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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm glad they refunded some points for the sink problem, but really, there's no excuse for your having to live with it that way!
I've taken to carrying a zip-lock bag and small tupperware container with me to the parks to pack things from QS spots without take-out containers. It adds to the gear I tote, but I've used them so many times.
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so sorry about the room situation. at least they gave you compensation. that cupcake does look yummy. i love sangria too, when i go to disney, i want to try them. did you buy a shirt and scarf at the shop at AK?
What a great morning at AK! I especially love the safari pictures. So cool you got to see the lion roar! Sorry you had to deal with the leaky sink, but glad to hear you got some compensation for your troubles.
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Sounds like a great time at AK. That is so cool that you got to hear the lion roar!! Sorry the sink still wasn't fixed, but I'm glad to hear that at least Disney gave you a refund on your points.
We've always liked Pizzafari so it will be interesting see what it is like after the refurb. That elephant cupcake is so adorable, but boy is it huge. Is the elephant all icing? I can't believe how long you two have had to put up with that ridiculous sink.
First off that cupcake!!! Wow!!! I love shopping in AK. I find so much there that I usually buy. I buy earrings from Expedition Everest store nearly every time. Well I hate to hear you had troubles but I"m glad that they gave you some money back!
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How cool that you got to hear the lion roar! The only lion I've heard roar is at FotLK.
I love all your MM photos!! I have to beg my family to stop at the photographers. Next trip I'll just go on my own and a couple more of just me.
Desserts looked good! But did you girls buy all of the ones in the picture? If so, no wonder you couldn't finish the elephant cupcake. I would've gone into sugar shock.
I had to stop and think about what you meant by "shark week". I'm a little slow sometimes, but I did get it eventually.
A nice time in the AK but sorry you've had to deal with that sink problem so long!
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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!
We've always liked Pizzafari so it will be interesting see what it is like after the refurb. That elephant cupcake is so adorable, but boy is it huge. Is the elephant all icing? I can't believe how long you two have had to put up with that ridiculous sink.
We had the elephant cupcake on our last trip, and the elephant was in fact white chocolate. The whole thing was delicious, but SUPER-sweet, and with hindsight we should have shared one!
Sorry to highjack the report, carry on!
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Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
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I could see it being a much bigger concern if there were children, definitely a safety hazard!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pictures from AK! Sorry about the sink!
Thank you
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disneybine
Wow, that cupcake looks SOOOO good right now!
It was very tasty!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
I'm glad they refunded some points for the sink problem, but really, there's no excuse for your having to live with it that way!
I've taken to carrying a zip-lock bag and small tupperware container with me to the parks to pack things from QS spots without take-out containers. It adds to the gear I tote, but I've used them so many times.
They actually gave us a cash credit on the room. I try to take as little into the parks with me as possible, but that's a great idea!
Quote:
Originally Posted by a_bernard
so sorry about the room situation. at least they gave you compensation. that cupcake does look yummy. i love sangria too, when i go to disney, i want to try them. did you buy a shirt and scarf at the shop at AK?
Yep I bought a shirt and scarf and I think a few other things as well.. it was one of the bigger purchases of the trip
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
What a great morning at AK! I especially love the safari pictures. So cool you got to see the lion roar! Sorry you had to deal with the leaky sink, but glad to hear you got some compensation for your troubles.
Thank you
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like a great time at AK. That is so cool that you got to hear the lion roar!! Sorry the sink still wasn't fixed, but I'm glad to hear that at least Disney gave you a refund on your points.
Yeah we finally started to feel like someone at least CARED that there was a problem with our room.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
We've always liked Pizzafari so it will be interesting see what it is like after the refurb. That elephant cupcake is so adorable, but boy is it huge. Is the elephant all icing? I can't believe how long you two have had to put up with that ridiculous sink.
I didn't know they were refurbing it! And it was super cute but the elephant was white chocolate, which luckily I enjoy
Quote:
Originally Posted by scdisneyfan
First off that cupcake!!! Wow!!! I love shopping in AK. I find so much there that I usually buy. I buy earrings from Expedition Everest store nearly every time. Well I hate to hear you had troubles but I"m glad that they gave you some money back!
Definitely one of my favorite places to shop as well!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
How cool that you got to hear the lion roar! The only lion I've heard roar is at FotLK.
I love all your MM photos!! I have to beg my family to stop at the photographers. Next trip I'll just go on my own and a couple more of just me.
