PTR: A Whole New World - February 6-13, 2015 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Once our dates were set in stone, the trip planning began. First things first, park days. Based on parks hours, I planned out where we will be on Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tues, but I'm leaving Weds and Thurs open right now, so we can just go with flow. Then, once park days were planned, came the fun part- choosing our dining options!
Peter has no input what-so-ever in trip planning. This is his choice, not mine (but secretly I'm okay with that).
I LOVE TRIP PLANNING!!!!! And since he always enjoys everything I plan for us, I'll just keep doing it!
I always run stuff by him, but he never has any objections. The only thing he insists on every trip though, is eating at one of his favorite restaurants in WDW.....
(1) Cape May Cafe'
at Beach Club Resort
That was the first reservation I booked after figuring out park days. We don't do park-hopper tickets, so I try to work around where we will be each day.
I also booked
(2) O'Hana
at the Polynesian Resort
If I had to choose a favorite restaurant it would have to be OHana! We've eaten here several times and always look forward to going back.
The atmosphere and food are awesome!
It's extra special if you book during Wishes fireworks!
(3) Rainforest Cafe'
(Animal Kingdom location)
Rainforest Cafe' is another repeat.
I love the menu variety and the food is delish!
(4) Big River Grille & Brewing Works
on the Boardwalk
This is new to us!
The location is great and I'm excited to try the food.
(5) Via Napoli
Italy in Epcot
This one is new to us! I can't wait to try the Tiramisu!
For our last table service dining choice, I decided to book a signature restaurant.
(6) Narcoossee's
at The Grand Floridian Resort
This restaurant requires 2 dining credits.
This one is new to us and looks amazing!!
I am VERY excited to try Narcoossee's!
If we end up checking in a day early like we did last year, we might try House of Blues
in Downtown Disney.
We will pay OOP for this meal (since our dining plan won't start until our booked check-in day- 2/07). House of Blues is new to us but looks fun and the menu looks yummy! We'll also be paying OOP for another dining option during our stay since we'll be using 2 credits at Narcoossee's.
So, 3 repeats and 3 (possibly 4) new to us choices!
Super excited about the dining plans!
You know the trip is getting close when the magic bands arrive!!!!
We used the bands for the first time last year and really liked them. I love that you use these for your room key, park admission, for Fast Passes, and to pay for meals. And no pulling out your wallet or fumbling through your purse to find your key card every time.
I always love when Disney mail arrives - it means your trip is just around the corner!
In just 2 weeks, we'll be packed up and ready to go in the morning!
I've been planning what we'll pack (in my mind), finalizing the trip planning, and making last minute Fast Pass changes.
I'm working on our Mousekeeping envelopes {I'll post pictures}. I have also been filling our travel $$ envelopes.
I have an envelope labeled for every day of the trip and put money in all of them (including travel days). This covers money for food, etc. while traveling and money for souvenirs/tips/ OOP stuff while there. The only thing we charge is gas and hotels going and coming.
I am so excited about this trip! We had such a good time last year and I've found lots of fun things for us to do this time and we have so many new restaurants to try....I can't wait to go back!
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We ended up arriving in Orlando the evening before our actual check-in day, so ended up checking in a day early. Long story short, there was no room at ASMovies, so they sent us over to ASMusic for the night (with an upgrade!). We stayed in Calypso section Rm# 1525.
When booking this year, we tried to get ASMovies, but it wasn't available, so we went with All Star Music again.
I posted before about choosing a value resort. We had only stayed at moderates - Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs and the one time at a deluxe - Beach Club. For some reason, I'd been reluctant to try a value resort, but we decided to go a little cheaper and give it a try. All the benefits of staying on property are the same, it is just a more reasonable option. I went with the mindset that we were just giving a value a try, but it turned out to be one of our best stays yet!
We loved the bus stop set up. I liked that you had one stop to wait at, instead of bus stops at each section. When staying at CBR, it took quite a bit of time to make the rounds to each section's bus stop. At the All Stars resorts, you get picked and dropped off one time. And then there was our stay at Beach Club. Of course, walking over to Epcot was awesome and being able to use the monorail or boat was great, but the bus system (in my opinion) was horrible. So, the buses, for us, worked really well (despite the number of cheerleaders staying the same time we were).
I am anxious to see if the values hold the same magic as last time!
We are scheduled to check-in on Saturday Feb. 7, but hope to arrive the evening before like we did last year, and just add an extra night.
I always have a loose plan for counter service lunches.
Here are the choices I have in mind:
(1)Contempo Cafe' (Contemporary Resort)
This will be a first for us. I still haven't seen the Contemporary (other than passing through on the monorail) and I looked at the CS options on the menu and it looked like a good choice.
So, on one of our MK days, we'll hopefully try lunch at Contemo Cafe' and take a little resort tour!
(2) Flame Tree BBQ or Yak & Yeti-CS (AK)
Our lunch choice at AK will always be one of the two. You can't go wrong with either!
(3) Boulangerie Patisserie les Halles (France in Epcot)
I've been trying to do this forever! France is my favorite country and we had an awesome dinner at Chefs de France a few years ago. We have to try the CS options here for lunch!!
(4) Min & Bill's Dockside Diner (DHS)
This may seem like an odd choice, but we have trouble finding good CS in DHS (other than Pizza Planet-which we've done numerous times). Peter mentioned getting a turkey leg , so I found the menu for Min & Bill's, and it looked intriguing. We'll see about this one.
(5) Trail's End -To-Go
I know, another weird one. BUT.....I have plans that take us to Fort Wilderness and we'll need lunch while we are there. More on this later!!
(6)
Our last day may take us to DTD for lunch. I have no idea where we'll end up, although Wolfgang Puck is a favorite!!
Thoughts on my choices....hit or miss....what have you eaten at any of these places that you can recommend? I love suggestions!! These choices are very flexible and will probably change as our plans are not set in stone.
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Pixie Dust
Susan
for the couple! You've picked some great ADRS. 
The Magic Bands arrival just adds to the excitement. 
PassPorter Guide Author
and how great to have the MagicBands! 
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