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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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What are the seating areas like? Are they big cafeteria style or outdoor seating or just individual restaurant type seating? I know we are all going to want to eat at different places/have different food, so I'm just wondering if we'd all be able to get our food at the desired location and then eat in a common area.
Well, it really depends on the restaurant. A place like Seasons in the Land Pavillion at Epcot has a large amount of seating inside Yet a place like Yakatori House in Japan at Epcot has limited inside and outside seating
Do you have an idea already of where you want to eat or think you'll be eating? It would be easier to comment on individual restaurants directly!
ETA, I just realized this was US/IOA and not WDW. Most of the ones at US that we've been to have good sized seating areas for their restaurants. One we went to only had outdoor seating (pizza place in US near ET), and some only had indoor!
Like WDW, USF has counter service restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating areas. It really does depend on the restaurant and the park that you are looking at eating at. Have you checked the menus? Universal Orlando Resort Menus Maybe if we had more information we could help you more specifically.
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Say one of us wants pizza from Louies and another wants a burger from Mel's Drive Inn. Could one of us bring our dinner from Louie's and eat at Mel's or is there a courtyard or "combined" dining area we could all eat together at? Pictures I have seen of Circus McGurkus looks like it is a big cafeteria seating area, so I'm assuming if one of us gets their meal elsewhere, they could bring it in and eat with the rest of us with no problem?
I would think that you would have no trouble whatsoever doing that. There's definitely an outdoor eating area at Mel's. I don't remember outdoor seating at Circus McGurkus (although that doesn't mean it's not there, just that I don't remember it), but I'd say that so long as one of you is eating food from the CS restaurant, I can't see why anybody would complain if you were to all sit together in one place.
Say one of us wants pizza from Louies and another wants a burger from Mel's Drive Inn. Could one of us bring our dinner from Louie's and eat at Mel's or is there a courtyard or "combined" dining area we could all eat together at? Pictures I have seen of Circus McGurkus looks like it is a big cafeteria seating area, so I'm assuming if one of us gets their meal elsewhere, they could bring it in and eat with the rest of us with no problem?
I've never seen problems in doing that. Now trying to carry the food from one restaurant to another without running into a guest or a runaway stroller is another thing!
I don't recall a counter service restaurant that doesn't have outdoor seating at USF or IOA. Louie's might not have outdoor seating, though, but I think I remember a few outdoor tables. If you really want to eat outside in Louie's, you can always find a nearby bench.
Thunder Falls Terrace at IOA used to have outdoor seating. The problem was the outdoor seating was very close to the splash from the Jurassic Park River Adventure. So if you sat at a table that was close enough, you would get splashed every time a boat came down! Last time I checked, the outdoor tables were removed.
The restaurants at US/IOA are scattered throughout the parks, much like WDW park restaurants. So there's not a "food court" type area, where restaurants are grouped.
Our favorite is the Midway Grill, right next to Jaws. They have Nathan's hot dogs and the best fries! Midway has outside seating only. The tables overlook the Jaws ride, so you can watch the boats sailing through Amity while you eat. Richter's Burgers has a large indoor seating area. If I remember correctly it has 2 levels of dining rooms.
Enchanted Oak is our favorite counter service at IOA. Nice, large dining area, and a great escape from the heat outdoors!
Like others said, I don't think anyone would mind if you brought food from one restaurant into another, but you may be walking halfway around the park to get from one to another.
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Yet a place like Yakatori House in Japan at Epcot has limited inside and outside seating 
Michelle - with my step sisters!
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