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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My 16 year old son has autism. He is a very picky eater, chicken nuggets, pizza, hot dog and spaghetti are about it. My question is can he eat off the kids menu at sit down meals. Also will Disney do anything for buffets ( I know they work with people who have had weight loss surgery. I feel like it is a waste to pay adult prices for him to eat chicken nuggets. Not trying to cheat Disney and will pay it if we need to just wondering if they will help any?
The only time I've heard of Disney restaurants caring about who orders what off of what menu is when one of the dining plans are involved and even then it's that a Disney child (kids 3-9) must order off the kids menu if one is available. I just ordered a kids meal at McDonalds last night for myself last night and I'm 45 without a problem. I've gotten mac & cheese at the resort food court without a problem even though it's only been listed as a kids meal option. At a table service restaurant you might receive and be charged for an adult serving.
At the buffets, you will pay adult prices for him but don't forget, it's buffet so while he may only eat chicken nuggets or pizza, he can eat as much of it as he wants. I have an Autistic daughter and we typically eat buffets and when she was younger and picky (she's outgrown it and eats just about anything now) I would use the buffets as a time to get her to try something new since we could literally take just a small spoonful of something. Sometimes it worked and we found something else she would eat at the meal, other times it didn't work but at least we tried.
At the regular TS meals where they serve you, as long as you're not using a dining plan credit, you can order whatever you want and I wouldn't get into an explanation to the servers about the Autism unless you want to. I'd just keep it simple and say "he only feels like this today." As for portion sizes (child or adult) I would think it depends upon the server or restaurant. Anytime we got a kids meal, it was always a kids meal size and price.
Most Disney-owned locations should not have any problem with ordering off a child's menu. I have heard some of the non-Disney owned locations will refuse such a request.
At buffets or family-style all-you-can-eat, plan to pay full price. Disney really does NOT regularly discount buffet prices for anyone regardless of need/medical/request/etc. They have no way to control who eats what and how much, so they do charge everyone. And many are considered "entertainment with a meal" rather than "a meal with entertainment" so they consider you are paying for the entertainment. It's hard, and if the buffet price is too high for you to stomach for what he'll eat, consider other restaurants instead. Or if you really want a particular buffet (like Chef Mickey for example), consider breakfast or lunch which are usually lower priced than dinner.
My son is 14 and autistic and a picky eater. We have done buffets with him and if he does not eat much we ask if he can be charged as a child. The server will check for you and we have yet to be turned down. Actually a couple of times we ask and the server saw he ate so little they actually did not charge us at all but that is an exception. I always budget on paying full adult price and see how it goes. I truly does not hurt to ask.
I had a touchy tummy when we last did dinner at CRT and managed only a bite or two of salad before bailing out and heading for our resort, leaving DH to finish his dinner.
We were pleasantly surprised that our server refunded my two credits without DH even asking.
Disney really can be wonderful in such situations. It is wise, however, to prepare to pay full price. We go at the least busy times in fall, so I'm not sure how accommodating a restaurant might be during busier seasons.
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