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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hello,
We have just changed our dates for our 1st trip with our 5 year old to Nov.14th-20th 2011. And our dates before hand were Sept.24-Oct.4th. Was this a good change? We were going to stay at AKL but we decided to do Poly.....Was this a good Move? And Deluxe dining is that a good move as well? Well hope to hhear what everyone has to say
Justin
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"Mr. Baxter, if you think you're seeing mermaids and sea monsters, you've been submerged too long!" Captain Nemo, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Can you really go wrong with the Poly? Being on the monorail line with a wee one will make touring even easier for breaks or naps.
Deluxe dining. . . while we have only experienced the basic package, and can't imagine traveling to WDW without it, some of our friends did the Deluxe plan. What they said was that 3 sit down meals a day was 1) lots of food, 2) lots of time, and 3) lots of tip money. They said the only way it would make sense for them again would be if they were booking many dining events that required 2 dining credits from the plan.
We traveled to WDW with our son when he was 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Snacks, lovies, a pillow case from home, a stroller (even at 5), and comfortable shoes for all of us were top on the packing list.
You've got several more months of Disney dreaming and planning. Enjoy the anticipation!
I love the Poly can't go wrong with it being on the monorail, especially with a little one. I agree about the deluxe plan a lot of food and time. I found it hard enough to schedule one sit down meal a day couldn't imagine doing 3 and my kids don't eat that much at meals so we prefer a lot of counter services anyway.
We've only done basic dining plan and that is plenty of food for us. Even the counter meals come with dessert, so by the time we eat our sandwich and fries and a desert, we're stuffed and are not hungry before dinner time. We rarely even use all of our snack credits by the end of the trip and have to use them up with packaged candy or what not. Can't imagine 3 full sit down meals each day. I mean, you can do counter meals with deluxe credits, but you'd be wasting your money. To get the full value of the plan, you need to do 3 sit down meals a day.
As far as the dates go, I hope someone comes along and shares!! We might be going that same time frame and I'm hoping for relatively low crowds!!
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Stephanie- Mom to Jaden and Emerson, Wife to Keith, Novelist
I'm an independent agent with Fairytale Journeys, specializing in Disney vacations!
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The only thing for us is that we've been to the parks many times so food is a biggie for us. If you are looking to do the max for rides you will want to stick with an early breakfast, snacks for lunch followed by 2 credit dinners. You will definitely not go hungry!
You cannot go wrong with the Poly, and I'm ALL about the deluxe dining plan. We have always done 2-3 sit-down meals per day, when DD was 2,3 and 4/5. It provides a good break from the over-stimulation / excitement of the parks.
greetings! i can't comment on the hotel or the meal plan, but i CAN comment on the time of the year! we were there pretty much those EXACT same dates this past november (for a teacher convention--don't worry, it is in chicago next year, so disney is safe from a swarm of red-pencil-wielding english teachers!) and it was FANTASTIC. if i could go there every year at that time (i can't) i would. the longest we waited in line was for dumbo (my HUSBAND insisted on riding it...sigh...) and that was only 20 minutes. we didn't even have a plan of attack--we wandered around and got on to every ride in the magic kingdom--well, with the exception of a few things we didn't care about. but we rode our favorites twice (BTMRR, Haunted Mansion, and the teacups), and that was WITH a sit-down lunch and the fact that my husband had to leave the park at 6pm to make a meeting at CR!. the next day i all but had AK to myself (and i was by myself, so that was 'wild'!), and evening EMH at epcot was great as well.
my post trip report is here if you are interested in it:
(sorry i don't know how to insert that as a link--i pressed 'link' but then i couldn't 'paste') EDIT: oh look at that--it turned itself into a link!!!
have a great trip! i'm super jealous of your choice of resort. i wanted POLY for my upcoming mother's day trip, but my mother fell in love with the idea of AKL and, well, it IS her day!
I think you've chosen a great time of year to visit. The weather should be nice and the crowds low. The Poly is a good choice. It's right on the monorail making it easy to get to MK and Epcot. The deluxe plan is a lot of food and time, but here's a few tips that might make it more enjoyable: 1. Plan an early breakfast, before park opening if you can. 2. Make your dinner plans as late as you can. 3. Try to find a buffet for lunch if possible. 4. Another way to go is to have a small snack in the morning, an early lunch and a signature dining experience in the evening. Three meals a day does eat into your park time (no pun intended), but if you enjoy restaurants, its the way to go. Have a great trip!
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