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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 going to Universal at the end of this month for the first time. We will be staying at Portofino Bay for a few nights before we head over to WDW. I am completely prepared for Disney. I have our ADR's and a general plan for each day. I love Disney and love to plan for our trips there! It is a different story with our stay at Universal. We have a general plan worked out as far as the rides at the parks, but have not made any dining reservations. We keep thinking that we can "wing it" as summer vacation will be done resulting in lower crowds. Will this be okay or should I make some reservations? Any suggestions on good places to eat esp. at Portofino Bay? There will be my husband and I and our 3 children (14, 7 & 5). Thanks so much for your help!
You don't need to make dining reservations as far out at Universal. I made a reservation for Mythos about a week in advance. They were taking walk ups on the day I ate there but the wait time was quoted at 30-45 minutes. You can make reservations online through the Universal website for the sit down places!
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We only ate lunch in the parks and stuck to walkups. There are tons of options at CityWalk. I loved how we could hang out at CW all evening after leaving the parks. Then, we just walked back to our hotel. Anyway, my husband and I ate there a lot--only once at our hotel. There is fast food like BK and Panda Express (also movie theater and lots of shops) and sit-downs like Margaritaville, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Hard Rock, etc. I seem to recall we ate at Bubba Gump and Hard Rock--no reservations (not a terribly long wait). However, it is usually easier for us to get into restaurants since it's just the two of us. We went in early September.
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I can definitely relate to your post!! We rarely venture outside of WDW, and have gone to Universal exactly twice in the past 15 years - and not for very long at that!
We will be heading to Universal because DD and DS (both 13) want to visit WWOHP. We are hoping we can find some good entertainment options for DS(4) too during this time .
We have made NO dining plans for the Universal part of our trip but, since we have DDP for the WDW portion of the trip that follows, we will probably just wing it. Though I am intrigued by Mythos, and may try to get a reservation there if we can . . .
We spent three days touring there recently Three Broomsticks was hands down the best meal we had all trip including even our Disney meals. We did the feast and there was nothing left on the platter, not a grain of salt. My kids even loved the veggies! It is pretty easy getting in to the restaurants at US. I was skeptical at first but we really had a good time. If you manage to enjoy it for what it is and avoid comparing it to Disney I'm sure you will have some fond memories made there too!
Thanks so much everyone for your help and great tips!! I have made a reservation at Mythos and Pastamore on CityWalk. We will definitely check out Three Broomsticks as well. DD (14) has me excited to try the Butterbeer!
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It is a different story with our stay at Universal. We have a general plan worked out as far as the rides at the parks, but have not made any dining reservations. We keep thinking that we can "wing it" as summer vacation will be done resulting in lower crowds. Will this be okay or should I make some reservations? 
Any suggestions on good places to eat esp. at Portofino Bay? There will be my husband and I and our 3 children (14, 7 & 5). Thanks so much for your help!
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Are there any other places you would recommend?
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