Everything is Subject to Change Updated 7/6 - Page 32 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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You had one heck of a day at DHS! Lots accomplished, and a yummy meal to boot. I love it when it just works out like that. Cuz it doesn't happen all the time...
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Did you like the mermaids in Pirates? They were VERY different from what I thought they would be like. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but didn't think they'd be quite like they were.
I was a little behind but all caught up now. Those hot dogs looked really good at Casey's. We only tried the chili and cheese but now I wish we had gone back to try those too. Definitely on our next trip.
We saw that cop during our August 2010 trip. Same guy and he was very funny. He was very entertaining while waiting for the afternoon parade.
More please!
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Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
I love the Beauty and the Beast show...the girls both got to see it with grandma before it closed on Broadway and loved it so it is a favorite of thiers. Lunch at the HBD looked delicious, we have not made it back there in the past few trips but definitely have to get back there....the cobb salad looked yummy and the duck, well I have never been eager to try it but after looking at that dish I might have to change my mind.
Thank you for your HBD photos. The Cobb Salad was high on my list of "food I might possibly get" but now that I see they mix it all together it'll have to be off the list. These days salads need to be able to be picked apart and eaten in layers for me. But the duck looks yummy
I love Kouzzina on my last visit, so I'm really hoping you enjoyed your experience!!
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I am all caught up!
Sounds like everything is going well! Your day at the Studios sounds great!
I do not ride Star Tours because in the past it has made me very dizzy.
I would like to see the new version...but I am not sure I should try!
I love the pictures from DS!
Carly and I ate at the Brown Derby last week and the food was very good, but the service was lacking! We sat for a very long time before we ever got to order! And once we did order, she never came back! Other wait staff brought us our meal. She never even came back to see if we wanted more to drink! We were not impressed!
Glad you enjoyed the movie! It sounds like a great way to cool off from the heat!
Looking forward to more!
Here is a picture of the "Banana Cop" when he was at the Adventurer's Club
The other pictures are from the 2007 Mousefest Adventurer's Club meet. Some PPers (and DH's) were having lots of fun with the characters!
Thanks! Those are great and I can see them now! Definitely the same guy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luvsun
I am all caught up!
Sounds like everything is going well! Your day at the Studios sounds great!
I do not ride Star Tours because in the past it has made me very dizzy.
I would like to see the new version...but I am not sure I should try!
I love the pictures from DS!
Carly and I ate at the Brown Derby last week and the food was very good, but the service was lacking! We sat for a very long time before we ever got to order! And once we did order, she never came back! Other wait staff brought us our meal. She never even came back to see if we wanted more to drink! We were not impressed!
Glad you enjoyed the movie! It sounds like a great way to cool off from the heat!
Looking forward to more!
I think you should try the new version once--the only one was the only ride at WDW that made me queasy and I didn't have that problem with the new version.
I'm so sorry you had lousy service at HBD. We always have such a good time there. It is an absolutely every trip tradition!
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We hopped a bus from DTD to the Boardwalk after the movie. We headed up to the Belle Vue Lounge and discovered Tim, our awesome bartender--almost alone. There was another couple there who were clearly regulars. I was surprised that the cocktail menu only included two drinks--the Magic Star and whatever this year's designated specialty drink is. I was told that they have pulled the Disney Resort cocktail list from this location and the bartenders are writing a drink menu that fits the feel of a 1940s seaside lounge--full of classic cocktails. I was excited because this is exactly what I did at my bar--yes we've got a list of fun, fruity drinks, but also some really old classics like the grasshopper, the Hemmingway, and the Aviation on our menu. It was fun to talk to him! Since we were on the subject of classic cocktails I actually ORDERED a grasshopper, because I've never actually consumed one! Brandon had his usually martini--which he said was the best he'd had all trip. Lots of Bartenders these days are leaving out the Vermouth!
We finished our cocktails and got our TiW discount applied and I tipped Tim a little extra. We headed downstairs to check in for dinner.
I'm sure some of you remember our famed first visit to Kouzzina--I was with Bob, Larry, Cheryl, Mark and Lorie. Brandon was not with me on this particular trip. I had to get up and find the manager twice--who did very little to compensate for the problems were were having with service. That visit was umm 6 trips ago I think.
Brandon, who usually only has two requests for restaurants (Sanaa and HBD) expressed interest in visiting and so I added it to this trip to give it another shot. Several things have changed--including the menu!
The first thing I noticed that was different is that when the restaurant opened, all of the servers we noticed were from Mediterranean countries. We had a bit of a language problem with our server on the first visit. She just seemed overwhelmed and unable to communicate properly. Laura, our server (I think--I'm working from memory here folks.) was an Orlando native. Everyone else I heard speaking to customers near our table was also a local or at least fluent English speaker. This made a huge difference!
