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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
What a great time at MK! You did well despite the crowds! Dinner at Tortuga Tavern looked great! Love all the firework pictures! Congrats on the Alex and Ani!
I was surprised how much we got in!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Love your new perspective fireworks view! It looked great to me!
Looked like you were able to make it to both your FP+ times.
Glad you were able to make it back to Main Street to see Fantasy in the Sky.
Lucky you to find your Alex & Ani exactly as you wanted it!
Everything seemed to work itself out this night! Disney magic at its finest
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
It sounds like your advanced planning worked well to help you beat the crowds!
Yep, call me convinced on the new MyMagic+ system!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
Love the pictures of all the different fireworks!! Sounds like a busy and crazy night but glad you were able to get to do what you wanted to do.
Also it looks like we are going to be there around the same time.!!
Yep we squeezed a lot in! And it looks like it, May is such a lovely time to visit
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
The meal at Tortuga looked delicious! FastPass+ worked well for you time in MK this night. Great spot for viewing the castle show and the Fantasy in the Sky.
I couldn't believe how lucky we were with that spot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I should've waited for your next instalment to see the crowds - wow, that was busy! Kudos for you for going there and sticking it out and still managing to achieve quite a bit in those crowds.
I couldn't believe it, it felt crowded when we were walking into the park but we figured it was the stage show crowd... nope everyone was just up there indefinitely!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great pictures of the fireworks!
Thank you! Hopefully there will be some better ones on the "real" cameras, but it's amazing what iPhones can do sometimes!
December 31st, 2013: Day 3, Part 1 - First real vacation day!
Happy New Year’s Eve! I was originally supposed to work a half day today, so everything accomplished this morning was bonus! We slept in a little (until 8am!) after that late night and packed up for our move over to the Polynesian. I snuck in a quick 2 mile run while my mom showered and stuff and then I had a few bites of cupcake for breakfast that was stashed from our Gasparilla’s trip - those sandwiches are surprisingly large!
The jogging trail between the GF and the Poly, while beautiful, isn’t my favorite. It’s a little windy and hard to follow. I ended up zig-zagging around a lot and dodging a lot of guests. The cupcake really hit the spot after that and I then had myself a quick shower (because if you recall, I’m in love with that shower!) and finished packing up. It was probably about 10am when we felt ready to go so we called for Bell Services to come scoop up our luggage for transfer and got a nice ride over to the Main Building to catch the monorail as well. We left a tip for Mousekeeping and gave our nice Bellman a tip as well since I pack heavy
So we walk through the GF lobby one last time as our “home” and up to the Monorail station to hop off at the next stop and grab a bus to the Boardwalk to start our decoration tour!
This is what we were greeted with when we got off at the MK (10:30am, Phase 1 closing at least, got up to 3 but I’m not sure when)
We literally had to fight our way across and to the bus area. It wasn’t long before a Boardwalk bus arrived, pickup up us and another family who had planned to head to MK today but when they got off the bus and walked over towards the park and saw what they were in for, immediately turned around! We were on our way and thankful we weren’t trying to head back to the area anytime soon (as we wouldn’t be going to check in at the Poly until after lunch, since we figured our room wouldn’t be ready) because this is how backed up traffic was…
We were in the Epcot area before the cars to MK thinned out, I guess people just weren’t accepting that the parking lot was closed? I don’t know but I was glad it wasn’t me! We were quickly at the Boardwalk to check it out. The gingerbread bakery was not that impressive, and really looked like just a way to sell stuff, but everything else we saw we loved! We went from the Boardwalk, to Yacht Club, and then finally over to Beach! My friend and running buddy was working so I waited (quite a while) for him to come say hi. Otherwise mom and I just goofed off taking pictures and enjoying the atmosphere until it was time to hop on a DTD bus for lunch!
And here are a bunch of the pics we took, and there are even more on the cameras! Although a shame no Photopass set ups like they had at GF!
Belle Vue Lounge
Boardwalk's tree was outside in the courtyard area, I thought a nice touch!
Panoramic of Crescent Lake
I spy Spaceship Earth
Entry to the Yacht Club from the lake area
Miniature Village
Yacht side Tree
Goofing off on the bridge by Swan/Dolphin
Miniature village detail, amazing!
Walking to the Beach side!
Gingerbread Carousel - we loved this!
Again we have a very photo heavy update, so I’ll leave you there for now
Wow! Look at the MK crowds! You could never pay me enough to go at that time of year! You are a brave woman! Although you weren't entering a park, just resort hopping!
Great pics of the Epcot resorts!
