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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sorry dinner was so long and that you did not enjoy the Candlelight Processional. Watching Wishes in PJs works! Hope the rest of your trip turns out better.
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.
Too bad you didn't really enjoy Candlelight. I always really enjoy it. The music and choral singing is wonderful. The narrator makes a big difference, though, and if she was blah, then I can see not being thrilled. I agree that waiting for 20 mins for a QS meal is ridiculous. I'm relieved that your luggage finally arrived!
Yeah I think it was really the narrator unfortunately, as the singing and presentation was beautiful otherwise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Bummer that you didn't really enjoy the Candlelight processional.
Interesting to hear your experience of that week - as I was there during that time the year before! It's definitely an experience!
That's a good way to put it! Definitely unlike any other visit!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sorry you didn't enjoy Candlelight Processional. I had heard of Amy Grant, because of one big hit she had over here. I must admit I thought she'd be good. Sorry she wasn't and sorry the rain had such an impact on your night. At least you were able to see some of Wishes.
It really wasn't as bad as I apparently made it sound, but my mom started feeling "moldy" from the rain since we got very caught in it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
That rain sure has a way to mess things up. Sorry you didn't enjoy the Candlelight Processional. And that 2 hour meal... I'm eating at R&C in June, I hope it doesn't take that long. On the other hand, if it takes long I can catch Illuminations from there.
It was a beautiful spot on the lake! We were sat around the same time as several VERY LARGE parties so I think that had something to do with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bearak527
You got a lot done for only being there half day. I'm exhausted! Lol
Betty
LOL! Writing it all up wore me out
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcneal
Our last trip didn't start well either. Like yours, nothing huge just lots of little annoyances. Ours got much better and hopefully yours will too!
Exactly! Nothing terrible at all, just a few little early-trip-hiccups!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Seems like the recurring theme for the night was the long wait for meals! Sorry you didn't enjoy the Candlelight Processional and that Amy Grant wasn't adding anything to the show. Glad your luggage arrived!!
It was such a huge sigh of relief when I had all my stuff!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sorry both R&C and the Candlelight Processional did not live up to your expectations! See Wishes in your pjs sounds so cool!
We enjoyed both, just won't be rushing back anytime soon. And the view was such an unexpected surprise we really enjoyed
Sorry dinner was so long and that you did not enjoy the Candlelight Processional. Watching Wishes in PJs works! Hope the rest of your trip turns out better.
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December 30th, 2013: Day 2, Part 1 - Do walk-ups still exist?
First I do want to mention that our first night was not awful at all! We enjoyed both R&C and CP but just once was enough for us for now The first day is always hard after a long morning of traveling, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
We were up bright and early to head over to the main building to try to sneak a breakfast in at 1900 Park Faire before I had to start working. The showers in the studio was AMAZING. They have both a bath/shower combo and a stall shower with an overhead showerhead. I LOVED IT. That was what I was sad about leaving when we had to move over to the Poly. So quick little shower and getting ready and we were off! We got there around 7:20 thinking the restaurant opened at 7:30, oopsie! So we walked around and enjoyed the lobby a bit and got some pictures in front of the Gingerbread House while we waited. The doors opened up at about 7:50 and we were the first ones in! They said it wouldn’t be a problem to seat us and we went over to get our photo taken. I liked how they have a Christmas tree set up over there to make it a little special for the season
We got in line to enter the restaurant, as it still wasn’t open yet. We were first! Then we watched some adorable little girls open the restaurant with Mary Poppins and were quickly led to our table. They put us off in our own little section, so that those with ADRs would get the character visits first, which was fine we figured we’d still be done in about an hour since it was the first rotation of the day.
The only cell phone picture that survived this morning
The characters were all great fun, (here’s a hint, order tea!) We saw Pooh, Tigger, Mary Poppins, Alice, and the Mad Hatter. The made-to-order omelet was delicious although not pictured, but unfortunately I started to feel quite sick about two bites into my omelet. (Not food related, feminine related but that’s all I’ll say to avoid TMI) I was having a hard time sitting at the table but by gosh we were waiting for all those characters! I think I ran to the bathroom about 4 times in the last 30 minutes I hope the pictures turned out okay and you can’t tell how miserable I was! We really love the interaction and the food here, it was our first trip over for breakfast (we love the Stepsisters at dinner!) but it was a hit and we would definitely be back!
With the restaurant opening 30 minutes later than I thought, it was a bit of a rush to get to “work” I changed into something more comfortable and then headed down to the lobby of the Villas, hoping it was the same public WiFi I could use with my laptop and not the in-room WiFi.
