What will it be for trip #3? (August 5-14, 2012) - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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.
I have fallen behind on my TR/PTR reading, but subscribing so I can come back later to read. I'm glad your writing again, I really enjoyed your last TR!
I have fallen behind on my TR/PTR reading, but subscribing so I can come back later to read. I'm glad your writing again, I really enjoyed your last TR!
When I post a question on the general board, I will also post it here on my PTR. I am hoping it will get more more total feedback, but will also show what things I have considered as I move through the planning process.
We will rent a car for the first time this trip. We will have it for the second half of our trip (because we will also be driving to southern FL to visit family after our WDW stay). I would also like to have the car available while we are at OKW since it is such a large resort.
I am trying to consider the car as I plan out park days and ADRs. In the past, we took a cab to/from ADRs at resorts as the bus transfers were stressful on our kids.
If we were to do a breakfast buffet at a MK resort...how long could we park in their lot? Wondering if we could stay all day in the lot and go to MK?
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I recently came across a post from Dave where he explained why WDW raised their buffet prices.
I have been reviewing our ADR choices for our August trip (ADR date--Feb 7) and was blown away by the buffet prices. We have always been in the DDP but will be paying OOP this time. I thought the prices seemed high, but I did not totally recall what they had been in the past since we had been on the DDP.
Buffets have always been a great choice for our family. They seem to go very quickly and provide endless options. DS (who will be a 10-year old Disney adult for our trip) has made it clear he wishes every meal could be a buffet. $40 for a 10-year old's buffet meal???????????
We had about 5 buffets/family style restaurants on our initial planing list. Now facing OOP costs over $130-----For the lowest priced BUFFETS!!! How many people paying OOP will make them frequent ADRs????
Grrr....Now we need to decide which ones are really priorities...
Here was our wish list:
Old favorites: 1900 Park Fare (dinner), Cape May buffet (Bfast and dinner)
Hoped to try: Garden Grill, 1900 for Bfast, Ohana, and Tusker house for reserved Nemo seating.
What should I choose?
At this point I am leaning toward Tusker house for the reserved Nemo seating. We did that for our first trip and having the reserved seating helped a lot for our family (remember...we have an aspie). We also want to do one Breakfast buffet and I am leaning to 1900 Park Fare since it was our favorite dinner buffet last trip.
I would love feedback from those of you who have faced this same decision paying OOP.
When I post a question on the general board, I will also post it here on my PTR. I am hoping it will get more more total feedback, but will also show what things I have considered as I move through the planning process.
We will rent a car for the first time this trip. We will have it for the second half of our trip (because we will also be driving to southern FL to visit family after our WDW stay). I would also like to have the car available while we are at OKW since it is such a large resort.
I am trying to consider the car as I plan out park days and ADRs. In the past, we took a cab to/from ADRs at resorts as the bus transfers were stressful on our kids.
If we were to do a breakfast buffet at a MK resort...how long could we park in their lot? Wondering if we could stay all day in the lot and go to MK?
Unfortunately, you will not be able to park all day at one of the resorts while you go to the MK. Generally, they allow you 3 hours to park when you are not a guest of the resort, I've read posts where people received passes to place in their windshields when parking. That being said, I've never recieved one of these passes when parking at both the Poly and CR, but it's not worth the risk since your car will be towed if they find you have gone over the limit.
So, you have two options. You can park at the TTC and then take the monorail over to the resort you have your ADR in. You will be fine to leave your car at the TTC all day and will not have to pay the parking fee since you are a Disney resort guest. I think you just need to show your KTTW card at the gate. Or, if you would rather drive directly to the resort, you could pay for valet parking and leave your car all day with them. We did this on our last trip at the BC. We had an early moring ADR at CMC and wanted to head to Epcot through the IG after that. We checked with the valet and he said it was no problem for us to leave the car. For $12 you can leave it with the valet for up to 24 hours. We usually stay off property and would have had to pay the $14 fee to park in the Epcot lot anyway, so this worked for us!
Unfortunately, you will not be able to park all day at one of the resorts while you go to the MK. Generally, they allow you 3 hours to park when you are not a guest of the resort, I've read posts where people received passes to place in their windshields when parking. That being said, I've never recieved one of these passes when parking at both the Poly and CR, but it's not worth the risk since your car will be towed if they find you have gone over the limit.
So, you have two options. You can park at the TTC and then take the monorail over to the resort you have your ADR in. You will be fine to leave your car at the TTC all day and will not have to pay the parking fee since you are a Disney resort guest. I think you just need to show your KTTW card at the gate. Or, if you would rather drive directly to the resort, you could pay for valet parking and leave your car all day with them. We did this on our last trip at the BC. We had an early moring ADR at CMC and wanted to head to Epcot through the IG after that. We checked with the valet and he said it was no problem for us to leave the car. For $12 you can leave it with the valet for up to 24 hours. We usually stay off property and would have had to pay the $14 fee to park in the Epcot lot anyway, so this worked for us!
Thanks for your feedback! We have never used the TTC so that was off my radar I also like the idea of $12 to park all day....hmmm......something to consider.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
You're welcome! $12 really is a bargain for all day parking. I was expecting it to be ridiculously overpriced, but was pleasantly surprised to hear it was only $12!
Shelly, I made a reservation for Tusker House last month for our trip in June. They no longer have the priority seating to Nemo as lunch is now a character meal. Hope that helps some!
Shelly, I made a reservation for Tusker House last month for our trip in June. They no longer have the priority seating to Nemo as lunch is now a character meal. Hope that helps some!
Big Bummer! Thanks for that feedback. Do you know if there is any other way to get priority seating?
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.
Big Bummer! Thanks for that feedback. Do you know if there is any other way to get priority seating?
Are the characters the same as for breakfast?
The CM that talked with me said they were the same as breakfast. I did ask about alternate priority seating, and she did not know of any. Without it, I'm not sure we will wait in line unless we are lucky enough to be near the front as it is so hot in June and standing while waiting in the heat is a quick way to wear Stefanie out.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
