Don't Stop - Disney part 2 UPATED 5/5 - Page 29 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great pictures of Illuminations!!! The park looked absouletly empty on Christmas day! How were the crowds?
The crowds were fairly low. I suspect a lot of that was to do with the fact that the forecast wasn't great and it looked very overcast. Of course, most people were probably in the Magic Kingdom too.
Great updates, Chez! Sorry you missed some PPers, but at least you got to meet Suzi and her daughter. I think watching Illuminations is a lovely way to spend Christmas Eve. Can't wait to hear about the best entree.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Glad you had low crowds in Epcot on Christmas Morning. We had low crowds on our Christmas morning in AK in 2008, and we totally skipped MK which we heard was closed to new guests by 10am that morning. I think Epcot closed also a little later that day. It was really nice to enjoy the quiet.
Friday 25 December – part two: the best entree in Disney!
We landed and walked into Italy.
We made it to Tutto Italia dot on our dining time and were quickly seated, but not before hearing a conversation with a guy who was a walk up and wanted a table for 3.00. He was shocked to be told that the only available times were either 5.15 or 8.15 or they could seat them now and that was it. I’m not surprised by it at all. I’m just surprised that they had any space left at all on Christmas Day.
This restaurant really is beautiful and, to be honest, it wouldn’t be out of place as a signature restaurant, it’s that nice in here. Just before we left, we did see a guy come in in a suit with a bow tie and his other half had a stunning red dress on. They didn’t look out of place at all.
I opted for the buffalo mozzarella, vine ripened tomatoes, basil and Tuscan olive oil as appetiser, as I remembered that being so good the last time we were here.
Mark remembered the calamari fritti with spicy marinara sauce not being so good, so went for the minestrone soup this time and, having tried a bit of his, it was excellent. Mine was very good, but needed just a little more salt for my taste.
When it came to entree though, my ravioli all’ aragosta, lobster ravioli with truffled tomato sauce, was absolutely perfect. I would go as far as to say that it was the best entree that I have had here so far.
Mark went for the fish of the day, which was Mahi Mahi with olives, capers and lemon butter sauce, thinking that it would be a light choice, but it wasn’t at all. I tried a bit of it and my goodness, it was very rich and quite heavy. I was quite surprised by that.
Because of that, Mark was stuffed by the time it got to dessert, so didn’t have any, but I went for the trio of desserts, which included the coffee panna cotta, the chocolate mouse cake and the lemon ricotta cheesecake. Of those, the panna cotta was by far the best. It was so lightly and beautifully flavoured.
Our server, Gianluca, was very helpful, without being overpowering and he always seemed to be there when we needed him, although he wasn’t hovering at all.
I also got a Rossini, a strawberry version of a Bellini, which I can’t have anymore, due to my fruit allergy. It was excellent and I’ll definitely be having it again.
This meal was not cheap. Even without Mark having dessert, it came to $100, which is only $30 or $40 less than some of the signature meals that we’ve had so far this vacation. I really wouldn’t like to pay for this out of pocket, but on the Dining Plan, it’s excellent value, as it’s only one credit and one I would come back to, as the food always delivers here.
Tutto Italia:
Appetiser 8½ 9½
Entree 10 9½
Dessert 9½ N/A
Service 9 9
Atmosphere 9 9
Value for money 8 8
Average score: 9.00
When we came out of there, we wandered through the shops in Italy, admiring the beautiful Venetian masks and the selection of wine they have there, both looked very nice.
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Great Christmas day lunch @Tutto Italia! I wouldn't hesitate to add it to our list of places to try, although I may not be able to convince Peter.....(I'll have to show him your yummy pictures!!!) Great update!!
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Deb
Can't wait to hear about the best entree. 
Congrats on getting the A line for boarding, too. 
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Tutto Italia! I'm glad you had a great Christmas lunch there!
Great update!!
Susan
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