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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I avoid the ABC Commissary. I have tried it twice and both times was very sorry I did!
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Originally Posted by TLCdisneyfan
I try to avoid it, but at this point, it's the only indoor quick service at DHS. Sometimes, you really need air conditioning!
LOL! You guys reminded me that eating anywhere in DHS is our must-avoid. We've never found anyplace there we thought enjoyable either looking over menus or actually eating somewhere.
Isn't that sad that a whole theme park can make your "Do not eat" list? I sincerely hope that all the additions to DHS include some better restaurants!
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Tony's...terrible. I really wanted to like it but it was very ChefBoyardee and the service was awful.
Huh. We thought the food was quite good--nothing like canned--and our service was brisk but not rushed. Our preferred Italian at WDW is Il Mulino, however.
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Last but not least -- Flame Tree. I loathe barbeque, and the options there are nothing that interests me.
We avoided Flametree for years, but finally tried lunch on our last trip. They really don't have much to offer non-meat eaters (a fruit salad, I believe), but the turkey sandwich was a revelation. Good bread, lots of lightly smoked sliced fresh turkey, cranberry mayonnaise. My husband ate half of mine and has said we need to go back next trip so he can get his own.
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Our avoids aren't so much due to bad experiences or bad food but more things didn't quite connect.
Sci-Fi Drive In - was our first trip with our girls and our first TS experience on the dining plan. Loved the theme, and the food was good, but the disconnect between the two drove me nuts. Who gets a steak at a drive in? It really bugged me.
Chefs de France - (I think that is the name, ground level french restaurant was on the dining plan in 2009) At the time, they had a separate menu for those on the dining plan. It has been the only restaurant I have ever run into that does that. The food was okay, we were really hoping to get the chance to try escargot but it wasn't on the menu. The atmosphere was very nice, I felt out of place in my shorts and tee and sure we looked like we had been through the wringer since it was July. My problem was we had 7 pm reservations and hoped to see Illuminations. What we didn't know is they seem to practice the European way of meals, everything slowing wayyyy down. Dinner took almost 2 hours and it was killing the girls to wait for the end. My oldest did end up breaking a glass while there and the servers did clean it up and get her a new one, but I figured they would have moved us to a different table to better clean, especially since we had not even gotten our salads yet.
Restaurant Marrakesh - We loved Tangerine Cafe the first time we went in 2009, our first experience with Moroccan food. So in 2011, we figured we couldn't go wrong with RM and belly dancers. We were so excited! The decor was great! The table we were at was along the dance floor, great! As we came in the dancers were finishing a set, so we figured they would start up again before we left, but they didn't. The food was okay, but for Disney, they were tiny! We left the restaurant and were at a snack stand within 30 minutes.
Again, none of these things are terrible experiences or terrible food. We have been very lucky at Disney in 3 trips to never have either, but for all the effort Disney puts into everything, these things bothered me.
We are headed back this October for trip #4 and I have been thinking about Sci-Fi, wondering if it is worth another visit.
Sci-Fi Drive In - was our first trip with our girls and our first TS experience on the dining plan. Loved the theme, and the food was good, but the disconnect between the two drove me nuts. Who gets a steak at a drive in? It really bugged me.
We are headed back this October for trip #4 and I have been thinking about Sci-Fi, wondering if it is worth another visit.
I agree and that is why we always order burgers, fries, onion rings, and milk shakes at Sci Fi. If you are at a drive in...you get drive in food! At least IMO.
What I have noticed is people who get anything burgers or sandwiches aren't usually as happy as those who do.
I would give it another try but keep in mind about what to order.
I was also really disappointed with the cobb salad. And I had been really looking forward to trying it! The flavor was good, but it's more shredded than chopped (based on watching cooking shows, I think it was a chiffonade), and the texture turned me off. I'd go back to try other dishes.
I had the Cobb Salad when I did the Lunch with an Imagineer, and we did talk about the texture with our Imagineer Josh the librarian, who indicated that this was in fact the real way the salad was supposed to be made. If you look at recipes online, they may tell you to chop the greens, which you certainly can do to suit your taste. But as originally concocted, it did call for the greens to be finely cut. I fully agreed with Josh when he said he could eat it every day.
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My must do-NOT: Grand Floridian Cafe. I know how could that be a must do not? I loved the atmosphere and everytime I walk into GF I always feel under dressed...
But anyway I had ordered a chicken dish with risotto. When it was placed in front of me, I noticed something right away... MUSHROOMS! I HATE them. They weren't big ones either, they were bits. It made it alot harder to get them away from the risotto. The menu never said it had mushrooms. I was so very disappointed too. Ended up eating the chicken with my Caesar salad. I had good service but it really turned me off.....
And California Grill I ate there for one of my Birthdays. It has nothing to do with the food, it was all about service. The waiter was not attentive, and he took forever to come back. He didn't listen either. He told me the specials, but I told him I was interested in the steak, but still explained about venison, which isn't what I just said.... I gave him a $100 to pay my bill...the bill was $72.00, he came back with the breakdown of change of a $100, not deducting the $72. It was very strange...plus the female server of the table next to my table, I liked her alot better because she spent time with her customers. I did complain to the manager and he gave me his business card and told me to contact him the next time I come to dinner. But I never did...... might try it again since I LOVED my meal and then going outside to see the view, which was Awesome!
I am also boycotting the Turkey leg too... it looks more like ham and not turkey. Not appetizing at all.....
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I'm also avoiding 50's Prime Time Cafe. I thought the food was really good & the decor was really fun but I felt incredibly rushed. Plus when I arrived to check in I got the impression that the cm that was outside doing whatever it is that she was doing would have preferred not to have anything to do with me & my scooter.
Well after reading this thread I'm embarrassed to say that 2 different trips to the world while pregnant, all I ever wanted was a burger from Electric Umbrella . YUP, I did! Craved it. Loved it. Both times. Funny now.......I never do.
I will try anything OR anyplace twice......so I bend quite often, but one that is on our forever never again list would be Tony's. Sad because the theming and location of that place is so nice.
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I do not eat meat on a regular basis (I will eat chicken or turkey if desperate or a guest) so I find lots of non options at WDW.
I really didn't like Yak and Yeti CS (when I was still eating fowl) or Lotus Blossom -both mediocre at best. I also had a bad wrap at Electric Umbrella.
I am not sure there is any CS place I will absolutely not go back because I could just get a side salad and I carry high protein snacks with me.
I was really disappointed in Chefs de France. I went for a late lunch but they had already changed over to the dinner menu, which left me with very few options. I had a Caprese flatbread (or something similar) which was very disappointing-bland, not much cheese and not nearly as good as I could make at home with prepared dough in less than 5 minutes.
I also will not go back to Raglan Road. The food was fine but the music was way too loud. I had to shout at the waiter and we had no conversation.
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Charlie
Last edited by Huntermom; 04-03-2016 at 10:26 AM..
We avoid two place for different reasons. Hollywood and Vine because the food was worse than terrible and my kids got sick there. We also avoid Crystal Palace because the service was awful.