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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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This idea of having a QS meal with an ADR is confusing me when it comes to planning time estimates. MK will open at 9 am and we have an ADR at BOG for an 8:15 am breakfast. How long should I estimate for this ADR? I know you preorder your meal options so is 30-45 minutes a proper estimate or will we need longer? Also, what time should we plan to be at MK to get in and arrive on time for our BOG ADR? We would be staying at the GF so it shouldn't be too difficult to get there, I was thinking about 30 minutes to take the boat (or monorail, if it's running that early). Thanks for all your help.
Sounds like about how much time we used for BOG breakfast, although personally, I'd rethink eating that one if I were you.
The food was not that great. DH had the open-faced bacon and egg sandwich which was as cold as if pulled out of the fridge, literally, even though he said it tasted great otherwise. My eggs florentine had so little spinach it was a joke. The supposedly roasted tomatoes tasted like off-season Romas briefly steamed and chilled. The pastries weren't any better than from a box at the grocery.
However, if the BOG experience is what you're primarily wanting, that's a great time to do the breakfast. You'll be able easily to wander around gawking at the decor. It likely won't be terribly crowded, although on a major holiday, who knows?
(Wouldn't you rather do Crystal Palace? We sure would. )
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Last edited by Her Dotness; 04-27-2016 at 08:54 AM..
I would likely prefer something else food-wise. However, we are only stopping at WDW for one night (7/4-7/5) on our way home from Naples/Marco Island and before heading to Savannah, GA. We were originally planning it as a no park trip but are now thinking of doing just a half day before leaving on the 5th. Since we will have limited park time I was going for the ADR to get us in early and position us to maximize the number of attractions we are able to fit in along with FP+ options. If something else shows up with an ADR between 8:00-8:30 am that morning I may jump on it, but at the moment BOG will have to do and we'll cross our fingers that the food is not cold.
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It usually takes us 30 to 45 minutes for our lunch ADR with pre ordering there but we don't rush it either. I think your time estimates are fine but just keep in mind, if you do another ADR in the park, it's going to be a character meal and take longer so I guess you have to take your pick - the shorter meal where some people haven't had good experiences (and those are always subjective) or the longer character meal you may not really want in the first place.
It usually takes us 30 to 45 minutes for our lunch ADR with pre ordering there but we don't rush it either. I think your time estimates are fine but just keep in mind, if you do another ADR in the park, it's going to be a character meal and take longer so I guess you have to take your pick - the shorter meal where some people haven't had good experiences (and those are always subjective) or the longer character meal you may not really want in the first place.
That's a good point I had not considered; that the character interactions will take longer. I think we'll have to take our chances with the QS. At least the restaurant is beautiful! I'm happy to hear that 30-45 minutes should do, that way it will coordinate perfectly with park opening.
I booked a breakfast ADR at BOG for our trip in September. You can used the QS dining plan for breakfast and lunch, correct? We haven't been to Disney since Jan. 2013, and so much has changed!!!
You get your utensils and drinks at a station in each room with a CM bringing your food on a delivery cart. It's a bit of a mix of QS and TS as a result.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
We did the Be Our Guest breakfast in February with an 8 am reservation, on the day of the Princess Half Marathon.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom, and showed our ADR to the CM with the clipboard, who let us enter, but the race was going through Magic Kingdom at that point. It was great fun to walk down Main Street watching the runners, but it got a little hairy when we had to cross through the field of runners to get to Beast's Castle at the back of the park.
Because of the race, we arrived about 7:55, and went to the podium to check in, and were directed to the pre-order line. It was interesting to see that there was no one in the regular line. At 8:00, they did the opening ceremony, which was cute. We went in, paid our bill, and chose a seat. (There were many when we arrived, and few when we left!) We got drinks, took a few photos and sat down at our table. Within minutes, the CM was there with the cart with our meals and our pastry tray. We took our time eating, and then went to the other rooms to check out the decor. As we left, even taking our time, it was only about 8:35 or so, and it was great fun walking around MK watching the empty park, as other guests had no been allowed back yet. We had ridden 7 Dwarves Mine Train the night before, so we just enjoyed the scenery, but we could have gotten in line and ridden first.
I agree that the food was odd - but I thought it was still good. The eggs florentine do suffer from a lack of spinach - I wouldn't call it that, just scrambled eggs in puff pastry, but mine were warm and tasty. For counter service food, they were good, even though expensive. Those on a budget could just order a kid's meal, although I don't know if that would work on the dining plan. We don't use the plan - doesn't work well for our family.