay - we went for it!!! I was able to get mom & dad a wheelchair accessible room (didn't have one at BWV) which will work well for mom. You all know how fast things change and I couldn't get them a Dx Garden View room anymore (available as of last night) so they got a Theme Park View. Shame, right? lol We went with a Garden View so I haven't told my mom & dad yet we'll be in separate bldgs. I'll save that tidbit until, oh maybe we're on the DME In the end my parents saved $738 and we saved $1384 Can't beat that Thanks for all the advice. It will be my 15th anniversary and my parents 50th and we get to celebrate in Victorian style.
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That is just massive savings!!! Hearty congratulations on your new reservation!!! I can't imagine NOT enjoying the celebration of my anniversary at the Grand Floridian. Have a magical time!
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Okay - we went for it!!! I was able to get mom & dad a wheelchair accessible room (didn't have one at BWV) which will work well for mom. You all know how fast things change and I couldn't get them a Dx Garden View room anymore (available as of last night) so they got a Theme Park View. Shame, right? lol We went with a Garden View so I haven't told my mom & dad yet we'll be in separate bldgs. I'll save that tidbit until, oh maybe we're on the DME In the end my parents saved $738 and we saved $1384 Can't beat that Thanks for all the advice. It will be my 15th anniversary and my parents 50th and we get to celebrate in Victorian style.
That is fantastic! You get to stay somewhere that is near and dear to you, And you get an incredible savings as well! I know you are going to have a Magical time!
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Being on the monorail loop would definitely help with 2 ECV's. A couple of years ago I ended up in a wheelchair half way through our WDW vacation due to a knee injury. We were staying at Bay Lake Towers so we used the monorail quite a bit. Definitely easier to get onto with a wheelchair, and I am sure, even more so for an ECV!
In the end my parents saved $738 and we saved $1384 
Can't beat that 
Thanks for all the advice. It will be my 15th anniversary and my parents 50th and we get to celebrate in Victorian style. 
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