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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am new to the boards and I hope I am posting this in the correct place. We are going September 23-26 and staying at the All-Star Movies.
All the information I have read about the Disney transportation from the airport has been horrible. The question is this: should we rent a car or take a private shuttle? Thoughts, opinions, suggestions?
We took a Quicksilver towncar when we went in Oct 2004 and used the grocery stop (which you might not need since it's a long weekend) and it was fabulous to have the driver waiting at the bottom of the escalator when we got there. I have heard though that DME is getting better and we might even try it for our trip back to the airport in July.
We have always used Tiffany TownCars and have been very pleased, but we are braving the DME in just 4 days. My DD and DH are insistent on trying it even though we still do not have luggage tags. I hope we are lucky!
We've also had great experience with TTC, but we will be using DME in September also. I'm very confident that they'll have the kinks worked out by then...it actually sounds like it's already getting a lot better recently. If you would like to have a grocery stop, use TTC, or save the money you'd use for the TTC and put it toward the $50 minimum at Gooding's & have your groceries delivered!
I prefer renting a car. DW used TTC for a trip before and had a great experience with them.
If you think you might want to venture outside the WDW property, having a car will be very handy.
I would read some of the updates on DME before making my decision. Within about a week of the launch, a vast percentage of the problems had been ironed out. People are now reporting very good service. (Here's a recent thread - but you can just keep checking the "Getting There (and Back!): Your Journey" forum for discussions on DME.
Thank you all for the your thoughts. Thank goodness I have a bit of time to decide. One minute I am sure we will rent a car and than another I like the idea of seeing the driver and being able to go...
Right now I am leaning towards TTC, but who knows I might change my mind again! LOL
Whether or not to rent a car depends on who is in your party...and what else you plan to do... When we've had an infant in the party (every other year for the past 5 years, lol) we've rented a car because it was easier with the extra strollers (we had 2...as last year our kids were 4 months, 2 and 4)...plus we always have way too much luggage to transport to do an airline shuttle bus.... but this year we are not renting a car and are goign to do the DME... we'll just pack enough for the first 24 hours in carry-on bags... The DME sounds perfect for us because we have bags for 5 people...but only 2 people carrying them as our oldest isn't even in kindergarten yet...and still trips over his own feet half the time (and our 1 year old is not even walking...so I need to add that really, there is only ONE person managing all of our bags while I tote the baby!)
In the past we've also brought one or two grandmas in our party...so sometimes we'd have the grandmas take the little ones back to the resort via the rental van...and DH and I would stay with our older son at the parks and ride the bus home....
We've also previously used the van to go and buy some food provisions for the room... but this year we will be on the meal plan, so I don't feel the same need.
I find that the rental came in handy on the days we did Typhoon Lagoon because it really stinks waiting for the bus after along waterlogged sundrenched day... and because we haul in a lot of stuff to make the day enjoyable... including a pack-n-play for the baby to nap in...and to be contained in...
I generally find disney tranportation to be fine...but there are times that I prefer to take a car...but is it necessary? No. Will it really make a huge difference in your enjoyment? No. It is just an added convenience. Don't know how much that helps...
We use TTC (888-838-2161)round trip from the airport. I believe its $90.00 now, with a $15. off coupon in the new Disney Cruise Line Passporter field guide (I just bought)you might be able to get a coupon to print off the website(not sure though) We really like TTC for the trip from and to the airport but throughout the week we use Disney transportation. We've had great experiences with Disney trans. We like not having to drive and we're not in a hurry, we're on vacation after all. Some people don't like waiting and/or have small kids and its easier to have a rent car. Whatever you decide, good luck!
Every trip that I have taken to WDW we have always rented a car for our trip and we love the freedom of doing this. Now, we were debating getting a car for our honeymoon in August and I really think that the pros outweigh the cons wtih renting a car. We want to be able to pretty much go wherever, whenever! So, I guess I really don't know what it's like to take a shuttle since we never use the buses or anything and just take our rental car everywhere and since you're staying on property, you wouldn't have to pay parking at the parks either.
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Some people don't like waiting and/or have small kids and its easier to have a rent car. Whatever you decide, good luck!
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