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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've gone 14 times and never gotten any of the DP's.
We do 2 or 3 TS per trip. We eat breakfast in our room most days. We get snacks and QS. I've costed out the QSDP and it's a break even with the way we eat so I felt why give Disney my money in advance when I could have it longer? and one time I costed out the DDP price and we would lose money unless we ate TS every day.
I'm a non-DDP person and I've never regretted not getting it.
I am going out of pocket for our next trip. My youngest just turned 10 and doesn't eat a whole lot. Paying adult prices for a kid who barely weighs more thqn 50 pounds is ridiculous.
I also think the dining plan forces me to eat more. A dessert is included with every meal and I feel compelled to eat so I will get my moneys worth. We had the QSDP on our last trip and I think the savings were about the price of the dessert.
On our many trips to the World, we have only purchased DDP once and it was not worth it for us. We would have been better off without it. First, we don't eat desserts with meals (yes, I know you can get the desserts to go, but still . . .). Second, we often share meals.
I actually priced it for an upcoming trip just to satisfy myself. It would have cost us over $1000 for the basic DDP for a 5 night trip. This includes me, DH, 2 11-year olds and a 3 year old. There's no way we would spend that much OOP.
I know lots of people love DDP - I'm not knocking it - - I'm just sharing our experience that, for us, it's not worth it.
Sounds like you made the right choice for you and your DS. I read somewhere once that someone decided not to pay for the DDP but wanted to see how they did on spending so they used that money and bought a Disney Giftcard for the amount they would have spent on the DDP. Then they paid for all their meals and they were still able to buy a few souvenirs at the end of their trip with the leftover money.
For us, we tend to do a lot of TS meals but not many CS so the DDP isn't a good fit for us as well. Cost wise, we might break even but we'd have a lot of wasted CS meals and have to pay for a couple TS meals OOP.
There are six of us in our family and we have not used the DDP since they eliminated the gratutity. We save a few hundred dollars for a one week trip by not using the DDP and we always eat one TS and one CS per day. The DDP was a good when they included the tip but not anymore. I think some people like it because it is convienient and can be prepaid.
I read somewhere once that someone decided not to pay for the DDP but wanted to see how they did on spending so they used that money and bought a Disney Giftcard for the amount they would have spent on the DDP. Then they paid for all their meals and they were still able to buy a few souvenirs at the end of their trip with the leftover money.
That is a brilliant idea! I'm very tempted to do that. For people that like the "prepaid" idea of the DDP then you would essentially be doing the same thing buying a gift card to use with the added bonus of not having to stress over getting your money's worth or worrying about if you are coming out ahead or not.
We eat one at least TS a day and I find that we do save money on the DDP...We do a lot of character breakfast's and if we only pay 11.99/child(we have 2 'cause 3rd one is free) We save a lot even paying gratuity...you still have to pay gratuity on/off DDP.
Did we save more when gratuity was included but I still like being able to go and not having to worry about paying for a meal that would of cost us $120 when in reality it cost us maybe $70 with tip. I actually totaled it up 2 years ago how much we saved and we had saved over 35% by being on the dining plan.
It all depends on how you tour/eat...Do you have dessert on vacation?...Is everyone going to like the same dish so you can share?...I can't tell my girls when we go out to eat what they are having and that they are sharing a meal...it's not fair, I think...We are on vacation let them choose what they want...Each one has different taste, one like broccoli while the other likes oranges...I'm not having that fight with them, It's not worth it in my opinion. At home they eat what I make but in a restaurant they can choose what to eat...as long as it's healthy
I printed out a list of eateries that I thought DH would like (without prices). I had him go through and highlight what he would order at each place (multiple choices were allowed).
I went back and compared the non-price list, to the price list. If he could meet or exceed the total we would need to spend to make DP worth it, we do it. If not, I don't see spending the money.
Luckily, DH likes the expensive stuff (salmon, steak, ribs) so DDP was worth it for us.
I printed out a list of eateries that I thought DH would like (without prices). I had him go through and highlight what he would order at each place (multiple choices were allowed).
I went back and compared the non-price list, to the price list. If he could meet or exceed the total we would need to spend to make DP worth it, we do it. If not, I don't see spending the money.
Luckily, DH likes the expensive stuff (salmon, steak, ribs) so DDP was worth it for us.
OMG! That is pretty much what I did for this trip...I was going to pay OOP but decided to see where DH wanted to eat and I know exactly what he would order so I went with the DDP for the trip and added 1day to our trip & pass.
We always get the 1 TS, 1 CS, 1 snack dining plan. I have expensive eaters in my family, we want at least one table service meal a day, and if there is steak, lobster, or crab legs on the menu, they are ordering it and a desert too! At home I tend to be on the thrifty side so it's nice on vacation to (let my hair down) and say "order what ever you want." I have looked at the menus on allears and we diff. save money going with the DP. It works best for us also with older kids because sometimes we split up and the older two will go to a water park or DTD and have thier KTTW cards for lunch or snacks.
Last edited by davishomeschool; 01-24-2011 at 04:54 PM..
Based on what you have told us, I think you made the right decision. With Garden Grocer, I'm not sure that even the QSDP would be right for you. DH was reading over my shoulder and agrees that no DDP is the way to go this time....
I am going out of pocket for our next trip. My youngest just turned 10 and doesn't eat a whole lot. Paying adult prices for a kid who barely weighs more thqn 50 pounds is ridiculous.
I also think the dining plan forces me to eat more. A dessert is included with every meal and I feel compelled to eat so I will get my moneys worth. We had the QSDP on our last trip and I think the savings were about the price of the dessert.
Same for us. My oldest just turned 10 and I know she won't eat $45 worth of food each day.
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We save a lot even paying gratuity...you still have to pay gratuity on/off DDP. 
Our 3 princesses LOVE the RED SOX!!!!
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