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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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It has now been almost two months since our return from Aulani. As typical for us with any vacation the time flew by and went way too fast and once again we have many things we did not get a chance to enjoy so of course another trip will have to be planned in the future.
Dates: January 8th to January 18th
Who: Me & DBF, my mom and dad, my sister, and my brother and sister-in-law. My brother and his wife would be arriving a day later.
Accommodations: We would all be starting out in Island Garden View Studios, we and my brother and his wife would be moving to an Ocean View 2-Bedroom after our 2nd night and their first night. After 3 nights we would be moving to a 1-Bedroom Poolside Garden View for the remainder of our trip. My family would all be moving on after 3 nights to stay at my parent’s condo in Maui. We used our DVC points for all rooms.
We were flying Hawaiian Airlines out of LAX early Tuesday morning. We decided to spend the night before at a hotel next to the airport to save drive time during rush hour traffic. Nice thing about flying on Tuesday was that we had all weekend to get packed and prepare for our trip.
Bags packed and ready to go. Thankful for the tip received on this board regarding packing cubes. I think it was Tinker Me Happy who mentioned them.
My parents were on the same flight as us and my sister was flying a different airline on her miles. She would arrive about 2 hours before us. My brother and his wife would be flying the next day. My parents and us hanging out in the Hawaiian Airline lounge prior to departure.
We boarded the plane and were on our way. We were fortunate to be flying first class and had reserved the bulk head seats to ensure lots of leg room as DBF would be having knee replacement surgery after our vacation.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
As soon as we boarded the plane our flight attendant offered us a glass of champagne and guava juice, a nice way to start our flight. Additionally we were given a menu to make our meal selections. We had a nice relaxing flight; we had our own video screens with various selections of movies and television shows to watch. I watched the movie Descendants with George Clooney and a BBC Comedy, Come Fly with Me.
Our 5-hour flight time quickly passed and soon we were landing in Oahu. We met up with my sister in baggage claim and my DBF and Dad went to go get our rental van. They returned with our van, which would be our vehicle for the next few days, loaded up and we were on our way. It took us about 30 minutes to arrive in Ko Olina. We passed through the gate and gave our name, this is one resort you want to do the online check-in, as we pulled up to the port cochere we were greeted by 3 bellmen and a hotel cast member who gave each of the women a flower lei and each of the guys a kukui nut lei. We each received our room keys, as we entered the hotel lobby we had our breath taken away at the beauty of the high ceilings, beautiful arches and beautiful wooden architecture and Hawaiian artwork. The lobby extends into a balcony which overlooks the Waikolohe Valley.
We proceeded to our rooms which were located in the Ewa tower. We were all staying in an Island Garden View room, my sister and we were on the 11th floor and my parents were on the 7th floor. All of our rooms overlooked the Halawai Lawn where the Starlit Hui is held. We also lucked out with view of the ocean. We all got settled in our rooms and then headed out to Target to purchase groceries.
After returning to the resort from our grocery run we walked across the street to Just Tacos and as luck would have it we were there on a Tuesday and it was Taco Tuesday so we all decided on tacos for dinner along with Margaritas and Chips and Salsa. We had a nice leisurely walk back to our rooms.
My sister called it a night and we met up with my parents and went to the Jacuzzi under the stars to relax for a bit and then we all called it a night.
A few pictures from our flight leaving LAX. Next post some more photos from our arrival.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
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PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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