Score! Everything worked It was probably about 9:20 by the time I got all settled but thankfully I was able to catch right up and was on track for the day. I got settled and prepared myself for a few hours of hard work getting everything set up to be on official vacation!
I took some pictures of the lobby while I was working There were lots of people through all day, and lots of tours of the Villas. But my mom said the GF lobby was CRAZY mid-day so I made the right choice by staying in our small little nook of the world
So I was ready for a pretty easy day, I had just a few things moved onto the day to make it easier for those watching my hotels while I worked. Then I got a very frantic call from my one hotel and it completely caught me off guard, and kinda threw me for the rest of the afternoon. Oh and after about two hours I was feeling back to myself again and ready to take on the day!
My sorority sister from Penn State recently moved back to Orlando after her College Program and just started Front Desk at the Grand and it happened to work out perfectly that this day was her first Villas Runner Shift! So she stopped by and we caught up for a few minutes before planning to meet up again in MK tonight. I had pulled a chair over by a column because obviously at some point I was going to have to plug into the wall, which I did. Well where Tabitha stood to talk to me apparently really bothered the DVC tour person because he came over, interrupted us, and demanded to know WHY I moved the chair. I told him I needed to be by the outlet (as I was clearly attached to the wall at this point and as out of the way as possible) and he told me I was in the way of his shortcut that he takes families through. I said “then you should put in more outlets” and stayed put. So he proceeded to march families through the small area next to me rather than just taking them around to the actual walkway on the outside of the sitting area… blah some people!
Then my mom came down and took a pic or two at some point on her way to the Spa to get her hair cut and highlighted. She raved about her hair stylist and the price was comparable to how much my hair used to cost when I lived in Orlando. She looked great the rest of the trip!
I worked until about 3pm when I got everything completed and decided I was finally hungry (yes, breakfast held us over that long!) Mom ran over to Gasparillas while I finished up to supplement the sandwich I never ate the night before. She also stopped at the Gingerbread House to grab some dessert and gifts for me to take back to my team at work
Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich
Roast Beef Sandwich
TV/Extra bed area
Gingerbread Shingle!
We had a quick lunch and I took a 30 min nap before checking my email one last time to make sure I had nothing left to take care of for work before we headed off to MK! We had some FP+ to use and a new dinner to try so I didn’t want to be stressed worrying about work but did want to get moving because we had no idea how the crowd levels would be with this being one of two chances the entire year to see Fantasy in the Sky!
The musicians in the lobby, always great.
Photopass set up at the GF tree (that we did stop for, it was nice to see actual umbrella lights set up for a photo spot!)
Glad that you were able to find a quiet place to work - although bummer that you had to work while on vacation ~ and BOO for the CM!!!
And by the way - visiting my park on my birthday Can't wait to hear about it!!! I sat at work this year on my birthday remembering how the year before I had spent the morning at AK, and evening at MK - sigh............
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare looked delicious. Sorry you got to feel bad, but thank goodness it was short lived. Now the lobby of the villas makes a beautiful office!
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.
Just catching up. Great trip report!! Loved the details about your Rose and Crown dinner and all the VGF photos.
We were there at the same time and originally scheduled for the Dec. 29 Candlelight Processional Dinner Package. I cancelled it the day before when it became clear the rest of my family was only humoring me and were secretly dreading it. Now I'm so glad I didn't push them to attend! We were in the MK on the 30th as well, so I'll be especially interested to read about your experience.
Great update! Glad you were able to get in to 1900 Park Fare with no problem. We have not done breakfast there, only dinner, but now I want to try breakfast too.
So sorry you were not feeling well but glad it not last the whole day. The lobby of the villas is just beautiful and I love the fountain. It is just so Mary Poppins!!
I can't believe the CM for the DVC desk was so rude. I would not have moved either. What a jerk.
Sorry you weren't feeling well at breakfast. Glad you were able to get some work done. I can't believe how rude that CM was to you!! What you said to him made me laugh!! Glad you stood your ground with him!
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Glad that the next morning was alot better. Sorry you had to work on vacation but what a better place to be then Disney World!! Can't wait to hear about your experience at MK.
Glad you enjoyed 1900 PF breakfast! We did when we went too! The characters were a hoot! Sorry you were having some female issues though. Glad they didn't last long.
Good to here you made the right choice in the Villas Lobby for work. Sorry the DVC CM was so rude about the chair being moved. Great timing for you and your friend.
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