Holy cow, that's quite a crowd! I remember seeing photos like that on Facebook. Wouldn't want to be in those crowds.
Great photos of the resorts! I love the one of Spaceship Earth peeking over the top!
I fell a little behind but I'm all caught up now! Your dinner at R&C looked absolutely amazing, as did the photos of Fantasy in the Sky!! Those crowds looked un-bearable! I would have turned my tush right around and gotten back on the bus to go somewhere else as well!
Wow! Look at the MK crowds! You could never pay me enough to go at that time of year! You are a brave woman! Although you weren't entering a park, just resort hopping!
Great pics of the Epcot resorts!
There was really only a few times we felt the crowds to be unbearable, but I was very glad we opted NOT to do a park on this day. I think if I were to go at this time again, I'd try for Epcot, as it never hit Phase Closings and their countdown sounds fun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Holy cow, that's quite a crowd! I remember seeing photos like that on Facebook. Wouldn't want to be in those crowds.
Great photos of the resorts! I love the one of Spaceship Earth peeking over the top!
Thanks! It's crazy how close it seems, but then you try to walk all the way up there and it's another story
Quote:
Originally Posted by melduckie
I fell a little behind but I'm all caught up now! Your dinner at R&C looked absolutely amazing, as did the photos of Fantasy in the Sky!! Those crowds looked un-bearable! I would have turned my tush right around and gotten back on the bus to go somewhere else as well!
Yep, it was nutz! I don't know how people were still trying to get in, thinking it was a good idea?!
I've realized I forgot my Day 2 Summary... so here you go
Day 2 Recap
Today in one thought: Sometimes you just have to rally!
The best thing today was: Fantasy in the Sky from Main Street USA
The worst thing today was: the rude DVC Cast Member
Today we tried: Tortuga Tavern
The result was: a quick and yummy "rare" opportunity!
Plans we missed: I think we got to almost everything we had intended on this day!
December 31st, 2013: Day 3, Part 2- An afternoon of surprises!
The first surprise: an amazing lunch!
The second: a disappointing view
The third: a magical solution to the view!
So waiting for Patrick had us on a bus a little later than I had hoped, but once again we were maybe 5-10 mins late for our 12:30 ADR. Not too bad all things considered. The roads around DTD were PACKED and there were cars everywhere so it took a little while to get to the Pleasure Island stop. We checked in and were asked if a high-top would be okay… I really didn’t want one but if it meant not waiting fine. Mom went off to the bathroom and returned with the knowledge that there were a bunch of empty tables! So scratch a high-top, I’d like a real table please! 10 minutes later we were sat. Not too bad, but a little bit of a wait considering how empty things were. They were also taking walk ups for the patio outside, and I think potentially inside as well.
Our waitress was phenomenal and we were quickly enjoying bread and drinks and taking her up on recommendations for what to order
Us with our recommended adult beverages
Bread Service w/ sweet beer dipping something
Tart Art - asparagus and goat cheese tart with garden peas, leeks and lemon oil dressed arugula
Soup of the day (can't remember, sorry!)
Garlic Parmesan And Truffle Oil Skinny Chips (Side)
Bangers and Booz - Guinness and onion bangers on mash, topped with caramelized onions and beef stew
Raglan Risotto - Risotto with shiitake mushrooms, garden peas, shaved parmesan, and rocket lettuce. w/ Chicken
Ger's Bread & Butter Pudding - Like no other pudding you have ever tried. Believe us
Mom and I both boxed up half of our meals to save room for dessert, after hearing such wonderful things about this bread pudding. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, it was MASSIVE! We weren’t expecting that. This was a surprise because while yes, we’d heard good things about Raglan, I’m a little picky and was apprehensive about Irish food. Everything we ate was phenomenal and wonderful. Portions were huge and prices weren’t too bad at all! TIW was blacked out for the holiday, so I think we made a really smart choice here! We will definitely be returning on future trips, and hopefully remembering that we can’t eat a three course meal here. I’d love to try dinner though with the entertainment!
Or original plan was to wander around DTD and shop a bit after lunch, but we were kind of in a food coma and the crowds were starting to pick up here as well, so we just decided to head out and try our luck at the Poly. It was about 3-3:30ish I believe by the time we finally got back, and this is where things got a little crazy.
