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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Dining during the week of Christmas.
Trying to decide on some places to eat during our next trip ( December 18-27) we will be 2 adults & our DS age 9. He is not picky at all. Also we have never been during Christmas but we know how extremely packed it will be. Also we won't be doing any parks on Christmas Day. Should also mention we will have deluxe dining plan.
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Are you looking for character meals? That will make a difference for the recommendations.
Also, you're aware, right, that eating table service meals will take up a lot of your park time? This is more important when the parks are crowded and lines for attractions are long.
If you're all "foodies" and enjoy trying new restaurants, and don't mind spending the time, then you should enjoy it. However, if your focus is riding the rides and seeing the shows, maybe the deluxe plan would not be the best fit for your family.
I'm not a foodie and I'm there for the rides, so I don't have a lot of recommendations. However, 1900 Park Fare is fun, and Be Our Guest is beautiful. BOG is counter service at breakfast and lunch, table service for dinner. Also, Sci-Fi Dine-In is a lot of fun and counts as table service.
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We've been over Christmas in the past and have had some wonderful meals, but I gather from recent reports that Disney are now offering "special meals" on Christmas Day. Previously we've eaten off the standard menu at the California Grill for Christmas Day dinner and that was very special - getting to enjoy the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom, but I understand the special menu probably puts it out of most people's budgets, which is a shame, and I don't think the Dining Plan will apply there on that date.
Our favourites include the Crystal Palace, Boma, Teppan Edo and we've recently had very good experiences at Tiffins, Trattoria al Forno and the Rose and Crown.
When our DS's were younger, they had a few favorites (listed below) that we tried to fit in each trip. Generally, these were favorites for all of us as well so I think you will all enjoy them. I only listed TS restaurants since you are on the Dining Plan.
Non-park Recommendations:
T-Rex at Disney Springs
Beaches N Cream
Whispering Canyon Cafe (Very fun and memorable!)
Ohana
Park Restaurants:
Sci Fi - Studios
50's Prime Time - Studios
Via Napoli - EPCOT
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"Disneyland has that thing - the imagination and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid."
--Walt Disney
Also, you're aware, right, that eating table service meals will take up a lot of your park time? This is more important when the parks are crowded and lines for attractions are long.
If you're all "foodies" and enjoy trying new restaurants, and don't mind spending the time, then you should enjoy it. However, if your focus is riding the rides and seeing the shows, maybe the deluxe plan would not be the best fit for your family.
You will REALLY find you spend a lot of time at meals if you do as many TS as we have on the Deluxe plan. It's typical for us to eat a character meal breakfast, TS lunch and Signature dinner. Not unusual to use 5 credits each in a day eating both lunch and dinner at Sigs.
We love the Deluxe, because we have expensive tastes and enjoy sit-down meals. In fact, I can't count on more than one hand how many QS meals we've eaten in all our trips outside of BOG's, the only ones we really enjoy.
A bit more info about your eating styles and what sorts of food your family enjoys most would help us tailor suggestions to your tastes more nearly.
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I just had my first Christmas trip this past holiday. Honestly, I didn't think the parks were "extremely packed". One night we headed to Epcot (to ride Frozen) and me and the kids were the only ones on the bus from our resort. 3 of us and the driver! We did the Boathouse from r Christmas and had an early dinner. One of the best meals I've had. We headed to AK after for some FP's. Felt like the entire park was editing as we arrived. It was awesome! When we left we had put pick of photopass photogs at the exit as it felt deserted. For us AK is a 2 ride park and done so it worked out. If your fam is such molar I'd considernlater FP's. Totally worth it
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