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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 to hear about the Plaza ADR problems and hope you can get this eventually! Keep trying!
Your mojo and advice paid off... see update below...
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
with the ADR for the Plaza Inn. Hopefully something will open up!
Thanks for the pixies, they worked, Cheryl. See below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Good luck with the Plaza ADR! We did the Surf’s Up meal and it was fun.
Thanks, Pam. Your positive comment about Surf's Up changed the course of history!
Character breakfast update:
I love obsessing on some litle piece of planning, so I've been checking for Plaza Inn breakfast ADRs a few times a day for the last 24 hrs. Nothing nothing nothing, for any day of our trip. Then today, something opened up in the EXACT window, on the exact day I wanted. I had to cancel the Surf's Up breakfast to get it, so I did that too. Yay!
...but then... I talked to DS about the difference between the two, especially in the characters that attend, and the opportunity for a little character-led dance party.
...and also...one great advantage of the PI is that it's INSIDE the park, right? But I started thinking how fun it would be to take the monorail over to DTD on our way to PPH. And I started to change my mind a little.
...and the food at the PPH looks nice, especially the made to order omlet bar
End result: We're back at the PPH for Surf's Up! DS really wants to dance with Fab 5 characters, that was the true deciding factor. So there we are. 10:40 Brunch ressies on Sunday.
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.
Time for an updated! Trip is in...9 days!!!! Single Digits!!!
Despite the changes to the guest list, I've had a great time planning this trip.
I think everything is pretty much settled, and all I need to do is write a detailed clothes packing list.
A few little "happy" extras I've planned:
I bought each of us very nice candy canes (you know, the respectable ones sold individually, a little bigger and heavier than the box ones). I have them packaged beautifully, and I plan to bust them out when we are waiting in line for Santa.
I've secretly packed twinkle lights and some tinsel and brick-a-brack to make a little table-top decoration at the hotel. Just a smidge. We'll be taking our advent calendar as well.
Other "special" ideas I have are a very nice holiday scented bar soap, and a holiday-scented candle. Those I still need to pick up.
I've posted the Thursday and Friday plans already.
Sat:
Sleep in day. Head to DCA once ready
Grab FP for RSR, then Soarin' standby
TSMM, then bum around the Pier. I plan to get a nice coffee and then get on the Wheel of Death (non-swinging) at some point. I love Ferris Wheels.
Once it's crowded, plan to watch shows and do meets.
Lunch will be picnic, and will include sourdough bread. I'm planning on bringing my own butter and other items like apples and salami to the park, and will buy sourdough bread at Boudin's. We did this once before and it was really nice.
Next we'll meet Santa. I KNOW HIM!!!!
By this point, the park should be insanely crowded. I'm guessing it will be between 2 and 4pm. We'll decide whether to go back to hotel for hot tub time or hang around. We might split up.
We have an ADR for Carnation Cafe at 7:30. I hope to be in line to reenter DL by 6pm. This is a Candelight Procession day (one of only 2 the whole season) so the park may reach capacity. I emailed with a CM about the possiblity of missing our ADR due to capacity, and she suggested talking to a main entrance CM if we are in that situation. Can do.
After dinner, it's individual choice what we want to do. No plan.
At 10pm, I will go to swing dancing in FL. Mom and DS will have gone back to hotel by then, I think.
Get return time for Jedi Training Academy. I've always kept this a secret from DS, because I selfishly didn't want to do it. But now I've told him about it. The current process is to line up first thing in the AM for a return time. The child MUST be with you to get a return time, as they quiz them to see if they can follow directions. If August doesn't want to wait in line for the return time, we'll skip it. While waiting, one adult will grab Fantasmic FP if we didn't see it on Friday.
Free choice time in DL until 10 am.
At 10, catch Monorail to DTD, then walk to Paradise Pier for 10:40 ADR -Mickey's Surf's Up Breakfast. Should be fun, and will count as lunch. Afterwards, we'll probably go to the Lego store for a while. If I can get away with it, I will leave August with my mom there. I hate to spend valuable park time in DTD, but we don't have any other time available.
My only must do for the rest of Sunday is to do Rivers of America activities. I've never been on the Sailing Ship Columbia, so that's a goal of mine, and it's a must to visit Tom Sawyer's Island.
The rest of the day is open. I have a list of trip Must Do's, so we'll work from that, but no concrete plans.
Dinner will likely be Rancho del Zocalo. Their taco salad is a go-to park meal for me.
Mon: I will probably visit DTD and maybe have coffee at the GF while DS and mom sleep in. I'm an early riser and love to be in the bubble as much as possible.
Check out of hotel by 9:30, drive to Knott's Berry Farm. Visit the free entrance Christmas Market area until 2pm.
At 2pm, leave Knotts and make the drive back to Burbank airport. Flight leaves at 6pm for home.
Once landed in Portland at 9 or so, make the 2 hr drive home to Eugene. Work the next morning!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Thanks Pam, Dave, Cam, and Cheryl! 4 days left!!!!! Where does the time go?
It's time for me to solidify packing lists and to do lists and actually pack.
DS literally had NO long pants without holes in them. After over an hour of walking 2 malls yesterday, I finally found suitable pants at Target. Yay! He won't look like a street urchin at the parks after all!
I'm still at my parent's house for the holiday weekend, but am heading home today in the afternoon. So much planning that I can't do without my computer!
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.
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with the ADR for the Plaza Inn. Hopefully something will open up! 
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