I had done a lot of research on which longhouse to request, knowing that my beloved Tahiti was down for the count. We had settled on requesting a balcony and Tuvalu for the best view of the night’s fireworks. First, the CM checking us in tried to tell us we were in Fiji. Knowing my research told me there were no Theme Park View rooms in Fiji, I asked if she was sure. She insisted and said our room would have a view out this way and you can see the park… I was like “no I ran by there this morning, you can see the marina and MAYBE the Contemporary. Can we please double check on this?” After some more questioning and a call to the back office, she realized she mixed up our floor number and building number. The building we were really in was Aotearoa. I asked if there was possibly anything in Tuvalu as I had really wanted to stay there, and she made another call and said we could switch buildings on January 2nd if we really wanted to. I really didn’t want to move rooms again as I just wanted to get settled, so I tried to stay positive and headed over to Aotearoa (my mom was pretty POed at this point, but I said we’d go look and investigate and “I’m sure it’s lovely”)
Well, we get over there and we couldn’t get into the building with our MBs… KTTW to the rescue and woohoo we have a balcony, but this is what we saw.
To me, this is a Grand Floridian View, hardly even a Lagoon View! There was ONE spot on the balcony you could stand to see the Castle. And having worked there, I know that “theme park view” rooms are classified as such if they have an unobstructed view of the park. Clearly, this wasn’t the case. It’s possible that I just sat down and cried for a few minutes. I’m not proud of it, but three days of nonstop go-go-go and my perfect NYE plans for me and my mom getting ruined by a tree are just not a good mix.
I finally calmed down and called the back office. I described the view and our plans and just pleaded with them to please help me find another room. “Are you only looking at ready rooms? I’ll gladly wait for Mousekeeping to finish up” “No? Oh okay, well isn’t there anything, maybe just blocked but not checked into??!?!” Etc etc... I was once again told we could move on January 2nd but this time it was added that I would only be charged the Standard View rate for these two nights. I told her that I really didn’t want to have to move rooms again once I got settled in and it wasn’t an issue of the cost, it was the experience of THIS night I wanted. The other option was to move two rooms down, so that instead of this big bushy tree, we’d have a skinny tree blocking the view. I mentioned that I really don’t see how that could be any better, and if that was really our only option we would just stay put here and fight the crowds on the beach (which is what we wanted to avoid by the Theme Park View purchase)
She asked if I could hold on a second, of course I could! I’m upset, not unreasonable, I’ll wait as long as it takes for the best solution. She comes back a few minutes later… “I can move you to Club Level Lagoon View, you won’t get any money back but we won’t change your rate either. You will lose the balcony BUT we block of an area of the beach for our Club Level guests to watch the fireworks” I confer with my mother, as she’s the balcony fiend… “UM YES THAT WOULD BE AMAZING THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAVING ME FROM THOSE MOBS OF PEOPLE!”
We walk over to Hawaii and wait to be let in (they were supposed to let them know we were coming, they didn’t and were a bit confused) We quickly explained the situation and got our Magic Bands fixed and perhaps some of the last gold KTTW cards to be printed since those are soon going to be a thing of the past. Pam explained the Club offerings to us and asked if there was anything else we needed. At this point we were exhausted and worn out, but still had plans for Artist Point for dinner and just didn’t see us getting over there tonight. Plus with the food offerings, we just kind of wanted to sit and relax a bit and stop moving for once! She quickly resolved our ADR with no penalty and we were off to our room.
This was our new view, so I can see why it was still vacant. It was the farthest room on the second floor, but since we had the lounge and a place to watch the fireworks sans-mobs of people, we were okay with it. Plus I just did not for the life of me want to move rooms again.
So we called Bell Services and got our luggage and unpacked and finally settled and rested while we waited about 20 mins for the evening offerings to begin in the lounge.
Oh, wow! What a mess! I think I would have not been happy it I had paid for a Theme Park view and that is what I had received!! I have been pricing those theme park views and they are not cheap! I know it is still not the best view, but I am glad you at least got club level and a special viewing spot for Wishes! I think I would have cried a little too, maybe a lot!!!
Oh my goodness, those crowds for the Magic Kingdom were just insane!
I'm so glad you were able to sort something out with the view - after all, they'd sold you and you'd paid for a theme park view and then not to provide one just isn't on. It's only right that they eventually came through for you.
WOWZA!!! The crowds!! We didn't even try to go to MK on the 31st last year when we were there! Sorry you had all the troubles with your room, but nice score on the club level!
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
About This Page: 
Love all the firework pictures! 
Congrats on the Alex and Ani! 
Great spot for viewing the castle show and the Fantasy in the Sky. 
Kudos for you for going there and sticking it out and still managing to achieve quite a bit in those crowds.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Liz 
Holy cow, that's quite a crowd! I remember seeing photos like that on Facebook. Wouldn't want to be in those crowds. 
*Melissa
Deb
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
