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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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To recap: BLT, June 3-7, 5 adults, 2 kiddos, eating most of our meals in the room.
However, the last time we went we had the free dining plan. Who knows if that was the cheapest way to go or not. It was the offer we were given so we took it. It was a lot of food. A lot of running around places, etc. But I did enjoy getting to try things out. With little ones that were free anyways it was great because we weren’t speeding through the parks and when they napped in the stroller we saw other things. Plus I didn’t have to count my pennies. This time we are just going to the other extreme and not eating meals in the park at all. Though I guess we will see how that goes. But should we plan any ADRS?
The only group request was to “snack around the world” at Epcot. My husband requested this. It works easily because we are doing a half day afternoon at Epcot and this way we can just pick things up as we go instead of stopping to eat.
I have to say I just made this decision for everyone. We would do 1 character dinner. The problem was which one. I stalked all the books, boards and websites to compare character meals. I was trying to find a good balance of tasty food and good characters. In 2010 we went to Cape May Café, Hollywood and Dine and Crystal Palace. During this time’s planning I checked out Tusker House, Askershus and Cinderella’s Royal Table. I really wanted to do Tusker House, but we were not sure what our Animal Kingdom touring plans would be and even now they are up in the air, so I didn’t want to pin us down there.
Another choice I would really have liked to do was Cinderella’s Royal Table. I *always* wanted to “go inside” Cinderella’s Castle as a kid. Not just cut through the tunnel. My daughter would LOVE the princesses. However, it is just SO darn expensive! I don’t know how I would have justified almost $400 for my family of 7 to go to lunch! So, when I decided that I couldn’t do that, and that Tusker House was out of the question, we decided to go to Crystal Palace for lunch. We did this last time (also for lunch) and loved it! My kids will probably grow out of Winnie the Pooh after this trip, but my sister (who is going with us) has loved Eeyore since she was a kid. In high school our room had a very large collection of Eeyores dressed in various costumes. Many of these my kids have inherited.
A lot of people told us to check out Chef Mickey’s, but we were not really crazy about doing a breakfast and missing park time and I am sure that dinner is only so-so for the price.
So that is our plan. ADR’s were easy to get at 180 days out. 11:30 on June 5 at Crystal Palace. I am pretty excited about it. I am also excited that we can save the rest of our money for snacks! Both at Epcot and during regular touring. If anyone has suggestions/favorites, let us know. I don’t have any favorite WDW snacks. I know people love Mickey bars and Dole Whips. I’ve never tried a Dole Whip and I associate Mickey Bars with swimming because my community pool served them when I was a kid. Maybe we can pick one up on pool day?
As a child at Disney, we just wore play clothes. As a teenager, I wore cute, look-at-me-boys clothes. The last time we went (2009) I dressed my kids in a couple of Disney shirts, but didn’t really go all out. However, since then I have learned to sew and applique. Whoo! I have been pondering what I should dress them in this time. So, here is the preliminary plan of attack for clothing to wear:
Maggie:
Appliqued Snow White shirt and skirt (the skirt is done, the shirt is to be done on Saturday)
Appliqued Rapunzel
Both of these have matching headbands. However Maggie rips things out of her hair immediately after walking out the door.
Tinkerbell Coverup (to do)
I have some cute zebra fabric to make a zebra Minnie, but we may skip AK (to do)
Appliqued Cinderella, because she has been asking for this one since January (to do)
Doc McStuffins w/ matching shorts (to do)
Will – This question here is, “Is 6 years old boy too old for the appliqued style?” If not I have some cute ideas….
Buzz Lightyear applique (to do)
Woody Applique (to do)
Mickey w/ MSU fabric (to do in his size)
Star Wars design…He is choosing between Yoda and Chewbacca. We made a Yoda for a birthday party last week
I may spend the week between when I get out of school and our vacation in the sewing room. J This actually would make me rather happy. I also have a stack of stuff laid out to begin this Saturday. I run a little side business so only one order this week and the rest are my things!
As for the grown-ups. I know my dad and mom will probably wear polos. My dad will definitely crack out some car show tees. Or maybe a In-and-Out shirt. (My husband and I lived in Northern California for a while. We got hooked on the food and Dad on the shirts. He loves old cars.)
My sis and I have broached the idea of shirts. She is really fond of the adult princess kind of t-shirts. The ones with the cute slogans. Myself, I haven't owned a Disney shirt in a long while, but wouldn't be opposed.
I've seen what kids wear in the parks, but what do adults nowadays wear?
Up next: What to do each day?
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June 2013-BLT; Nov 2010-CBR; 2000-offsite, Universal and Epcot; 1996-All-Star Music; 1994-school choir competition; 1987-offsite; 1985-offsite; 1982-offsite
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