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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Last I was at Disney I was 13, and EPCOT had just opened. Now my kids are 11 and 8, and we took our first trip to WDW (albeit after two Disney Cruises)
I'm a planning nut, like most on these forums, and had about 8 months to plan, read, plan, adjust, etc.
We had our 4 and my in-laws for 8 nights/ 9 days. We also had my parents come down for 2 days, and my brother's family for 2 days. We all stayed at POP Century.
Some thoughts on our trip, highlights and lowlights:
- Number one tip - especially with the ages ranging from 4 months to 75 - Sarah Varney's "Do less, enjoy more". Still hit the parks 8 days in a row, but never got burned out, as we returned early, or took a break mid-day.
- Touring Plans' Lines app was great. Used it a lot more than Disney's Mobile Magic.
- After hearing how easy it was to find DME at the Orlando airport, I was surprised to find how little signage there was - not that it was difficult, but I thought there would be obvious signage.
- With free QS dining, we were desserted out by the end of our trip. Wish that all of the QS dining places had options for fruit, etc. for desserts for a little healthier eating.
- Loved the QS at the Contempo Cafe
- Rooms at POP were great. Very little noise, though would have really liked a queen size bed!
- Staff and almost everyone we met there was very friendly. Kind of hokey, but I loved the birthday wishes I got when I wore my birthday pin - well over 30 people (CM's and guests) went out of their way to wish me a Happy Birthday.
- 'Ohana was awesome
- Most disappointing show: Captain EO. Blah. While Soarin' was kind of cool, I just don't get the hype. I thought this wasn't much more than any IMAX movie I had been to.
- Giving away fastpasses at the end of our day was fun for the kids, and the recipients!
- Best dessert was the Butterfinger cupcake at Starring Rolls
- Loved the theming on almost all the rides - so much different than a Six Flags or Cedar Point thrill ride experience. Best of show was probably Splash Mountain and escaping through the briar patch.
- Worst QS meal - Chili Cheese dog at the POP
- Best QS meal - the Kefta sandwich at the Tangierine Cafe in EPCOT. The sliders combo was excellent too!
- Best QS value may have been the Norwegian Club sandwich, fruit cup, soda and sweet pretzel at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe in Norway.
- Most aggravating transportation situation: Heading to Cirque at DD - left AK at 4:30, and didn't arrive at DD until 6:00pm. Got to our seats right at the intro to the show.
- By and large the buses were great - even late around 11:30 at MK, they had 4 buses loading at once to go to POP.
- How is it that Disney can build Everest, animate presidents, yet can't design a napkin dispenser that works?!?
- The Chase Visa card area for Illuminations was really nice. Lots of space, and prime viewing area, and no need to get there early.
- While I was surprised there weren't more photopass locations, it was well worth the $99 for the service, especially since we had so many family members with us. We even had someone take our picture while in the front of the Barnstormer!
- The Passporter Guide was fantastic
- It feels like Disney leaves you in the dark re: the QS dining plan. Yes, you get a entree, drink and dessert - but what could we get for a dessert? We had to ask the first day. Nowhere in the literature did I see it mention that you could use a credit for a continental breakfast, but once we asked, we were shown the picture that they keep at the registers.
- Gold Peak iced tea - blah. I love iced tea, and was looking forward to it, but too often it tasted like two day old tea.
- DME was awesome. On both ends. My in-laws flew Spirit Airlines, and they did not have the same experience as us on Southwest, as we hardly touched our bags.
- Use the WD Railroad to start your day at MK. We did this on MK day two, and went immediately to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mtn Railroad. This made a big difference to the older crowd not having to walk as far. We then took it to Fantasyland, and back to the buses.
- Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor was awesome, and not just because I had to get up and dance :-)
- We bought LED glowsticks for the trip, and they were fantastic for keeping track of everyone. Just held them up in the air if we got separated at night.
- I used Debra Gordon at Mouse Fan Travel, and would definitely use her again. Great service, and very helpful
- I wouldn't eat at Pizza Planet again, but thought that the ABC Commissary was pretty good.
- Really disappointed that we didn't do Agent P's World Showcase Adventure until our 3rd (1/2 day) visit to EPCOT. My daughter & I had so much fun with that. Like geocaching, there are so many things that no one else knows about that you get to do - like the Glockenspiel in Norway, Creating zombies in the train village near Russia, making the steins sing in Germany, going into China and saying "It must be worth a fortune" and getting a cookie - way cool.
Thanks to all the Passporterboards friends that helped with planning tips and advice. Great to be a part of such a friendly group!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
To get into the Chase Illuminations area, you need to have a wristband. I'm assuming this area is only set up for FWF dates, as Chase is a sponsor.
You get the wristband at the Chase Lounge in Future World at the Festival Center near Universe of Energy. You can also get them (we did) in the World Showcase across from the Eat to the Beat stage - they had a booth set up there.
If you visit the lounge, you can get afree drink. You can get up to 10 people in with one card - or 10 bracelets for those present. They do have a limited number.
Don't forget you can also do the "private" meet & greet at Innoventions West, and get your free 5x7 picture with your Disney Visa card.
I don't want to oversell the viewing area - it's basically standing only (we sat on the ground until the show started), but it was nice not to have to think about where we were going to see the show, or get there way ahead of time - we showed up about 15 mins before show time. The area is right at the entrance to the World Showcase between the two gift shops - which made for a quick getaway to the buses after the show too.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
for sharing your thoughts and highlights about your trip! 
Dana
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
