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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 like it. But I have one question, if you were to put yogurt in one on the side containers, like the picture, how does it not spill when you carry it around?
Like it..much better than a lunchbox full of plastic bags.
Um if you use small plastic containers in your DS lunch box then you won't
need the bags and there wouldn't be any waste. I use these really small plastic
containers (BPA free) in DD lunch bag and they work really well. Just wash
and done, no waste.
While I really like the Bento idea and they are super cute, I just can't see
spending the money when a regular lunch bag/box with small containers can
do the same thing. I can make the cute little food designs with cookie cutters
and what not without spending money on the extras.
Am I missing something? Are they just to get kids to eat?
KJ, the biggest drawback to using small containers in place of sandwich bags in a regular lunch box or bag is that kids lose lids, throw away containers, leave them at school...Meh. This is big enough and all in one that it's a lot harder to lose the parts, throw them away, or leave them in the lunchroom - thus saving you money on replacement containers.
DJ homeschools, so when we pack a bento to go to the park, I can keep track of the bits and pieces. But if he were to go out with someone else, go on a field trip with another family, or somesuch, I would want one of these to just give him fewer pieces to keep track of.
I love it! I'm going to present it to the kids for their coolness factor rating. I've been looking for something like this for a while. We've been using small bentos that go inside of a reusable lunchbag, but this just looks like a better idea.
Bento-ing is also very much about presentation -- done in a way to "feed" the eyes as much as the food feeds the body. A tightly-packed bento with all the food arranged in one container is more appealing than lots of lidless containers.
You can certainly do without 99.9% of the "cuteness" tools. After my initial collecting spree, I ended up liking some simple rectangular containers from Ikea that were just a few dollars for a set of three. I think I use them more than any other item I have. And I don't use many other tools than a good set of knives and some interesting food picks.
KJ, the biggest drawback to using small containers in place of sandwich bags in a regular lunch box or bag is that kids lose lids, throw away containers, leave them at school...Meh. This is big enough and all in one that it's a lot harder to lose the parts, throw them away, or leave them in the lunchroom - thus saving you money on replacement containers.
DJ homeschools, so when we pack a bento to go to the park, I can keep track of the bits and pieces. But if he were to go out with someone else, go on a field trip with another family, or somesuch, I would want one of these to just give him fewer pieces to keep track of.
Cool, thanks! I have really wanted to try these for DD, but since she is just
starting her "school" and so far has been ok with the containers (their teachers
help them eat) then I think I will wait.
Are there somethings to buy for a starter type kit?
You mean for bento-ing? Or just waste-free lunches in general? I get by with what I would consider basic bento equipment: dollar store bento boxes, cheap food picks, a dozen silicon cups in two different sizes, and some disposable baran. (I'm keeping an eye out for silicon baran that's not too babyish, but no luck so far, so I often just use lettuce as baran. ) Lock & Lock makes a great sandwich keeper that makes a perfect, beginner's single-tier bento. Two of these is a huge lunch for my husband, so one should more than suffice for a child. On the plus side, the dollar store bentos just fit inside DJ's traditional lunch bag, so even when they get crammed into a backpack, they're upright and can be kept cool with a freezer pack.
For waste-free lunches, I would look for or make some sandwich wraps and oilcloth lunchbags and buy a few Sigg bottles - one to wash and one to use - at least. Lock & Lock and Fit & Fresh make great small containers to add a single side to waste-free lunches or you could buy a kit like the ones made by Kids Konserve: Reusable Waste Free Lunch by Kids Konserveâ„¢ These kits are really my favorite of the waste-free lunch options because they make so many different types of plastic alternatives for waste-free lunches including sandwich bags, stainless steel bottles, stainless steel sides and condiment cups, sweat-resistant icepack covers, picnic packs, thermoses, napkins, sports bottle tops for their bottles, and even all natural detergents and cleaners for their products! The drawback is the number of pieces that could potentially be lost by kids from these kits. I would only use these for older kids or supervised by mom on a picnic to avoid replacing the bits and bobs frequently.
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For the bento-ers among us with kids...
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Are they just to get kids to eat?
) Lock & Lock makes a great sandwich keeper that makes a perfect, beginner's single-tier bento. Two of these is a huge lunch for my husband, so one should more than suffice for a child. On the plus side, the dollar store bentos just fit inside DJ's traditional lunch bag, so even when they get crammed into a backpack, they're upright and can be kept cool with a freezer pack. 
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