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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Today we have the DVC Poly presentation to attend (at SSR) and so we decided to go to DTD. We did some shopping and a lot of looking around at all the construction going on – it’s going to be pretty spectacular when it is all completed.
A view of DTD, soon to be Disney Springs.
We checked the app for dining options and saw availability at the House of Blues and, having never eaten there before, decided to check it out.
Inside the House of Blues
Cathedral Ceiling
Checking out the menu, DW selects the Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese and I get the Juicy Lucy Burger with fries.
Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Juicy Lucy
After lunch we do some more wandering around and shopping. Eventually we make our way over to SSR, via the new walkway, for the Poly presentation. They put on a very entertaining show with a ukulele player and two hula dancers from the Poly luau show. After the presentation, which was pretty informative, they split us up into groups. Group 1 goes right over to check the model deluxe studio room. Group 2 goes for Dole Whips and meets with Stitch and Group 3 goes for snacks/appetizers. The groups then rotate. The studios are supposed to be the largest available of the DVC resorts (sorry, OKW, there go the bragging rights) and the bathroom set up is rather spectacular. A fold down bed also means the studios sleep 5 so I can see the immediate appeal for some families. However, because of the fold out bed there is no dresser. In fact the only storage area seen was a single drawer in the bed and the coffee table/hutch. So, Mom & Dad and the 3 kids all have places to sleep but they’re going to have to live out of their suitcases for a week?
Aloha!
So, a bit of a short day today but a fun and informative one!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Today we decided on Epcot but when I go to check MDE for dining and FP+, it looks like MDE has crapped out. So, we head off to the park and plan to find a FP kiosk and see what we can do. I guess here is the downside to not making plans prior.
Arriving at Epcot and the FP+ kiosk, we confirm MDE is down but the kiosks are alive and well. We select Soarin’, Spaceship Earth & Nemo. We make our way over to Spaceship Earth but, just prior to our FP time, the ride goes down. We’re not really interested in waiting around so we head off to Sunshine Seasons, in The Land, for some lunch. DW decides on the Turkey on Focaccia and I go for the Fish Tacos, both are very good.
Tasty turkey!
Fantastic fish!
And for dessert: The Caramel Apple Crunch
After lunch, there is a short wait for The Land so we decide to go on that. I am continually impressed with the work and research they are doing there.
It’s time to take our trip ‘round the world! We head off to the World Showcase and our first stop is Mexico and the Fiesta Boat Ride. Curious - when going through the World Showcase, do you go clockwise or counter-clockwise? Enquiring minds want to know!
We arrive at Germany right at Snack Time, which means… beer and pretzel! This is quickly becoming a recurring event for us.
Mmmm… Pilsner!
Germany also means a stop at the Karmel-Kuche for tasty sweet caramel treats.
Stopping for a smoke in Italy, we suddenly hear a beating drum and blaring trumpet as we catch our first display of the new the flag wavers. It’s a pretty good show, made a bit more challenging with the “delightful breeze” that was blowing.
Concluding our trip around the world showcase, we see the chair stackers in France and stop by the Twinnings store, in the UK, for tea. It’s time to head back now as we have to do laundry, pack, grab dinner on the Boardwalk and get everything else ready for our cruise departure tomorrow.
I will continue the cruise portion on a DCL trip report thread and then resume here with our returning 5 night stay at OKW.
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
A view of DTD, soon to be Disney Springs. 
Inside the House of Blues
Cathedral Ceiling
Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Juicy Lucy
Aloha!
I'd love to see the new villas at the Poly. 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Tasty turkey!
Fantastic fish!
The Caramel Apple Crunch
Mmmm… Pilsner!
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