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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi All!
I'm now stationed in Germany and we decided to head to DLP for a quick Spring Break getaway. It's hard to find a lot of updated information on DLP. Luckily there is a Facebook Page within the European Military Community that provides lots of good info.
I did stop by this forum to check it out and see what was available and probably the biggest tip that helped us have a great trip - expectation management!! If you are a huge WDW or DL California fan then you cannot go in to DLP expecting the same type experience.
DLP is much smaller than DL California - which many people love!! Especially if they have little ones because the Character interactions are so much easier to take part in and they are much more frequent. Plus with a smaller park they can accomplish much more in a shorter amount of time.
I think the biggest thing that shocked us was that DLP is showing it's age and it's not nearly as clean as the Stateside parks. Besides that - the poor quality of food was disheartening. There just isn't quite the same selection that we are used to in the States. It could have been the time of year and weather but there were almost no food carts open with the exception of a couple on Main Street. One night we paid to eat the buffet in our hotel (Newport Bay Club - Cape Cod Restaurant) and it was 34 euro per person and we barely filled our plates once. That was rather disheartening given the price and the amazing smells that were coming out of the restaurant. Now - again - if you have little ones and you are just too tired or it's just too much trouble to make the trek back out to Disney Village or to the parks for dinner - you have something at your disposal (and I think the price is less for children). Albeit a very expensive alternative! (Also - I should note that we don't do meal plans when we do Disney. We just can't commit to a meal plan because we never know what we want to do or how we want to eat!!)
Disney Village was a very short walk from the Newport Bay Club (as were the parks)! We never got on the bus!! Disney Village contains Starbucks, McDonald's, Earl of Sandwich, Rainforest Café, Planet Hollywood, Mickey's Diner, and Annette's Diner. Just outside the gate is Five Guys and Vapiano's. McDonald's and Earl of Sandwich are great alternatives for breakfast. A family of 3 (with one being a bottomless pit of a teenager) could eat breakfast at McDonald's for $26 USD. Our breakfast at Earl of Sandwich was a little more partly because our bottomless pit got 2 lunch sandwiches for breakfast!! Our cost that morning was around $56 USD. Starbucks also offers a nice breakfast selection as well but seating is just a bit tough to snag.
We really enjoyed our time in the parks!! Our teenager enjoyed being able to catch Rocking Rollercoaster 3 times in a row...even with the crowds. Fast passes are gone quick for the major rides in both parks!
Hopefully this information will help anyone planning a trip to DLP!!