Desserts looked good! But did you girls buy all of the ones in the picture? If so, no wonder you couldn't finish the elephant cupcake. I would've gone into sugar shock.
I had to stop and think about what you meant by "shark week". I'm a little slow sometimes, but I did get it eventually.
LOL! And thankfully Ellie is always photo ready just like me We made a point to get our money's worth! But they are always great when I'm solo too! No that was just a picture of all the dessert options they had. The paw one in front is what I had tried to order... I'm glad you got my reference in the end! A nicer way to put it for public reading
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
A nice time in the AK but sorry you've had to deal with that sink problem so long!
Thanks, it was really a bummer!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silvercat
We had the elephant cupcake on our last trip, and the elephant was in fact white chocolate. The whole thing was delicious, but SUPER-sweet, and with hindsight we should have shared one!
After our little break the plan was to head to DTD for dinner and shopping. We decided we wanted to try the walking trail as it was a beautiful night and we like a little bit of exercise We got some directions and headed off…
We think we found our way and we were going by the golf course and all, and then we just kept going! We started to worry we had gone the wrong way somehow until finally we started to see signs of DTD and started to feel better. Also, I just realized I still call it “Downtown Disney” does anyone know if they’ve officially changed over the busses and everything to “Disney Springs”?
We finally made it after quite a walk and I was starving so I started with a smoothie as we headed into shopping land. The walk puts you on the West Side which was less than ideal for our goals at the moment...
Smoothie Selfie
Still lots of construction going on...
We also checked out the new food truck area but everything was a little too filling for my goals at the moment…
We started to head off towards the Marketplace for all the new stuff that had opened, but stopped at the Fit2Run store on the way. Not much that we loved here, a lot of it I could find easily at home at a sports store etc.
We finally got over to the new stuff and LOVE new Co Op store! A lot of fun stuff that’s a little more “unique” and a lot of nicer items as well. World of Disney didn't really have anything we hadn't already seen except the Disney Pandora with the castle clasp! So we spent some time here trying to figure it all out, and determined that I would buy the new Pandora bracelet and be able to return the other one to DHS where I got it (which I probably could have done anywhere) so that was somewhat of a hassle to figure out but ultimately I’m much happier having the Disney Parks Exclusive band I apparently took no pics in these stores, so sorry
We were meeting my friend who worked at GF (just got a new job this month, still with Disney though!) for dinner at Raglan Road so we headed back that direction as the ADR time was approaching and we were hungry. We found Tabitha and exchanged hugs and headed to check in. We ended up being a little early and waiting outside but were ultimately sat at our ADR time.
Dinner was delish and the entertainers were so talented. But service was spotty and we experienced a long lull between app and entrees. Probably won’t be returning here immediately but in a few years. Bad service really does me in for a place.
Their wonderful bread with Guinness reduction
Beer Battered Onion Rings
Go(at) Fig(ure) - Irish goat's cheese terrines made with sauteed garlic, shallots, shiitake mushrooms in an herb breadcrumb crust served with a fig jam, roasted beets and toasted walnuts with mixed greens. Add chicken
Mammy's Roast Chicken - Lemon thyme roasted half chicken with mashed potatoes, creamy herb sauce and red wine jus
We didn’t have room for dessert
TiW Savings: $19.50
We opted to hop on a boat back after all that walking (and it was dark out now) and received a call from Kathy while at boat dock. She was letting us know the sink was not being fixed. We stopped and chatted in person back at the hotel and she was so apologetic and helpful! They were actually going to have to shut off the water to the building to fix it, so we had to wait until they could notify everyone to make the repair. She made sure the towels were cleaned up and we had lots extra and we said goodnight and headed home.
It really was a beautiful night but we were ready to hit the hay! I’m sure we reviewed our Photopass pics, maybe with a glass of wine, and headed to bed!
Day 5 -
Total Steps:18,634
Highlight: getting a special Pandora bracelet!
Something New: the Disney Springs updates
Tip for Next Time: if you want to shop, walking from OKW might not be the best option for DTD
where is that walking path to Disney Springs? and i read that you can buy cheap alcohol at an Hess Station close to Disney Springs. Do you know where that is and if you can walk.
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I've done that walk from SSR to DTD once sort of accidentally with my sister, niece, and nephew. We were actually traveling back to the resort and thought it would be quicker than waiting for a bus or boat. Not really!
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I'm a little slow sometimes, but I did get it eventually.
I apparently took no pics in these stores, so sorry 
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