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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Has anyone had dinner with Shamu at Seaworld? Not sure if we are going to do this but it sounded nice. I always take recommendations into consideration before I book anything. Thanks!
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We went a couple of years ago, it was cool. I agree with the previous poster, pricey and the food was nothing special, but as with any signature dining experience, you're paying more for the experience than the food. You don't get any personal interaction with the animals, but you get to meet the trainers and take pics afterwards. You get to sit poolside, at a private pool behind the scenes, and while you're eating, the trainers are telling you (and demonstrating) how they teach the animals tricks. Because of the seating, there are some really nice photo ops (they send the animals up to the side of the pool to 'pose' a few times). They have cute little Shamu shaped chocolate covered cookies, which my kids thought were so neat.
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Definitely Dine with Shamu!
They do the seating assignment based on when you book the reservation. I got a peek at the list when we were checking in - so booking early does pay off. I booked on 7/3 for 11/29 and we were seated at the 6th table. All tables seem to have good views, but this is the area where you have one of the best views when they "beach the whale" (for lack of a better description of the trick). We had an excellent view of the middle of the pool and one of the demonstration areas was about 5' from me. Great photo ops!!!
As for the food, it's standard buffet bill of fare. However, after a couple of bad meal choices at WDW for the days prior, the Dine With Shamu buffet was very good! Yes, the main attraction is the close up of Shamu. But we would definitely do this dinner again.
When you go in, they take your photo in front of the pool. SW photo pricing is kind of a la carte (very different from WDW Photopass). So I didn't buy any and never took the time to go view our photos. They also give you a "backstage pass" type of lanyard with an autograph card for the trainer to sign.
They rotate the whales in the show. The night we went, we saw their largest whale - 12,000 lbs. He is about 20 years old and I think is probably the one I saw as Baby Shamu back in the late 80s! Given the size, the trainers do demonstrate the splash. I had read warnings about not putting personal belongings under the table. My feet got a little wet as I was sitting in the first seat by the pool - I was not soaked; no one else in the group even felt it.
We did dine with Shamu 2 years ago at the California Sea World. Can't remember if it was lunch or dinner, but the meal was a buffet. The food wasn't that great. It was fun to watch the whales swim around while you eat though. It was "down time" for the whales and they weren't performing, but they still swam and played a lot. One of the babies even played fetch with one of the trainers. It was cute. We had been warned that we were all in a "splash zone" for the duration of our meal. Luckilly we didn't get wet, but they make a point of telling you it can happen.
Maybe we were just lucky, but we didn't have any idea about this until we got to the park. Made a reservation when we got there and got to sit right next to the water. Very cool. Getting to be that close to the animals was worth it, but the food not so much. Although the desserts were tasty. IMO worth it!
Dine with Shamu is one of our favorite meals. IMO, the dining choices at SW stink. I like being so close to the whales and the interaction with the trainers. Last year, there were 2 options; I would do Dine with Shamu (not Backstage with Shamu) This one gives you the interaction with the trainers and whales and great picture opportunities. It's on our must do list.
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It is one of our must dos for our trips to Sea World in San Diego. We love the interactions and photo ops and the food isn't too bad. I vote to go for it!
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It was the highlight of our Sea World day. The kids loved being so close to the whales. The food was decent enough, the beer was free, and priority seating for the big show. It was well worth the price imho.
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I am considering doing this with my family but have a question about the previous post......What priority seating? If you book dine w/Shamu do you get special seating at the Shamu show?
you can also check out the vip tour. for $100-125 an adult and $75-100 per child, you get a 7 hr tour which includes dining with shamu, front of the line access to several rides and reserve seating for several shows plus you get to feed the dolphins and other mammals. it may sound expensive, but if you dine with shamu only, it costs nearly $50 a person, so for about $50 more, you get to experience some pretty cool sounding extras!
we haven't done it yet, but have booked it for nov 28th and are very excited to experiece sea world \this way.
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I haven't done it, but I've posted a link where you can read an in-depth review of the one in San Diego: DIS Unplugged Blog. Incidentally, the author of this review said that the food was very good at the San Diego location, but on a later podcast, the members of the DIS Unplugged team who had done the one in Orlando said the food wasn't anything special.
Here's the link to their podcast where they talk about the program in Orlando: Round Table Discussion.
Finally, here's the actual SeaWorld page that talks about the dining experience, along with the menu! Dine with Shamu
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Definitely Dine with Shamu!
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