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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So, with our first trip of the year to Disney done(we had 3 planned this year), it is time for DH and I to start planning our next trip in October. Here are the details so far:
Flights:
We are flying JetBlue
10/17/2008- Depart Boston at 1:45 p.m. and arrive in Orlando at 4:49 p.m.
10/20/2008- Depart Orlando at 12:15 p.m. and have a lay over in Washington
from 2:24 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. and then arrive in Boston at 5:46 p.m.
Car Rental:
We will be renting from Hertz
Pick-up time- 5:15 p.m.
Drop-off time- 10:00 a.m.
Hotel Information:
We will be staying at Disneys All-Star Movies Resort
Pre-Planned Events:
10/18/2008- Halloween Horror Nights XVIII at Universal Studios
10/19/2008- Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Undecided Events:
10/18/2008- Spend the day at the Universal Parks. We would need to
purchase tickets. Tickets are $79.99 pp for 2 parks in one day.
10/19/2008- Spend the day at a Disney park. We already have tickets and
the International Food and Wine Festival will be taking place.
For the most part, as you can see, we have planned pretty much what we want to get done. As part of my normal planning routine, I have hours of operation including extra magic hours for our stay written down, what the normal weather is like for our stay,and also the sunrise/sunset for our stay (we got in the habit of doing this when we started travelinf with DH's family. The kids tend to get tired when it strats getting dark, so, this helps us plan better. Also, it's nice to know for pictures.).
There are somethings that we are unsure of however, and, have listed a few questions below that hopefully someone can help me answer.
Questions for You:
-Does anyone know if Disney Reward Points can be used at Restaurants on
Disney property? If so, which ones?
-On our most recent trip, we bought the refillable mugs at Pop Century. The
woman at the register said we could refill it on future trips, but, on the mug
and signs at the beverage dispensers, it said current trip only. So, what is
the real deal?
-Does anyone know the prices for mini-golf at the Disney courses? DH and I
would like to do this in October, and, are trying to plan accordingly.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help answer those questions. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Yes you can use the Disney Reward points from your Disney Visa card at most of the restaurants on Disney property. There are a few that you can't that I know of. The only ones that come to mind are Rainforest Cafe and Planet Hollywood, because they are not Disney owned as far as I know. I'm sure someone else will be able to tell you any other specific restaurants as well.
As far as I know the mugs are only good for the time of your current trip. Maybe the CM meant you could fill it on future trips to the food court for your current trip then??
Here is a link to allearsnet.com for info on mini golf. Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf
A lot of people ask about the refillable mugs. I was under the impression it was for length of stay only. However , I noticed on our recent trip that lots of people in the food court were using older mugs with resort logos. And I didn't see anyone being turned away.
Great plans - and maybe we'll see you down there, as we're in Disney at the same time as you. We actually fly out of New York that same day on JetBlue, but a bit later.
We have used the mugs we got earlier this year for a couple of trips. We bought them a AKL and they didn't have a resort specific logo and seem to be the same ones they were using in March. I'm not sure the official "rule" but since they seem to be the current ones I didn't feel too bad about using them.
-Does anyone know if Disney Reward Points can be used at Restaurants on
Disney property? If so, which ones?Yes, most of the WDW-owned restaurants accept the Reward Points card
-On our most recent trip, we bought the refillable mugs at Pop Century. The
woman at the register said we could refill it on future trips, but, on the mug
and signs at the beverage dispensers, it said current trip only. So, what is
the real deal?The real deal is that the mugs are good for the length of the stay they are purchased during.
-Does anyone know the prices for mini-golf at the Disney courses? I think it's about $15, and you get to keep the ball.