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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Since our first trip is only 28 days away (HURRAY!!!) I have started a tentative itinerary. I would love advice on how it looks from all of you experts!
Wed. 6/22 Fly in at 10:45 and take DME to POP. Get to MK around 1-2pm, and stay till 1am EMH.
Hopefully get to experience most of the park. (kids are 8 & 10)
6/23 Epcot spend day and have dinner at Marrakesh (PS at 6:45) EMH until 12am if we are awake!
6/24 Character Breakfast at AK with Donald at 8:10am. Spend day at AK. How much time to see it?
Maybe go to MGM this evening for 10:30pm Fantasmic?? May be way too tired then we will do it later in trip.
6/25 Character Breakfast at Chef Mickey's at 8:10am. Spend day at water park (how busy on Saturdays??)
Free evening to ???
6/26 MGM Studio Day (ok for a Sunday?) Have PS for 4:55pm at 50's Prime Time Cafe. EMH so MGM is open to 1am.
6/27 Monday and nothing is planned until PS at Hoop Dee Doo at 9:30pm. Spend afternoon at MK before catching boat to FW?
6/28 Morning in a park and pack to go back to airport.
We are staying at POP and have bought passes with park hoppers and plus package so we can do Disney Quest and water parks. I would really appreciate feedback and ideas. I am a complete Disney newbie, just reading all the books and boards for ideas! Thanks
Wow! That's a lot of time to spend in the parks. You should plan to have some sit-down meals in the parks, if only to give your feet some well-deserved rest and your body some much-needed nourishment.
Animal Kingdom shouldn't take you an entire day to do, so figure on heading over to MGM in the late afternoon/early evening to do a few things there before Fantasmic!
MGM should be fine on a Sunday.
I'd go to DisneyQuest on Saturday evening after your water park visit, since you have the "Plusses" to do so.
...I always like to get one last look at the Castle before leaving, so I'd recommend going to MK on your last day.
Your plan looks good to me, be sure to stay hydrated.
Looks like a good plan to me!! Like Rob said, you might wnt to see if you could get a few more PS's for some sit-down places. Have a wonderful trip, looks like fun!!!
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You should plan to have some sit-down meals in the parks, if only to give your feet some well-deserved rest and your body some much-needed nourishment.
Animal Kingdom shouldn't take you an entire day to do, so figure on heading over to MGM in the late afternoon/early evening to do a few things there before Fantasmic!
MGM should be fine on a Sunday.
I'd go to DisneyQuest on Saturday evening after your water park visit, since you have the "Plusses" to do so.
...I always like to get one last look at the Castle before leaving, so I'd recommend going to MK on your last day.
Your plan looks good to me, be sure to stay hydrated.
[/ QUOTE ] I agree with all of the above & I'm also thinking that I would probably add more definite MK time! If you've never been to WDW there is a lot to see & MK is sooo magical, you really need to experience it ALL! Disney Quest would be a great place to go with your kids, given their ages.
You should also plan on more table service (sit down) meals. They really help with the heat and fatigue....plus, the food is "delish"! explore the feasting section of these boards for some info on dining. On the day that we do AK, we like to go to AKL & eat at Boma (it's the BEST!) then head to another park, or you could always go back to your room for rest or a swim...DTD is also a nice place to visit in the evening. We usually plan one table service meal per day....especially if you are staying ALL day (EMH)in the parks!
One more note....those early morning breakfast ADR's may be kind of tough on you if you're staying at the parks til 11-12 at night, unless you have your own car & aren't depending on the buses! Don't forget to factor travel time to & from the parks! Since your kids are older, you probably won't have any trouble getting them up & at 'em!!! Hope this helps! Looks like y'all are going to have an awesome trip!
I'm with everyone else on this - and also if you're planning on staying late at Epcot on 6/23, are you really going to want to get up early to go to a character breakfast at 8.10 the next morning? I know we'd find that a bit too much...
Do I need PS for most of the sit downs? Also, some day we will probably go back to POP to swim and rest then head back to the park. This seems especially important on the Epcot day.
If I make a PS for Boma at AKL, do we take the bus from AK to there? I am kind of confused about Disney transportation!
Thanks!
Okay, thanks to great advice from all of you, I just made PS for Boma at 5pm for Firday 6/24. That still leaves the fisrt day, Wednesday (MK--probably do counter service cause kids will be to excited to sit down and eat!), and Saturday just Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Hopefully it will be enough.
[ QUOTE ]
Okay, thanks to great advice from all of you, I just made PS for Boma at 5pm for Firday 6/24. That still leaves the fisrt day, Wednesday (MK--probably do counter service cause kids will be to excited to sit down and eat!), and Saturday just Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Hopefully it will be enough.
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Oh, you are going to be sooo happy with your Boma choice! (Eat some zebra domes for me ) And yes, you will take the bus from AK to the AKL for your PS/ADR at Boma. On your first day, counter service should be absolutely fine. The only thing that still sticks out to me is the early PS for your breakfasts....if you think y'all can make it, I say go for it! I once had the last PS for CRT breakfast and I was bummed out because it was so late in the morning, but it turned out to be wonderful because we weren't rushed to leave & we had TONS of character interaction with the princesses (Belle even sat on the floor & played with some of the children!) because as people left, there wasn't any new people coming into the restaurant....it was awesome! Have fun with your planning & .....looks great!!!
You might want to switch your water park day from Saturday to Monday. From what I've read, the water parks are pretty busy on the weekends as that's when the locals usually go.
I agree with everything that everyone else has said, they've given some great advice. Another thought that I had was to definitely save Fantasmic for Sunday. That would give you an early night after your dinner at Boma. On Sunday you could go to MGM for awhile in the morning to do the big things then head back to your hotel for rest and swimming, when you go back for your PS at Primetime 50's you can do whatever you missed in the morning and then watch Fantasmic. Happy planning! I'm sure that you will have a wonderful time, there is nothing quite like your first time at Disney.
Excellent advice again! This is so much fun--I am obsessed with watching my counter!
I am already thinking about taking just the kids again next year because my husband does not get as much vacation as I do. That is how confident you guys have made me that I will LOVE WDW!
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I agree with all of the above & I'm also thinking that I would probably add more definite MK time! If you've never been to WDW there is a lot to see & MK is sooo magical, you really need to experience it ALL! Disney Quest would be a great place to go with your kids, given their ages. 
explore the feasting section of these boards for some info on dining. On the day that we do AK, we like to go to AKL & eat at Boma (it's the BEST!) then head to another park, or you could always go back to your room for rest or a swim...DTD is also a nice place to visit in the evening. We usually plan one table service meal per day....especially if you are staying ALL day (EMH)in the parks! 
PassPorter Guide Author
) And yes, you will take the bus from AK to the AKL for your PS/ADR at Boma. On your first day, counter service should be absolutely fine. The only thing that still sticks out to me is the early PS for your breakfasts....if you think y'all can make it, I say go for it! I once had the last PS for CRT breakfast and I was bummed out because it was so late in the morning, but it turned out to be wonderful because we weren't rushed to leave & we had TONS of character interaction with the princesses (Belle even sat on the floor & played with some of the children!) because as people left, there wasn't any new people coming into the restaurant....it was awesome! Have fun with your planning & 
.....looks great!!!
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