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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've been to Crown's twice and loved the food. The atmosphere? Not so much. That is why the second time I went I got my food to go. The servers didn't seem very nice, kinda ignored me as I stood there, not knowing whether to seat myself or not. To a non-St. Louis resident, the place seemed to be out of the tourist's way...but it is worth a visit, I think. Another place in St. Louis food-wise I recommend is Gooey Louie - they make amazing gooey butter cake - Gooey Louie — The Place for Gooey Butter Cake The owner is really nice and I try to convince all my friends/family/co-workers to go there and check it out. And then down the street from them is a Ted Drewe's custard shop.
I've been to Crown's twice and loved the food. The atmosphere? Not so much. That is why the second time I went I got my food to go. The servers didn't seem very nice, kinda ignored me as I stood there, not knowing whether to seat myself or not. To a non-St. Louis resident, the place seemed to be out of the tourist's way...but it is worth a visit, I think. Another place in St. Louis food-wise I recommend is Gooey Louie - they make amazing gooey butter cake - Gooey Louie — The Place for Gooey Butter Cake The owner is really nice and I try to convince all my friends/family/co-workers to go there and check it out. And then down the street from them is a Ted Drewe's custard shop.
Thanks! I will look into the other two places! I've heard of Ted Drewe's but we forgot to go last June. Hopefully, this time we will. Thanks!
We went to Fitz's in the Delmar Loop area and love it! What are your favorite things to go to in St. Louis since your a local?
I'm actually not the best tourism promoter for the city since we really haven't seen many of the typical touristy things. You know the old saw, "The tourists flock to the Statue of Liberty, but a lot of native New Yorkers have never seen it closeup."
Looks like some others have chimed in with suggestions that may fill the bill.
Gooey butter cakes are really tasty, but I rarely eat any because as the saying goes, I might as well just rub it where it's gonna go anyway.
St. Louis-style pizza, on the other hand, is unspeakably gross---thin, cracker-crunchy crust, WAY too sweet sauce and Provel cheese, a local specialty that smells like dirty gym socks, we think. (It doesn't taste that bad, but it's obviously not anything we'll go out looking to get either.)
But then, DH is a native New Yorker, so he's very particular about pizza.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
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I'm actually not the best tourism promoter for the city since we really haven't seen many of the typical touristy things. You know the old saw, "The tourists flock to the Statue of Liberty, but a lot of native New Yorkers have never seen it closeup."
Looks like some others have chimed in with suggestions that may fill the bill.
Gooey butter cakes are really tasty, but I rarely eat any because as the saying goes, I might as well just rub it where it's gonna go anyway.
St. Louis-style pizza, on the other hand, is unspeakably gross---thin, cracker-crunchy crust, WAY too sweet sauce and Provel cheese, a local specialty that smells like dirty gym socks, we think. (It doesn't taste that bad, but it's obviously not anything we'll go out looking to get either.)
But then, DH is a native New Yorker, so he's very particular about pizza.
We went to Imo's pizza and the sauce was really good for the pasta. The pizza not so much
If you're coming to STL, hit Forest Park. It's larger than Central Park and was the site of the 1904 World's Fair. Our zoo is great and located there along with our Art Museum which just opened a new, major expansion. I'd recommend eating at the Boathouse in Forest Park too. If there's a wait, you can feed the ducks on the lake there and rent those little paddle boat things. Crown Candy is o.k. Haven't been in a while though.
If you're coming to STL, hit Forest Park. It's larger than Central Park and was the site of the 1904 World's Fair. Our zoo is great and located there along with our Art Museum which just opened a new, major expansion. I'd recommend eating at the Boathouse in Forest Park too. If there's a wait, you can feed the ducks on the lake there and rent those little paddle boat things. Crown Candy is o.k. Haven't been in a while though.
Thanks! We've been to the zoo it's nice. Haven't really explored Forest Park. We're planning on going to the Science Museum again. The planetarium was closed for an event when we were there. It's a nice museum. Thanks for the info on the other stuff!
Art Museum which just opened a new, major expansion.
Don't think so. We were just there a week ago, and the signs on the barricades all said opening in June. Plus, we are members and received an email saying that we should make reservations now for the special members-only opening in early June.
Personally, I wouldn't advise going there until after the expansion opens. It's kind of a hassle now with displays fairly scanty due to so many pieces being stored until the renovation is finished.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Don't think so. We were just there a week ago, and the signs on the barricades all said opening in June. Plus, we are members and received an email saying that we should make reservations now for the special members-only opening in early June.
Personally, I wouldn't advise going there until after the expansion opens. It's kind of a hassle now with displays fairly scanty due to so many pieces being stored until the renovation is finished.
There is Gus' Pretzels too. It is down by the A-B Brewery.
There is the Magic House in Kirkwood, my kids love it there.
You can take a tour of Busch Stadium, depending on what time of year you come or their schedule.
The Museum of Transportation is a lot of fun for the kids, and is great if you like trains.
The City Museum is downtown and is very unique. You can have quite the adventure there.
Crown Candy isn't bad, the other negative for it is the area it is in. The neighborhood can be questionable.
Ted Drewes is a great choice to do to. Do not be discouraged by the long lines. They move fast.
You can message me if you need or want other ideas. There are some really cool State Parks if you want to hear about those. I'm more than happy to help someone be a tourist in STL!!
I've been to Crown's twice and loved the food. The atmosphere? Not so much. That is why the second time I went I got my food to go. The servers didn't seem very nice, kinda ignored me as I stood there, not knowing whether to seat myself or not. To a non-St. Louis resident, the place seemed to be out of the tourist's way...but it is worth a visit, I think. Another place in St. Louis food-wise I recommend is Gooey Louie - they make amazing gooey butter cake - Gooey Louie — The Place for Gooey Butter Cake The owner is really nice and I try to convince all my friends/family/co-workers to go there and check it out. And then down the street from them is a Ted Drewe's custard shop.
Is Gooey Louie close to where we will be staying is it downtown?
RAMADA PLAZA HOTEL ST. LOUIS DOWNTOWN CONVENTION CENTER
811 N. 9th Street, Washington Ave and N. 9th St, St. Louis, MO 63101 US
There is Gus' Pretzels too. It is down by the A-B Brewery.
There is the Magic House in Kirkwood, my kids love it there.
You can take a tour of Busch Stadium, depending on what time of year you come or their schedule.
The Museum of Transportation is a lot of fun for the kids, and is great if you like trains.
The City Museum is downtown and is very unique. You can have quite the adventure there.
Crown Candy isn't bad, the other negative for it is the area it is in. The neighborhood can be questionable.
Ted Drewes is a great choice to do to. Do not be discouraged by the long lines. They move fast.
You can message me if you need or want other ideas. There are some really cool State Parks if you want to hear about those. I'm more than happy to help someone be a tourist in STL!!
Michael
Thanks for all the info! Yeah, I had heard go during the daytime because the area isn't too great. We haven't made up our mind about it yet. We are planning on going to the City Museum, Fitz's, St. Louis Science Center, and the St. Louis Outlet Mall in Hazelwood. We will have to go to Ted Drewes. What's the flavor (special) that everyone gets?
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