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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Me: A single mom who works as a paralegal. I’ve never really grown up. I didn’t go to Disney until DD was 5, but I’m hooked! My favorite Disney character is Captain Jack Sparrow and I wish they’d have him out more often. I love Tigger too! In fact, I hate to even decide who my favorite character is.
DD16: She’s convinced she is a Princess. By the time of the trip she will be a junior in high school. She’s been to WDW three times (2004, 2009 and 2013), DL once (2010), and one Disney cruise (2004). She loves horses and on our first trip after we took the horse drawn trolley ride, she declared that when she grew up, that was the job she wanted. Though she’s grown so much since then, she still loves horses and still wants to work at Disney (but as a veterinarian).
We are both amusement park/coaster fanatics and while Disney only has a few high thrill rides, we can be in the parks from open to close and only break for meals.
When to Go?
DD16 really wanted to go at Christmas. And to be honest, I really wanted to see the lights and all the decorations. I’m not huge on crowds, but we’ll only be doing this once, and I’m mentally preparing myself for it. We’ve saved for 2 years to make it happen. Any future trips will depend on where DD16 goes to college, though we are hoping for a Disney cruise after graduation.
We know that this time of year will be very busy, but we really want to see the lights and experience some of the holiday magic. Plus, how cool will it be to wake up at Disney on Christmas morning?
We booked our trip in September 2014; over a year before the trip. We’ve never planned a trip this far in advance. Dates of travel are officially December 19 – 26, 2015.
Where to Stay?
We have previously stayed at Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and Beach Club. Knowing we couldn’t afford a deluxe, but wanting more than a value, that left a moderate. Since we have already stayed at Caribbean Beach, we had a choice between Port Orleans and Coronado Springs. We ruled out Coronado Springs; which left Port Orleans – but now we needed to decide between Riverside and French Quarter. Though DD16 would have preferred Riverside, we did agree on French Quarter.
However, when Free Dining was offered, we had to leave behind our dreams of Port Orleans and move to Coronado Springs anyway. I’m not overly thrilled about the resort as it seems less “Disney” than the other resorts, but hopefully the Christmas decorations will make up for it.
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Great start. We stayed at Coronado last Christmas, and it was a hike from our room to the "El Centro" where the dining and shopping is. Also, the bus stopped 4 times on each trip.
I would suggest, if you can, getting a preferred room if you plan on going back and forth for lunch or dinner at El Centro. Otherwise, you're looking at an 8- to 10-minute walk one way.
no no no no! CSR is a FANTASTIC resort and you're going to love your stay. The person who mentioned the amount of stops for the buses is correct. CSR is a big resort and the park buses stop MANY times, however, if you stay out by the Ranchos section, you're like the 2nd stop. This is beneficial in two ways,
1. The buses aren't crowded when you get on and you've avoided one of the stops.
2. The last stop is usually the area closest to El Centro, so if you want to go to the main area, getting on any park bus will get you there in about 2 stops.
Also, the Ranchos section is the BEST THEMED! It is amazing. We stayed there for Star Wars weekends last year and I fell in love with Ranchos area. I felt like I had driven from Florida and landed in beautiful section in Mexico. I think you'll find that fate dealing your hand to CSR will be a happy accident. I can't say enough wonderful things about CSR.
Also, we'll be part of the lemming crowd that week too. Dec 21-27 for us.
Great start! I've never stayed at CSR, but I'm sure it will be great. I have went to WDW over Christmas a few times and we simply love it! It is crowded, but it's really manageable if you plan in advance which you are obviously doing... I know yall will have a wonderful time!
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How to Get There? (or how to play the best price flight game)
We are in Ohio and if we drove, it would take us about 16 hours. Since both DD16 and I have difficulty sitting still in the car for more than about 4 – 6 hours, driving down would not work out well. I know I’ll pay more than I’m used to, but I’m hoping I won’t pay too much more.
We had to wait until May of 2015 before Southwest released their flights. We managed to snag the flights we wanted. I did pay more than I wanted to, but since the flights have only gone up since I booked, I’m okay with that. Plus, I’ll continue to keep an eye on flight prices, so we can get a refund if they do offer it lower.
Our flight leaves out at 7:00am and we’ll be in Orlando at 9:25am. I suspect we’ll be at the hotel by 11am and in DTD by around noon. We leave Orlando at 9:20pm and will return home at 11:30pm.
What sounds Appetizing?
We had originally booked the regular Dining Plan, then in March 2015, after much discussion we decided to upgrade to the Deluxe Dining Plan. And in May 2015, they offered Free Dining, so we got a small refund, which we used to pay for some lightweight jackets we’d been wanting to take to Florida.
DD16 really wanted to eat at one signature restaurant and I really wanted for us to eat at CRT. On our first trip (way back in 2004), we were supposed to have breakfast at CRT, but Hurricane Jeanne had other plans. The park was closed the day we were supposed to eat at CRT. The CM at the hotel did manage to get us dinner at 1900 Park Fare and even though it was lovely, it wasn’t the same. With a little luck, 11 years later, I’m finally going to get to take my Princess to breakfast in the castle.
After pouring over menus and debating locations, we decided on the following:
Saturday (Arrival Day): We usually spend this day at DTD and because we arrive so early, we will have a light lunch (OOP) and still eat at Fulton’s Crab House.
Sunday: Magic Kingdom – Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, lunch at Be Our Guest, and dinner at HDDR. We’ve never seen a dinner show, so I’m excited for that.
Monday: EPCOT – Breakfast at Ohana and dinner at Coral Reef. This is where DD16 wants to eat the most. We are doing the Candlelight Processional and really looking forward to it, though they hadn’t announced the narrator at then time we booked. Since then, we have found out that Daniel Day Kim (of Lost and Hawaii 5-0) will be our narrator for the evening. I’m excited for that as I enjoy him as an actor.
Tuesday: Animal Kingdom – Breakfast at Tusker House and dinner at Boma. We are looking forward to eating at Boma after hearing so many wonderful things about it.
Wednesday: This is the day we plan to do some resort touring to see some of the holiday decorations. Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s and dinner at Narcoossee’s. We had originally planned on dinner at Yachtsman, but recently changed our minds due to some comments and/or reviews. And at the moment, MK is scheduled to be open until 1AM, so after we have dinner, we can pop into the park.
Thursday: DHS – since we do not typically spend a full day at this park and we want to stay to see the Osborne Lights, we’ll plan to get there a bit later, so we’ll have breakfast at Kona Café and dinner at Cape May Café. I’m looking forward to trying the Tonga Toast! They have since announced the Dessert Part at the Osborne Lights, so we’ve booked that as well.
Friday: Magic Kingdom (Christmas Day) – breakfast at CRT and lunch at Crystal Palace. We had dinner scheduled for Tony’s because of the LTT refurb, and have been checking at least weekly since September to schedule a reservation. Finally scored a reservation at LTT for Christmas Day!
Saturday: EPCOT (departure day): Breakfast at Akershus. We’ll probably have to grab lunch somewhere (OOP), but we haven’t decided where.
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