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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 think it's a great idea! My boys were always well-behaved in restaurants, (0ther than the youngest "needing" to visit the Men's room as soon as we are seated) but I don't think that would have carried over to the dining experience at V&As! Nor, as was stated earlier, do I know many children who would be willing to try many of the menu items or enjoy them. And my boys were be no means picky! Other than liver, they ate a wide variety of foods. Last...I would not want to spend that kind of money on an under 10 year old, and would have to seriously think about under say 14 or 15!
I'm in favor of the age ban.....Palos on the ships is reserved for over 18s.
* Others claim to have, and I quote, "the best behaved 6 year old on the planet" and further claim that their little angels not only never misbehave or annoy anyone, but also have an adult's appreciation for the fine dining options at restaurants like V&A (again I says, Hogwash!)
I am going to break this down in to two comments for this one comment. And no one kill me for what I am going to say about it.
First part is based on this: Others claim to have, and I quote, "the best behaved 6 year old on the planet" and further claim that their little angels not only never misbehave or annoy anyone.
I work in a resort town and hear this all the time. Let me tell you the people that "claim" their kid(s) are the best behaved kids, they are living in fairy tail land, when they say that they are the worst kids to deal with. I will say this is true to about 9 out of 10 kids.
The second part is based on this: but also have an adult's appreciation for the fine dining options at restaurants like V&A.
I would have to disagree with this. My nephews (ages 12 and 13) have had adults appreciation for food scents they were able to eat table food. At the age of 3 if you would have given them a kids menu they would have thought you were from outer space. But that is because my sister decided to let them have the appreciation of the finer foods in life. Because of this there is very few things they will not eat...Fast Food is one, They have been eating and picking their own crabs and lobster and shrimp scents they were 2. So that statement is not always true.
But on the question about ages...I myself think that it should not be anyone under 18. Even at say 16 kids can have a bad day and make life miserable for the day. But that is just my oppion.
I totally agree with the age restriction. I have 3 kids and still can appreciate a nice, quiet, relaxed meal!!! I think sometimes we can be too "politically correct". Kids don't need to be everywhere!
Ok here is my two cents. I for one am happy about the age restriction. I do not have children and I firmly believe that there are places that children do not belong. I was raised in a military family and because of such my brother and I were taken to various "adult" restaurants for certain functions but if we acted up we were immediatly taken out by our parents. I very rarely see that now adays. If I am choosing to pay $125 for a meal then I would hope that it is for adults only.
I have been to many restuarants in my travels that parents do not discipline their children but leave it up to the servers and in the process have ruined what should have been a pleasant dining experience. I go to WDW at least twice a year and there are a few restaruants that I feel should have an age limit, but I also know not to book a dinner reservations during prime dinner hours and sometimes even that has not worked. At some point when can a person say something to a parent regarding a child that is being disruptive (running around tables, screaming and even throwing their food).
Before anyone says I don't understand what it is like to have children know this, I was a stepmother for awhile and since I may not be anymore I do have 3 nieces ages 9,7 & 4. Since they were young I have taken them to many places but I have set rules and I have also taken them out of restaurants and stores if they have acted up. I know no one is perfect but at Disney realize that after a long day of walking, sun and lines kids are tired and sometimes the last thing they want to do is sit for another hour or two to eat. If that restaurant (pick any one of the sit downs) is that important to eat at then make sure there is some down time before hand so everyone has an enjoyable experience.
__________________
Jennifer
Taken April 24 - May 2, 2009 My mom Linda & I
I've read these posts with much interest given that we were there just a few days ago. As I said in my earlier post, I wholeheartedly agree with these restrictions.
Having had one child who has always been impeccably behaved (Matt) and one child who has never been impeccably behaved (Kat), I do think for most restaurants it is case of parental discretion as to whether to allow their child to eat at a given restaurant. The one time we took Kat to Artist Point she had the Mother of All Meltdowns and Steve ended up back in the room, eating his food from a polystyrene tray. I just wouldn't subject other diners to my child's bad behaviour. Even if we were eating at Chef Mickeys. I'd have been more than happy to take a six year old Matt to any of the 'Signature' restaurants on property.
