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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
Those are great ADR's! I wonder if there is a potential refurb for Olivia's that they haven't committed fully to yet and that's why the ADR is so difficult? I know January always seemed to be the time to close down a few things to get them freshened up for the spring break crowd. We loved going in January just because the weather was so much nicer! We usually had on a hoodie in the morning but by the afternoon it was tank tops and flip flops.
Well, that's what I thought at first, but lunch and dinner times are available.
We went in January 10 years ago and that's what I recall as well! Hoping that it plays out like that this time!
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.
The last few days have been busy! We had a family reunion on Saturday. This is my Dad's family and he had 8 brothers and sisters. So, between Aunts, Uncles and cousins we have quite a large gathering. We rent a pavilion in the town park and everyone brings a dish to pass and it's a fun day!
Sunday was Matthew's baptism. He was such a good baby and so darn cute!! But, again lots of people... both sides of our family and my son-in-law, Eric's family. After the church ceremony we had a nice buffet lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants.
Yesterday and today I took a vacation day and watched Matthew because Katie had a seminar to attend. Gave him lots of grandma love but it's exhausting!
So, now for the Disney updates...
Those who've seen my recent post asking about Amazon Prime Now know that I've been researching that process and comparing it to Garden Grocer. I found out you can get most of the items we need and many of them are substantially cheaper. And, unless you want the order in the next hour, there is no delivery charge! Delivery works the same as GG, with them leaving it with bell services and they will keep refrigerated items cold. So, I think I'm going to try it out for the October trip and see how it goes.
Another thing we've been looking at is the dining discount options. We had assumed that Tables in Wonderland was the best deal, especially since we will get three trips out of one card. But I did some figuring, using our dining plans for the October and January trips, and possible dining choices for a fall 2018 trip. Guesstimating the cost of meals, I came up with a savings of $278 for all three trips. I did not include alcoholic beverages because we are not big drinkers. Subtracting the cost of the TiW card, that's a net savings of $128.
Then I checked the DVC and AP discounts. All of the restaurants on our list give a 10% discount for DVC and AP. Using the same meal estimate costs, we'd save $148 using the DVC or AP discount. So, it makes more sense to do that instead of buying the TiW.
Looks like some great savings ahead of you with the TIW card, DVC and AP. You are pretty much covering all of the possible discounts! Amazon Prime is a good way to go for delivery of food items to your resort. I know people who do this for travel and on a regular basis at home for the convenience. They find it easier than going out shopping with their busy schedules and some good pricing. Not good for the regular retail outlets that rely on customers to their store and Amazon will hurt them more in the future and these stores are going to have to adapt in some way to this and not lose too much business.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I saw the photos of the baptism on Facebook and you guys looked beautiful and so happy.
Wow, those are a lot of savings with Tables in Wonderland... I need to do the maths on that for our January visit as well, as I think it might be cheaper to do that than the Deluxe Dining Plan this time around....
Looks like some great savings ahead of you with the TIW card, DVC and AP. You are pretty much covering all of the possible discounts! Amazon Prime is a good way to go for delivery of food items to your resort. I know people who do this for travel and on a regular basis at home for the convenience. They find it easier than going out shopping with their busy schedules and some good pricing. Not good for the regular retail outlets that rely on customers to their store and Amazon will hurt them more in the future and these stores are going to have to adapt in some way to this and not lose too much business.
Well, when there are various discounts, I like to compare and see which is going to save me more money. With the $150 fee for TiW it's not really the best deal for us anymore.
Same with Amazon Prime Now - if they are going to deliver for free, what's not to like?
You are the savings guru, Donna!! TIW has already paid for itself for us but it is definitely not for everyone.:
We've used TiW twice in the past, but that's when it cost $75 and then $100. At $150 you'd really have to spend quite a bit to make it worth while...especially if you can get the DVC or AP discount for nothing.
I saw the photos of the baptism on Facebook and you guys looked beautiful and so happy.
Thanks! It was a great day!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, those are a lot of savings with Tables in Wonderland... I need to do the math on that for our January visit as well, as I think it might be cheaper to do that than the Deluxe Dining Plan this time around....
The nice thing about Tables in Wonderland is that it includes alcoholic beverages (though now the dining plan does as well) and you can use it at the lounges around property too.
We've used TiW twice in the past, but that's when it cost $75 and then $100. At $150 you'd really have to spend quite a bit to make it worth while...especially if you can get the DVC or AP discount for nothing.
I was just looking at the price last night and coming to exactly the same conclusion... I really think it only now works if you live in the Orlando area or have multiple visits planned in a year.
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.
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getting Olivia's. That does sound like a glitch in the reservation system.
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TIW has already paid for itself for us but it is definitely not for everyone.
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