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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've just found out that from next year DLRP will begin charging for breakfasts. Up until now, the unlimited continental-style breakfast was free for guests, and was excellent because it set you up for the day and had a very good variety of choices. It was one of the things that we really liked about the hotels there, the inclusion of breakfast. But the prices are getting higher and higher to visit this resort, and they are slowly chipping away at anything that made it a little more affordable.
Rats. Oh well, luckily I am a shareholder and we get access to 2 complimentary pastries per visit (limited to 4 visits per month), so I guess we will have to start having breakfast at Salon Mickey from now on!
I guess it was too good to last once TWDC got their hands on more shares ......
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Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
I've booked us a cheeky 5 day trip in March 2017, so in order to take one last advantage of free breakfast, I've just spent a ridiculous amount of money. Hmm.
Anyway, we're staying in the Newport Bay resort for the first time, which has been newly refurbished, and we're quite excited about it!
5 days, Monday to Friday, and I upgraded to the half-board dining plan, because when I worked out how much I would spend on food when we are there if we stuck to the cheapest table service restaurants, the dining plan was only around £5 a day more, and means we can go back to some places we loved when on the free dining plan a couple of years ago.
A week after I booked this, the offers changed and instead of "2 nights free" they are now offering "free half-board dining" - I priced this up and compared to what I paid a week ago, the price has increased to almost exactly the same as I paid to include the dining plan.
"Free" my earhole!
__________________
Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
It does make you wonder sometimes. I guess people believe them when they say 'discounted' or 'free dining'. Ah well, at least we are going again next year!
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Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
A few weeks ago, I booked our package for the DLP Half-Marathon weekend in September 2017. I just double-checked and luckily, it does include free continental breakfast. We attended the half-marathon this year and breakfast for runners (and their families) was served in a dining room seperate from "regular" guests.
I guess that'll be the same next year, then, with breakfast included in the runDisney packages but not in regular packages anymore (if you don't pay extra for it).
It's a shame, I think, as I've always enjoyed getting a free breakfast at the Disney hotel at DLP.
And tomorrow I can make our ADRs! We've debated long and hard about which restaurants to go to. The Blue Lagoon (in Pirates) will be closed while Pirates is undergoing a lengthy refurb (Captain Jack Sparrow etc addition), so that one is off the list. We've added Chez Remy even though the choices are not vast (basically, steak or fish!), because of the theming and the fact that it is a fairly new place. We're also returning to Walt's, despite the fact that it no longer qualifies for the Plus Dining Plan - we can use our Plus Dining Plan vouchers in there and just pay a little extra after the meal (around $10 each, I think). We love Walt's and it is our 'special' place.
We couldn't decide between the two steakhouses, so in the end we just decided to do them both. We've been to The Steakhouse before, but not the Silver Spur Steakhouse, so it makes sense to do one we loved and a new one.
I can't believe we had such problems trying to just pick 4 restaurants!
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Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
I like your choices! Have you considered Inventions or California Grill (both at the Disneyland Hotel)?
We've had some wonderful meals at Inventions. We did the California Grill many years ago and weren't wowed by it, but I wanted to go back on our last trip in May and, of course typically, it was closed.
I like your choices! Have you considered Inventions or California Grill (both at the Disneyland Hotel)?
I had a look at both of those, and sadly they now both fall into the Premium dining plan category, which would mean an extra charge on top of the regular dining plan we already have. We're already doing this for Walt's, and I'm not sure about doing it for the others if they are somewhere we are unfamiliar with.
__________________
Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
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