But Victoria and Alberts is different. And I don't think I'd have realised this until I had actually been there myself. I've never eaten somewhere so upmarket and I would consider it the equivalent to eating at a Michelin Starred restaurant over here. In fact Steve and I both said that if it wasn't WDW and we weren't British (our accents make us sound more sophisticated than we truly are) even we, as adults would have felt a little intimidated and out of place.
Matt was fine there. He appreciated the food (and ate every bit of it, even though a little nervous of some of the offerings) and as a mature fifteen year old, knew exactly how to behave. Even he admitted that he wouldn't have felt comfortable there a year previously.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has actually been to V&A with a young child, who considers that it was the right decision and money well spent. I'm sure there must be five year olds out there somewhere who would rather have fois gras to chicken nuggets, but I've never met one.
Personally, I have long been in favor of a limited number of adults-only restaurants at WDW, and not just the 5-star signature places, either, but a mid-priced buffet or table-service place as well. I'd just once like to enjoy a WDW buffet meal without characters and without watching 5-year olds building sculptures in the food on the buffet; come to think of it, I'd like that at a buffet anywhere in the country!
I'd love to see a few more - just a few - restaurants at WDW with similar age restrictions.
In fact Steve and I both said that if it wasn't WDW and we weren't British (our accents make us sound more sophisticated than we truly are) even we, as adults would have felt a little intimidated and out of place.
You sure it's the accent? Maybe you guys just ARE more sophisticated and cosmopolitan than you think.
I don't have a problem with it myself. Having dined at Palo's on DCL many times, I really enjoy the adult atmosphere. It is a chance to escape from being a mom and spend time with my husband alone.
I do believe however that some children would be fine to eat there. Our nine year old is an only child and he is used to being around adults more than kids and is used to more adult atmospheres. Yes he is a kid and has his moments but I know that he could sit there and eat like anyone else without making a spectacle or bothering other people. I myself would not take him to V&A until he is older and will probably wait until then before I visit there myself. I really believe he wouldn't enjoy the meal as much in that type of setting until he is older and with the price I would want him to enjoy it!!
I'd love to hear from anyone who has actually been to V&A with a young child, who considers that it was the right decision and money well spent. I'm sure there must be five year olds out there somewhere who would rather have fois gras to chicken nuggets, but I've never met one.
We ate there back in September (Luke and Brooke are 4 and 5 years old). It was the right decision as far as going there as a family, but not for the price in my opinion. I would not go again even without my children for those prices and that's not the type of restaurant we enjoy at WDW as a family I guess. We prefer the more laid-back type restaurants. Of the more upscale places we all loved the Yachtsman Steakhouse.
That being said I feel it should be the parent's decision (I know, I know - please don't throw tomatoes - I'm only one opinion here!) Playing the devil's advocate here - I've had to dine next to plenty of rude and ill-mannered 'adults.' You know, the ones who think it's OK to talk on a cell phone during a meal, wear baseball caps, etc.
Anyway, that's my two cents and I don't want to start a huge thing here. I only posted because the question was asked
We ate there back in September (Luke and Brooke are 4 and 5 years old). It was the right decision as far as going there as a family, but not for the price in my opinion. I would not go again even without my children for those prices and that's not the type of restaurant we enjoy at WDW as a family I guess. We prefer the more laid-back type restaurants. Of the more upscale places we all loved the Yachtsman Steakhouse.
That being said I feel it should be the parent's decision (I know, I know - please don't throw tomatoes - I'm only one opinion here!) Playing the devil's advocate here - I've had to dine next to plenty of rude and ill-mannered 'adults.' You know, the ones who think it's OK to talk on a cell phone during a meal, wear baseball caps, etc.
Anyway, that's my two cents and I don't want to start a huge thing here. I only posted because the question was asked
Judi - Thank you for sharing your experience and opinion. There are always 2 sides to every issue and I for one like hearing both perspectives.
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) but I don't think that would have carried over to the dining experience at V&As! Nor, as was stated earlier, do I know many children who would be willing to try many of the menu items or enjoy them. And my boys were be no means picky! Other than liver, they ate a wide variety of foods. Last...I would not want to spend that kind of money on an under 10 year old, and would have to seriously think about under say 14 or 15!
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Kimberly
I think sometimes we can be too "politically correct". Kids don't need to be everywhere!
Jennifer
ANGIE
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