The second thing I noticed is that the wine list has expanded to include a fair few wines from Mediterranean countries--including Greece!
We ordered a spectacular wine, from Greece called Sigalas, it was white and very crisp! I cannot figure what happened to my food photos from this meal, but they didn't make it to photobucket. They also are not on my computer. Perhaps I accidentally deleted them from the camera. Sorry! They might be on Brandon's phone--he's not home right now.
Finally, the menu has changed quite a bit and now seems a bit larger and offers more options.
We started with Crisp Calamari and Lemon - Coated in Aborio Rice Flour with Spicy Yogurt and Garlic Yogurt. This was spectacular! The calamari was perfectly cooked and the fried lemons were an amazing touch! Both dipping sauces were tasty, but I preferred the Garlic Yogurt, while Brandon liked the Spicy Yogurt better.
Next we tried the Kouzzina Sampler - Choice of two skewers with Marinated Olives, Spiced Cashews, Dolmades, Tzatziki, Hummus, and Grilled Pita.
Choose from Spicy Gulf Prawns, Sesame Lamb Meatballs, or All Natural Chicken
We chose the Spicy Gulf Prawns and the Lamb Meatballs. We asked that the cashews come on the side on a separate plate. Brandon can eat them--I cannot. The olives were a lovely accompaniment! Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves. We wished these had arrived a bit hotter, but were very tasty when dipped in the tzatziki sauce. The shrimp skewers were amazing! Well seasoned, but not too spicy. The meatballs were also very tasty, but they could have left off the sesame seeds, as neither of us felt they added and flavor or texture to the dish. The meatballs would have stood alone just fine.
We also had the sauteed Brussels Sprouts with this course. They were absolutely wonderful. I could have eaten more of these! The combination of capers (salty) and lemon (sour) is just perfect!
We were still hungry at this point and debated over what to order. Nothing else on the appetizer menu was calling out to us. We ended up asking Laura what her favorite entree was and she gave us two: the Pork Tenderloin and the Fisherman's Stew.
We decided to go with the Fisherman's Stew - Scallops, seasonal Fish, Shellfish, Fennel, Grilled Bread, and Ouzo Butter. Boy was I glad we did! It was absolutely wonderful. It appeared to us that the seasonal fish was Swordfish. Everything was wonderfully cooked and the broth was so flavorful. I remember asking for more bread at this point! I should have asked for the recipe so I could try and do this one at home.
We were stuffed. Dessert was out the window, but we lingered over our bottle of wine while we took care of the check. The cost of this meal was right around $100.
In addition to being stuffed, we were also completely won over. Our service was thoughtful and attentive. All of the food was tasty and timed properly. We did wait a bit for the entree to come out, but that was because we didn't order it until after we finished the first two courses--we weren't sure we would still be hungry. We ate an awful lot on this trip--we seemed to be starving all the time. Disney Stomach! Neither one of us eats like this at home!
Kouzzina has been added to the list of restaurants in regular rotation. We can no longer have an "every trip" list because the list is getting to be too long.
In case you are wondering what restaurants are on the rotation list:
Tutto Italia
Sanaa
Boma
Liberty Tree Tavern
Kona Cafe Breakfast
Olivia's Breakfast
and
Kouzzina are the regular TS restaurants
Citricos
Jiko
Narcoossee's
Artist Point
Hollywood Brown Derby
and
Jiko are on the Signature TS list
We try to make it to several of these every trip while adding in restaurants we haven't been to before to keep it interesting.
We walked back to DHS and hopped on a bus back to SSR pretty quickly. We were off to bed before long--we were going to have a pretty early start. Think 6am early start!
We decided over dinner that we wanted to have a real breakfast in the morning. I got on the interwebs when we got back to the room and booked us an early (early!) breakfast reservation at Olivia's. I had heard that it was possible to walk from SSR to OKW (and it is, but the next update is not for the lazy or faint of heart)
Up Next--Olivia's and a morning at Animal Kingdom!
Dinner sounded delicious, I remember a lot of not so great reviews when it first opened, so glad that they have worked out the kinks. Definitely need to add this on the list. I love your dining rotation, you have many of our favorites on their as well. We are hitting Citrico's this trip...I was telling DisneyDani today that everytime I look at the menu everything looks delicious but something about the pork dish is just so appealing and that I remembered reading (I am almost sure it was one of your TRs about how much you enjoyed it) think that is going to be my final choice in July.
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Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
OMG!!! I FORGOT all about that!!!
Heather - sounds like you had a productive and very enjoyable day at DHS, and your HBD lunch sounded awesome!! Your rotating restaurant list is a great idea and has some wonderful options on it.
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We were not impressed!
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