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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 know it's a buffet, I know you sit at long tables with other diners, but what about the FOOD?? Looking at the menu, I noticed that we eat a lot of German inspired food without knowing it. It all sounds good, so why am I nervous to try it??
We the Biergarten!! I am a very picky eater at times and I always eat a LOT here. The cold salads, the cold meats, the hot meats, mmmm Andy adds "the wonderful smell of kraut". He also really likes the liter of the Hefe that they have there The soup and bread is good. And the dessert buffet is very good, too. That's one place I have to get one of each!
He also added that it's great when you want to just have a relaxing night of eating b/c you go in, you relax, you eat a lot, you drink, and you enjoy all the shows by the band. It's a great time! We've eaten there 3 times in the past two years
Wendy, I've gotta second Melissa's recommendation for Biergarten!
We've always found great food to eat, but like you, we love German inspired food already. We love the sausages, the Wurst salad, the black forest cake, and the apple strudel with vanilla custard sauce is fabulous!
We enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. Good food, good drink, good company!
I agree with the OPs and want to add:
DON"T miss the pretzel bread
Try all the sauces and mustards, YUM!
The large beer is bigger than you think
The potato soup is to die for!!!!!!!!!!!
This is great fun!
I had a great meal when I ate there in September (I walked in at a day trip) and thought everything I had was very tasty. The Dessert Bar was good but I hit it after a rush so well I had to go back for 2nds on desserts to make sure I got to try every thing
Having travelled to Germany, and having experienced the Hofbrauhaus in Munich and many other restaurants in the area I think this was a good representation but obviously not exactly the same
I will say that Biergarten was one of the places that until I walked in (due to not finding anything else available as walk in) and actually tried it was one I said "no thanks" to booking as well. I am a picky eater but I think I was afraid it would take away from my memories of the trip to Germany. Well I can say that I would go again in a heartbeat!
Try it, you'll like it! My mom always said that to me figure it might work for you too
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I love the comment that the larger beer is bigger than you think I had mine finished waaaaay before Andy did We even bought one of the liter mugs for my DFIL!
And YES!! The pretzel bread and the mustard sauce!! How did I forget those!!! (Not together necessarily) but they are verrrry good!!
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we love it too -- and if you're adventurous, you can polka off your dinner. Joey loved the band - Thomas loved the beer -- and I loved the spaetzel and pretzel bread.
Overall, I think Biergarten gets pretty good "coverage" on these boards, although it will never compete with the interest given to the headline table service restaurants and the character meals (especially CRT). We've held PassPorter meets at Biergarten, so it's definitely not a deep, dark secret. I guess among the restaurants at Epcot it's often forgotten because it's a bit less exotic than some, doesn't offer a special view (like hardly-exotic Rose and Crown), or a character experience.
All that said, I give high points to Biergarten for the food. I can't compare it to restaurants in the real Germany, but based on my family's German-style home cooking, and comparing it to other German restaurants here in the U.S. (and there's no shortage of good German restaurants here in Michigan), it's among the best I've had.
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Hi! I have a few questions regarding the Biergarten.
Can you make a reservation for this place? Or is it just walk up? Also, we will be a large group. Is it difficult to get a table?
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I, too, love the Biergarten. We were stationed in Germany when I was younger and I fell in love with the food. The selection at Biergarten is amazing and they don't try to do anything that doesn't translate well to a buffet. It's all very tasty and each dish has it's own unique flavor, unlike some buffets where everything seems to taste the same. If you go for dinner, the Sauerbraten (beef pot roast in a ginger snap gravy) is the best I've had since I was in Germany. And definitely save room for the desserts.
The entertainment is a lot of fun and if you get seated with other guests, it's fun to compare trip stories.
Depending on when you go, you should try to make reservations, especially for a larger group. I'm usually traveling solo and have always been able to get in as a walk-up, but the last couple of times I've had about an hour wait each time because there were so many ADRs.
Hope you enjoy and have a magical tripl.
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Last edited by JacqueBoyles; 01-01-2009 at 04:47 PM..
Hi! I have a few questions regarding the Biergarten.
Can you make a reservation for this place? Or is it just walk up? Also, we will be a large group. Is it difficult to get a table?
Thanks!
It's always better to make an ADR than to walk up. At least with an ADR, you're guaranteed a seat!
And if you've got a large group ... you should definitely make an ADR.
I run a school trip to WDW each year and our last trip (in November) we did a lunch here with all of my kids and chaperones ... we had an ADR and it was still a wait of about 30 minutes until they could accomodate us.
Not a big deal to wait ... but just be advised that it happens!
Hi! I have a few questions regarding the Biergarten.
Can you make a reservation for this place? Or is it just walk up? Also, we will be a large group. Is it difficult to get a table?
Thanks!
For any group, a reservation is strongly recommended. As with most buffet restaurants, it's generally possible to get a reservation at Biergarten for up to around 20 people without going through the Group Reservations department (they'll transfer you to Group Reservations if need be). They can usually arrange for one or two big tables for your whole group. They sometimes limit the time of day when group reservations of this size are accepted, though - expect to not get a reservation at peak meal hours. Walk-ups are usually possible at Biergarten, but walk-ups for a large group are only likely at off-hours - say, after 1:30pm and before 5:30pm. Other buffet restaurants are even harder for walk-ups by groups.
For a la carte restaurants, they usually limit reservations to tables for six or eight. You can reserve several tables, but they won't promise that they'll be adjacent tables. If you want guaranteed reservations with adjacent tables for a larger group, they usually require you go through Group Reservations and may even require a non-refundable deposit. For walk-ups, expect to seat your group at several different, non-adjacent tables, and they probably can't promise to seat all the tables at the same time.
Due to the complications posed by large groups, I usually recommend that there be no more than one full-group meal per day, and encourage the group to break into smaller groups for the other meals of the day. Not only is it less trouble for the group planner, but it makes it easier to please the varying tastes and budgets you encounter in any large group.
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the Biergarten!! I am a very picky eater at times and I always eat a LOT here. The cold salads, the cold meats, the hot meats, mmmm 
Andy adds "the wonderful smell of kraut". He also really likes the liter of the Hefe that they have there 
The soup and bread is good. And the dessert buffet is very good, too. That's one place I have to get one of each!
b/c you go in, you relax, you eat a lot, you drink, and you enjoy all the shows by the band. It's a great time! We've eaten there 3 times in the past two years 
There are so many fascinating places to eat, each one special in its own way!
I love the comment that the larger beer is bigger than you think 
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