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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Totally worth the price increase IMO. Having said that, I have a 2 year old so all 3 of us are able to eat for less than $100/day. Once DS gets older I doubt we will do the dining plan.
I like the DDP for a few reasons - being able to order "anything" of the menu, eating at places I probably wouldn't normally (i.e. more sit-down meals) and having it paid for BEFORE I get there.
I do however wish there was a "junior" option for kids ages 9-12 or something. My 11 yo DD does NOT eat the same as my 2 teenage boys and is still perfectly happy to order off the kids menu and be full.
I ended up paying OOP for her a few times in April, but that was good for the boys as they got "extra" lunches!
I do however wish there was a "junior" option for kids ages 9-12 or something. My 11 yo DD does NOT eat the same as my 2 teenage boys and is still perfectly happy to order off the kids menu and be full.
I do however wish there was a "junior" option for kids ages 9-12 or something. My 11 yo DD does NOT eat the same as my 2 teenage boys and is still perfectly happy to order off the kids menu and be full.
Maybe if they just gave parents the option of choosing either an Adult or a Child DDP plan for children aged 8-12?
The trick is to order your money's worth! No cheesburgers at the Flying Fish, kids! Get that cedar plank salmon and you'll feel it's money well spent either way.
That is what makes it worth it . To enjoy the higher end food choices. If you order cheap on the menu, it's not worth it so much.
I disagree that you "should" always be cost-conscious. To me, th benefit of the Dining Plan is that you can ignore the prices, and just pick whatever sounds like it would TASTE good.
Even though our next trip will NOT be as full of TS meals as the last one, I personally am leaning towards getting the Deluxe plan ANYway. I just like having enough meal credits to cover everything and never count pennies ...!
I disagree that you "should" always be cost-conscious. To me, th benefit of the Dining Plan is that you can ignore the prices, and just pick whatever sounds like it would TASTE good.
Even though our next trip will NOT be as full of TS meals as the last one, I personally am leaning towards getting the Deluxe plan ANYway. I just like having enough meal credits to cover everything and never count pennies ...!
The one drawback about the Deluxe plan is that you will have to spend a hugh amount
of time planning all the ADR's and then planning your trip around those ADR's. to get the maximum savings
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The DDP is supposed to offer you savings, and to get the minimal savings you have to scour the menu to find the most expensive items. Just pay OOP and you can order what you want.
The reason they have the DDP is because people use their credits on cheaper food or don't use all their credits. That's how they make their money. So for them to continue to raise the price, it's crazy to use the DDP. Just pay as you go.
I think Disney charges plenty and they are not losing money on the DDP. I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't end up breaking even. I know there are a lot of people who come home without having used snack and CS credits. While I expect an increase, I think the prices are plenty fair for them.
The one drawback about the Deluxe plan is that you will have to spend a hugh amount
of time planning all the ADR's and then planning your trip around those ADR's. to get the maximum savings
Again ... I don' think "maximum savings" is necessarily the only point, nor even the MAIN point, of buying a DDP.
"Convenience" and "peace of mind" rank higher than "costs less", to me. As long as I don't spend more than 10% to 20% more on the DDP than the OOP cost wouydl be ... it's still a fair and reasonably good deal to me.
Even look at one TS (maybe $30), two CS ($12 apiece), and two snacks (lowball them to $2 each), in a day. That's roughly $58; the DxDP is what ... $70/day, IIRC? Sure, that definitely isn't very cost-effective ... but I'm not sure the extra $12-ish is too much to pay, in return for knowing that EVERY morself of food or drop of drink you will need, is PRE-paid-for, before you even board your plane.
The reason they have the DDP is because people use their credits on cheaper food or don't use all their credits. That's how they make their money.
I would say their revenue models are built on having "guaranteed diners" -- and not on how much they bilk from their guests.
I do agree, however, that I do better when I pay out-of-pocket and choose what I want. I always come out ahead, but that's because we rarely order dessert at meals and my son and I regularly share entrees.
But, when traveling with friends, the DDP makes paying for everything at group meals incredibly easy!
Eileen
Since its inception, the DDP has become less and less of a deal. Quality of food has lessened. Choices have lessened. Prices have increased. Appetizers removed from the deal. Tip removed from the deal.
So maybe if this is your first time with the DDP, it's okay but compared to how it's changed, I'm not impressed. The only way I see it even being worthwhile is for a family who wants to prepay for food so that they can budget better.
Then again... to me it's not the cost that's truly the problem. It is the switching out of expensive entrees for cheaper items and the wholesale removal of some options. Some restaurants are just downright unedible if you ask me (Coral Reef ranking high up on that list)
I do a cost analysis for each of my trips. This is the first time I am going ala carte because DDP is just not worth it. Paying out of pocket is cheaper for me. I eat dinner at Deluxe resorts and rarely have counter service and never eat processed junk.
Now that the company has taken tips off the plan as well, it is just not worth it.
I look at the meus on Deb's site AllEars, plan out exactly what I would order, line that up next to what I would order on the plan, what I would have to pay out of pocket on the plan (tips, non-covered dining, etc) and found that it was $100 cheaper for me without dining. It's a shame. I remember when I first started dining in 2001, it was $30 a day with far less restrictions on resort restaurants. I don't think all the deluxe dining places are really worth 2 TS credits.
I would think it would depend on the amount of people in your party, how much they eat, what they eat, where they like to eat to determine if this is worth it for you.
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