What about the PassPorter guide(s) do you value most? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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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:
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Moving on with the current of the years.
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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.
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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!
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What about the PassPorter guide(s) do you value most?
I got to thinking about how we planned our first trip just over ten years ago with "two other guidebooks" which I won't name because neither is anywhere near as complete or helpful as PassPorter. Hence, my question after having thought about what features I find most useful about the WDW Deluxe PassPorter looseleaf binder, my favorite.
Feel free to mention others of the various guidebooks and what you value most about them, of course.
For me, the fact that PassPorter is so clearly organized is probably most valuable. I love how easy it is to make decisions such as where to stay and eat which are our two major concerns. I can flip right to those sections and know that I'll find each resort and restaurant described and rated both. I like that Jennifer's and Dave's differing restaurant preferences are explained which makes their ratings more useful, particularly when one's favorite will be the other's "just average" oftentimes.
Then, once we've booked our resort, I just remove the rest of that section and stash it in the box the Deluxe binder came in which I kept for storing it between trips. That way, we have the basics on every resort in case we start thinking about staying somewhere different but haven't yet gotten the current PassPorter. I learned to do that when I realized how much I could have used those pages after stupidly discarding them once. We never dreamed we'd be able to afford to go two years in a row but had to stay less expensively to do it. Those missing pages could have enabled us to decide what resort so much more easily had I kept them.
PassPorter's completeness also helps us when we're thinking about trying new things. We can get a really good sense of what else we might enjoy from the information on attractions and activities.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Getting the Passporter has become a tradition before our trips. Once we have it we know our vacation is almost upon us. Can't wait for the 2015 version to fill in our plans for August.
The pockets are the big plus for me. I have been using PassPorter for about 10 years. The first one was spiral bound but I got the deluxe version after that. I take the pockets, maps, and whatever else I might need and use little rings to bind it together so I don't have to bring the big book into the parks each day. I only need to take the applicable pocket with confirms etc. So convenient!
I really don't purchase the books anymore because I get most of my info on the boards. I also don't use the pockets because I enter all the info into my cell phone.
I too love that the information is so organized and detailed. The Passpockets are used each trip and sometimes brought out again during planning for the next trip.
I really love the fact that there are little bits of extra included throughout the book. Little tidbits from fellow Passporters that give it that extra shine IMHO.
I bought my first passporter two trips ago and fell in love with it. I originally bought an "official" guide but the passporter is more thorough. It isn't afraid to show warts and all. And I love that it has differing opinions from husband/wife/child etc. it also helps plan for every budget, whereas some of the others only show the costly extras. And it is very easy to use.
I've always had spiral bound and have never registered them before. which I'm kicking myself for now. I now understand this community much better and am grateful for it. I wish I would have paid more attention when I ordered my 2015. I ordered the spiral bound and now wish I would have ordered the deluxe because I think it might fit my needs even MORE!!
I wish I would have paid more attention when I ordered my 2015. I ordered the spiral bound and now wish I would have ordered the deluxe because I think it might fit my needs even MORE!!
What's extra-nice about the Deluxe binder, I think, is that if you join PassPorter's Club and print out some of the worksheets members have available, they're marked for the hole-punch pattern required by the binder. You just trim away the excess copy paper, punch the holes, and insert them into your binder. Great way to add extras of the single-copy worksheets included in the binder pages. Very useful if you're planning longer than a 10-day stay or make as much of a mess on worksheets as I often do.
I didn't have a holepuncher when I did this but found a pair of nail scissors worked well to cut out those little holes. Wouldn't use a holepuncher enough to buy one, but those old nail scissors I keep for trimming details when I make computer greeting cards and gift tags worked fine.
The dining credits tally sheet would be particularly useful for a family to plot how many dining credits would be used when and to tally snack credit use.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
We have been buying PassPorters for years, since I won one in a contest. They have become essential to our trips, despite having visited WDW over two dozen times. I love the layout, the short but focused reviews of restaurants, resorts and attractions, the very useful pockets, and the world's best park maps. Like Her Dotness, I find the restaurant reviews particularly useful, as we can judge whether we're going more for atmosphere or a foodie experience. Having more than one opinion--and knowing what each reviewer values--is really a bonus.
I don't have to worry about ordering my book a few months ahead because of the online updates so I can keep my PP current.
We switched to the deluxe two years ago and continue to love having everything together in one spot, easy to stash in our glove box or trunk. It is the first guide I recommend to anyone who is going to WDW. There are lots of other fine guides out there (I'm a librarian so I've seen most of them), but PassPorter tops the list for usefulness, attractiveness, and value for dollars.
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YA Librarian
Last edited by yalibrarian; 01-24-2015 at 06:33 PM..
I have bought the spiral books for the last 6 trips thinking in my mind the refills are the same price so why not. After reading your reviews on the deluxe I think I may be switching! I love the pockets and after each trip they are filled to the brim with receipts and lots of comments . Love it!! Thanks Jennifer and Dave.
I love how it has all the things I need in one book. I can use it to look up information on a hotel or restaurant but it also has pockets and worksheets where I can store my own information (reservations, etc.). I do keep everything on my phone also but I like having a hard copy on our trip in case anything happens to my phone (lost, dies). Plus, after the trip is over I put all the papers, maps and receipts in it and it becomes a souvenir of everything we did on our trip. I have one for every trip we've taken except for our first.
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I love using it to plan which attractions, etc that we'd like. My only concern is that our trip is in June and I don't yet have my 2015 book in hand. (We did use the online version to find our hotels and used this community board and all ears for our restaurants.) But, I really would like the book so that I can get our plans made. Anyone else dying to get it?
Very frustrating. I want my book to plan ADRs with my family. I'm considering asking for a refund and buying a different guide book. Yes I know we can access the book online but we want to have a family meeting to discuss options. This means sitting around the dining table not crammed into an office craning our necks to see a computer screen.
It's nice to hear all the awesome comments on the print guides -- thank you!
As for the 2015's print release this year, I advised everyone to not pre-order it if they were traveling before April 2015 and noted this on the pre-order page. Why? This year we upgraded and colorized our Disney cruise guide -- 560 pages of it -- and that extremely ambitious job cut into the production time for Walt Disney World's production schedule. It's a bit like needing to spend time helping one child choose a school for college while having to miss the other child's sporting events for a while. And you can't just send a stand-in -- it wouldn't be the same. Usually Walt Disney World gets prioritized over Disney Cruise Line, but this past year it was different so we could upgrade and progress further. For every action there is a reaction, and this is it. Trust me, I wish I had a magic wand to just make things happen, but I don't -- it takes hard work, and a lot of it.
That said, I am expecting the books on March 15. I will update the Pre-Order page when I have news on that, and pre-orders will ship out immediately.
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