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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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We fly out late morning on SWA and are hoping for an on-time, safe, and smooth flight. I hope that is not asking for too much! We are renting a car at MCO as it makes things much easier when we go to Disney for races. I will miss riding DME though. We will make a quick stop at a grocery store to stock up on bottled water, Powerade, and snacks.
We are hoping to arrive here by 3:30: [/URL][/IMG]
This is our home resort and I am always instantly relaxed the minute we pull into that parking lot!
I have done on-line check in so I am hoping our room will be ready. However, in all honesty, I notice no difference between on-line and regular old check in. Our original plan was to then walk over to Epcot and start enjoying this:
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Then I realized this is the night we can have a nice Anniversary dinner and eat what we want as the race is still far enough away. So, change of plans. Instead we will head over to AK (my favorite park) and then on to AKL where we will have dinner at Jiko. We get free parking at both the park and the lodge because we are DVC members and having a car will make traveling to both in a short period of time easy peasy. The plan for AK is to take a relaxing stroll, grab a snack, and ride Everest. Our must do at AK! If standby is too long we will hop in the single rider line. Side story: on our recent family trip we were celebrating DMiL's 88th Birthday. I realized that when I set up FP+ for that day she was included too. She decided to ride Everest with us! It was so much fun! While she didn't love it she really enjoyed riding it with all of us. My children had the whole train car chanting "88" on the way up. What a fun memory that is! I am bummed as the picture of her did not download for some reason or I would include it here.
After AK we will head over to Jiko. Yum! On the same trip I just mentioned, we took a tour of Jiko which was a lot of fun. We discovered that they have a special Wine Room just off the bar area. It is so pretty in there and the walls are all lined with yummy wines. My hope is that we can be seated in there. I checked with Disney Dining and was told that you can't reserve a table in here ahead of time, you must request it at check in so that is my plan! Since it is just the two of us we will have the flexibility to wait for a table if one is not available right away.
After dinner if there is enough time we will head over to Epcot to watch Illuminations. A first night tradition we have. Then back "home" to unpack and get ready for the next days fun.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Well, my plan was to post an update yesterday, but it turned into such a busy day. I had a 5 mile training run, volunteered at my children's school, and an evening social event. I was able to get everything accomplished, but I was pretty tired by the end of the day.
Day 2: Expo Day!!
Now many runners will disagree with me on this one, but the expo's are a ton of fun! And I know you won't be surprised to hear that runDisney's Health and Fitness Expo. is by far the best one out there. All other expo's I have attended pale in comparison.
Here is a pic of from last year's Wine & Dine Half Marathon Expo:
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The expo is held at the Wide World of Sports the day before the race and the day of. It is where we will go to pick up our race packet, race bibs, and gEAR bags. It is also where I plan to shop, shop, shop! I'm telling you it is a runner and walker's paradise. Most of the top athletic company's have a booth there and you are able to learn all about the latest and greatest in running clothes, shoes, inserts, etc, etc... I could go on and on! You name it, it is there. In addition they have food, water and motivational talks on running, racing, and nutrition. One year they even sold Champagne for you to sip while you perused. Luckily for me, DH enjoys the expo too. We go in with a plan and a firm budget as it is easy to get carried away.
Our plan is breakfast from the BW Bakery and then head on over. I have my eye on a few things, but what I really, really want are a pair of these:
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Those pink ones are calling my name!
These are the official runDisney NB sneaker for 2014. They are only sold at runDisney race expo's. They are a hot commodity - so much so that to get a pair is akin to snagging a FP+ for an Elsa and Anna Meet and Greet. Ok, maybe not quite that hard, but it requires some planning. After the poor NB employees were being literally mobbed upon the expo doors opening and people having to wait in lines longer than the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train queue for these coveted shoes, NB switched it up. Now I am told that you sign up on line at 6:00 a.m. on expo day with your sizing info. and preferred shoe. They only accept 800-1000 runners each day! So much for sleeping in. If I am successful in signing up, I will receive two texts. The first confirming I am part of the queue and the second with my arrival time to try on/purchase the shoes.
So, really, my plans for the morning and afternoon are: the expo.
After that we will head back to BW to just relax. Preferably by the pool. However, has anyone seen the recent Orlando weather report?!
We are mulling over our dinner plans. Even though it will be crowded, my vote is to eat at the F&WF. I have to be really careful what I eat as I don't want to eat anything that might upset my stomach so close to the race. For me, starting 24-36 hours before any long run I have to be very careful what I eat and drink. I have learned the hard way how difficult running on an upset tummy truly is. I have been drooling ahem looking over the menus and I see that I will have tons of yummy things to choose from so my guess is we will go there. It will be an early night as tomorrow is race day!
So you're getting another pair, huh? Except planning ahead for these shoes! Kim got some this year too, Princess or January, I don't remember. Good luck getting a time slot! I'm sure you will. I just hope to see you in the morning at the Expo!
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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[/URL][/IMG]
Our original plan was to then walk over to Epcot and start enjoying this:
[/URL][/IMG]
If standby is too long we will hop in the single rider line. Side story: on our recent family trip we were celebrating DMiL's 88th Birthday. I realized that when I set up FP+ for that day she was included too. She decided to ride Everest with us! It was so much fun! While she didn't love it she really enjoyed riding it with all of us. 
My hope is that we can be seated in there. 
I checked with Disney Dining and was told that you can't reserve a table in here ahead of time, you must request it at check in so that is my plan! Since it is just the two of us we will have the flexibility to wait for a table if one is not available right away. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Liz 
getting a table at Jiko in the wine room.
[/URL][/IMG]
In addition they have food, water and motivational talks on running, racing, and nutrition. One year they even sold Champagne for you to sip while you perused. 
[/URL][/IMG]
If I am successful in signing up, I will receive two texts. The first confirming I am part of the queue and the second with my arrival time to try on/purchase the shoes.
I have been drooling ahem looking over the menus and I see that I will have tons of yummy things to choose from so my guess is we will go there. 
Linear Mode
