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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are returning to WDW in June after many delays and I will try my attempt at my first PTR.
CAST
Me (52) high school math teacher
DH (52) college professor and college baseball coach
DS (19) just finished frshman year of college
DS (15) just finished freshman yeat in High School
WHEN and WHERE
6/15 to 6/22 staying at the Poly Concierge Level
6/22 - 6/27 - 5 night DCL cruise to Key West and Nassau
BACKGROUND
We planned a 7 night trip in August 2008. Things were set and then our oldest son's eagle scout project was approved. He was doing his project right outside of the football locker room and wanted to get it finished before he started his senior year. Hence, we moved the trip to Christmas 2008.
Three days befire we left for Disney, I ended up being sent to the hospita for a possible heart attack. Alas, high blood pressure and stress but the trip had to be moved again. We rescheduled for June 2009 as a graduation gift and Eagle Scout celebration.
By June, my husband's consulting came to a standstill and we could not justify taking a trip when that part of his income was eliminated. So, we moved the date again and now it appears that all things are a go!!
7 nights at Poly Concierge level with DDP. Becuase of our oldest son's baseball schedule, I don;t know when we will get back as a family so we decided to "do it up right" this time.
We like to plan what parks we will go to on what days but don't want to be so structured that we don;t enjoy ourselves. Since we have never done the dining plan, I had to do a little more planning. Our boy's are lookinfg forward to trying many different restaurants. In all of our past trips, 18 for the oldest and 14 for the youngest, we plan on 1 or 2 sit down restaurants and the rest of our meals are counter service. I know that both boys love chicken strips and pizza but it will be fun to relax and let mom and dad enjoy themselves as well.
ADRs
6/15 - 6:55 p.m. dinner at Chef Mickey's
6/16 - 7:45 p.m. dinner at Narcoossee's
6/17 - 12:00 p.m. lunch at Tutto Italia
7:30 p.m. dinner at Biergarten
6/18 - 12:00 p.m. lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
7:20 p.m. dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
6/19 - 6:45 p.m. dinner at Raglan Road
6/20 - 7:50 p.m. dinner at LeCellier
6/21 - 12:00 p.m. lunch at Rose and Crown
8:05 p.m. dinner at 'Ohanas
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Dining plans look great! We ate at Raglan Road in Dec (1st time for us). It was awesome!!!! He have a 10 yr old & even he LOVED it!!! Have a great trip!!!
Thanks everyone. I really had a hard time deciding on restaurants. We have never used the dining plan but with the boys ages right now, they are eating us out of house and home. Our oldest is not a breakfast eater, He would rather eat at 10, 3, 7 and 10 if he could. Because of baseball games and practies for him, lacrosse games and practices as well as boy scouts for the youngest, I spend my evenings makeing several meals each night. WE eat a snack or light dinner around 4 and then they will want FOOD later that evening. I thought the DDp would be a good buy for us this time around.
Also, becuase of Brandon's age, I don;t know how many more trips we will have together as a family of 4 so I wanted to splurge and really enjoy ourselves.
In the past, we tend to eat at the Biergarten and Rose and Crown Pub during each of our trips. When we were down for baseball in 2007, we ate at Raglan Road and the boys loved it. I also celebrated the big 50 at Biergarten that year with 21 of our closest friends and fellow baseball parents and players. The boys loved the attention they got from the waitresses. When you are 16, this meant a lot to them. As parents, we hoped they didn't embarass us too much. LOL
Hi and welcome to the boards!! I'm really enjoying your PTR so far! Your dining choices look great!! We'll be there at the same time, too, so we can have fun counting down together!! Have fun planning the rest of your trip! I hope this one works out for you!! Crossing my fingers and toes! I can't wait to read more about your plans!