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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 past October was our first time trying the DDP. It really didn't work all that great for us. In the end we were trying to "cash out" and grab snacks for what we had left on it. Maybe since we were newbies, we didn't think it through but I think from now on, we'll go with the flow. We still do TS just not every day.
In 2008 we used the DDP for the first time and we really enjoyed eating at places we probably wouldn't have other wise. In 2009 we had a split stay so we only did the dinning plan for one night we one fancy dinner. We didn't want our schedule determined by reservations. This year we were looking at the QS plan but then decided that we can share several meals and it would be cheaper this time and not as much food. So we will see how it goes and then have a better idea for next time.
We usually purchase the dining plan because it saves us some bucks. But our last trip we received the $750 gift card (and we had 2 rooms!) so we just used the $1500 for food.
We are planning this year to not do DDP because the last two years we planned our days around the dining. This year we hope to plan our days around what parks and rides we want and skip the sit downs and just grab and go. Anyone else?
I am with you. I may make one ADR for our next trip and go OOP for the rest. We had the QSDP last time and ot worked out OK. I don't see much savings in the QSDP though. To me it was like getting a free dessert with each meal. Without the QSDP, I wouldn't even get the dessert.
We have never done the DDP. This past trip last December, we did one TS a day but since we were off-site we couldn't use the DDP. On our next trip I will not do that many TS meals because it felt like the only thing we were doing was eating. It got to the point where I didn't even want to see food by the last day of our trip. And yes, this was with only one TS a day and one CS.
As a tour guide, I eat A LOT of meals at WDW. That said, I am not a fan of the DDP. The amount you spend on the plan compared to the restrictions they place on what you can use it on just doesn't make it worth while, in my opinion. I'd rather get exactly what I want to eat and spend whatever I am willing to spend on the meal. Generally speaking, if you get a good entrée at a decent table service venue that fills you up, and you plan on hitting some faster rides, you usually don't want any immediate desert, which is what you usually pay for with the DDP whether you use it or not.
Not every item on the menu at many of the restaraunts qualify for the DDP. Sometimes only certain selections will qualify as a 'snack' or 'desert' item.
Not every item on the menu at many of the restaraunts qualify for the DDP. Sometimes only certain selections will qualify as a 'snack' or 'desert' item.
While some (read: not all, a certain few) snack locations have items that won't qualify as a snack credit, I have yet to eat in a restaurant where an item was excluded such as an entree, appetizer, or dessert.
I wouldn't want someone who might be on the fence about the dining plan to not do so because someone told them they could only order certain items from a menu.
Wow, I love all the different responses I got.
I forgot to mention that last year when we used the DDP for three of us, we had so much water left over from the 2 drink option. I also did not eat all my food plus the dessert, I wound up throwing it out. It was just too much for me to eat.
Originally Posted by PRColey View Post
This year we were looking at the QS plan but then decided that we can share several meals and it would be cheaper this time and not as much food.
I too will split with Fiance. Since I am losing weight and planning a wedding I hope to not eat like a pig while at WDW. We made one ADR, at 1900 Park Fair, which some of you probably saw my post.
I will look in to the QS plan maybe for one of us, because of convenience. Or just figure cost of food and get a Disney gift card with that amount on it so we do not have to carry the cash. We'll also save on tip money too
I will look in to the QS plan maybe for one of us, because of convenience.
You have to purchase the plan for every person on the reservation. You cannot purchase the plan for only one person if there are two on the reservation.
We just reurned from our 6 day trip, we always do the DDP but since we booked thru the GC promotion and upgraded to moderate for 500 GC we figured we would use that to eat. I was a little concerned it wouldnt be enough. We are a family of 4, myself on a diet, my youngest DS, DH and oldest DS who will eat a whole cow if it is put on a plate in front of him. Well anyway we came home with $1.91 left on the GC. We did eat 2 meals a day with snacks and extra drinks of course. We did eat 1 sit down at Planet Hollywood. We did do well I ate if kids menu at times and DH and DS shared a second serving of something if they were still hungry. It just worked out real well this time. I hope they do the promotion again!!!!
We used to do the DDP, but I really only felt like I was getting a good deal when the appetizers and tips were included. It was SOOOOO much extra food, and I hated feeling like I HAD to get dessert at every meal since we already paid for it! So, this trip, we're not doing the DDP. I still have one TS per day scheduled, but I'm guessing we'll do more CS meal sharing and ordering what we *want* to order rather than feeling like we have to order things.
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New Years Trip 2014/2015
Originally Posted by PRColey View Post
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