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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Destination: WDW
Date: August 15th (arrive in the morning) through the 20th (leave at night)
Adventurers: Me (Jen), DH (Mike), DD (8), and DD (3)
Resort/Hotel: Pop Century
Celebration: Was not planning a trip to WDW this year, but I kept thinking about it and when I saw the free DP, I could not resist!
Meetings: Since we are late bloomers...still trying to plan meals. I did get a reservation at Cinderella's Castle for lunch on Thursday...other than that I am still having a hard time. Would love Hoop-Dee-Doo.
We only bought tickets for 2 days. We will go to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom on Thursday because that is when I was able to get the reservation for the Castle. What day should we go to Universal? Any other suggestions of things to do or places I might get in to eat?
This is only our second time in WDW...Still learning the ropes. Any suggestions or comments are welcome! ;-)
__________________
Jenny
"This is my family. I found it, all on my own. Is little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good. " Stitch
"Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten." Lilo
Second, why only 2 days/tickets? I see you want to do Universal, which is a great park and would require 1 day to do, plus IoA with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (HP) -- great for kids (well and adults )! -- which would require another day, but that leaves two days (assuming you hit the parks the first and last day!).
Do you plan on trying to do any parks for these remaining days? If so, don;t discount Epcot or AK. They're great parks and in August, you might be wanting AK and Kali River Rapids.
However, if you want to go that route, there is either water park you could take a day to visit: Typhoon Lagoon and/or Blizzard Beach.
As far as where to go when, one of the things to keep in mind is that Universal/IoA will probably be more busy on the weekend due to locals being able to get to the parks -- and HP.
The Disney parks should be okay because, yes, locals can hit those parks too, but HP is more of a draw!
As far as places to eat, have you checked out Allears.net and their menus (see the left-side of the page )? This a great place to help narrow down some of the places you'd like to try! They're pretty up-to-date, and you can always ask for opinions on certain restaurants here on PP, down in the Feasting and Snacking forum!
Congrats on the trip and happy planning in the meantime!
Thanks for the reply! We are only doing two days at the parks this year. 2 years ago we did Universal, MK and AK...My daughter was not as thrilled with AK. Also, my DH would like some time to relax. So I only bought two days worth. We'll see how it goes!
We have never done Epcot. I hear it is more geared towards adults?
We can not wait!!!!
__________________
Jenny
"This is my family. I found it, all on my own. Is little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good. " Stitch
"Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten." Lilo
Last edited by Jenna1216; 05-24-2010 at 08:11 PM..
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Welcome to the boards!
Epcot is a wonderful park and I find that is great for all ages!
With that said, I hope you have a wonderful time!
Happy planning!
We have never done Epcot. I hear it is more geared towards adults?
We generally spend most of our Epcot time in World Showcase which has lots of activities for kids.
Once you got yours started on the Kim Possible missions (like a scavenger hunt with a cell phone-like "kimmunicator" that gives you clues where to go), I bet you wouldn't be able to tear them away. DH and I, two middle-aged kids, were sorry we didn't start sooner, because we had to quit or be late for a dinner ADR.
I think much of Epcot would probably be more enjoyable for your older DD, but there are still fun shows and rides for the younger one.
After the MK, it's our favorite park. I urge you to give it a try. You may find it's an unexpected favorite for your family also.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
We generally spend most of our Epcot time in World Showcase which has lots of activities for kids.
Once you got yours started on the Kim Possible missions (like a scavenger hunt with a cell phone-like "kimmunicator" that gives you clues where to go), I bet you wouldn't be able to tear them away. DH and I, two middle-aged kids, were sorry we didn't start sooner, because we had to quit or be late for a dinner ADR.
I think much of Epcot would probably be more enjoyable for your older DD, but there are still fun shows and rides for the younger one.
After the MK, it's our favorite park. I urge you to give it a try. You may find it's an unexpected favorite for your family also.
I agree. There is so much to see and so at Epcot...and it has one of the very best nighttime shows on property, Illuminations...not to mention the fabulous food!
You've got Free Dining, but only 2 day park passes. Did you get the park hopper option? If so, you can take the boat over to Epcot for dinner on your Studios day. If not, then I'd suggest looking at resort dining locations. We enjoy visiting other resorts and checking them out for future trips!
Character breakfasts at the resorts include Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary, Ohana at the Polynesian, 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian, and Cape Mae Cafe the Beach Club Resort. Beach Club would be the closest to Pop Century.
WDW's online dining reservations allows you to select types of dining options and locations and check availability. If none is available, other options are listed. If you are set on a particular restaurant, keep trying because a slot could open up at any time.
You can add on days to your ticket once you arrive. There does seem to be a price jump between 2 day and 3 day ticket, from $166 for 2 day to $233 for 3 day, but after 3 days, the price diff is not much for more days, 4 day ticket is $239, not much more then 3 day.
We like all the parks, each is unique. AK is one of our fav parks, children at that age change their likes and dislikes quite a bit. Maybe she will like it this time. They have 2 great shows, Nemo & Lion King, plus the Safari, Dino land, 3D movie, bird shows, some great rides, etc.
Aside from the Passporter book, WDW the Unofficial Guide is another great book for info about WDW.
Good luck with your planning.
We are also lovers of Epcot, I think there is a lot to enjoy for everyone even your little one. If you were able to add on a day to your tickets or add the park hoppers I would. Even with the kids older now there are times that DHS is not a full day for us, we tend to do two half days there or as others have said, enjoy it earlier in the day and then spend the afternoon and evening at Epcot. I think you might want to consider it.
I think attending the hoop dee doo is a fabulous idea. Your kids will love it and so will you. The food is great and the entertainment is wonderful! If I were you I would book this on your MK day so you can take the boat over to fort wilderness for easy transport. I have sat in what they call teir 3 seating which is in the balcony and had a better view than when I was in teir 2 seating in the back of the room. You have a decent view of the show whereever you sit, however. I agree with other posters, add the park hopper option on and head over to epcot after DHS and spend some time there. Your little one will love the seas with Nemo and friends and your older one will love test track and soarin (as will you!) The food choices are endless and illuminations is so worth the trip to the park. I think it will be a great experience for all of you!
Welcome to the boards!
The best days to visit Universal are Mondays and Tuesdays - the majority of Orlando tourists are primarily there to visit WDW, and will go to WDW parks at the start of their trip and fit-in a Universal visit if there's time left at the end of their trip, so Mondays and Tuesdays are the least busy days for the non-WDW parks.
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)? This a great place to help narrow down some of the places you'd like to try! They're pretty up-to-date, and you can always ask for opinions on certain restaurants here on PP, down in the 
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