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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Some changes to our plans have left us with a stay in multiple parts: one night at BWV, seven nights at BCV, seven nights at BLT & three nights (as a linked booking) at BLT. We're waitlisted for the first night at BCV but will have to see...
I've read somewhere that we can get a dining plan for that one night at the beginning so we're looking at the QSDP - a refillable mug, two counter service meals and two snacks for $35 but this seems too good to be true. Will they really throw the mug in when it's just for the one night? Has anyone done this?
Unless I am mistaken, you can get QSDP for one night, if you are only there one night, but you must have a ticket, in other words, that one night must be a vacation package in order to receive the dining plan. If you don't need the ticket, it would probably be cheaper to purchase the mugs.
Someone else may have a clearer response for you. Have fun.
You should be able to do that. There are no minimum stays or ticket purchase requirements for DVC members using the dining plans.
Of course, the intent would be that the refillable mug is only good for they day you arrive and depart BWV...not for the entire extended length of the stay.
You don't have to purchase a ticket to get the dining plan if you are staying on your DVC points... we recently got the dining plan and no tickets - we have annual passes this year.
You might look at getting the deluxe dining plan for 1 day. If you get the deluxe plan for one day and use it for 3 character meals or nicer table service meals (it includes an appetizer for non-buffet meals), you will definitely save money over OOP. If you have kids 9 and under, this is an even better deal. For example, the cost of a kid's meal at the Princess Dinner at Akhershus Banquet Hall in Norway costs $15 more than you will pay for the DxDP... and you get another two table service meals, 2 snacks, and a refillable mug.
We did this in January when we were staying 1 night at SSR and then moving to OKW. We had dinner the first night at Crystal Palace, then a late breakfast/brunch at 1900 Park Fare (plenty of food to serve as breakfast and lunch), and then the princess dinner in Norway that night. We were planning to eat at Crystal Palace and Norway dinner during the trip anyway, and we saved a good bit doing it this way, plus got the 1900 Park Fare breakfast and two snacks each.
I think this year the Dx plan is $78 for adults and $21 for kids... it includes 3 table service meals (more than we could use in 1 day, but worked out OK spread over 2 days), the meals include an appetizer as well as dessert if it is not a buffet, plus 2 snacks and refillable mugs. The cast member at SSR told us we could use the refillable mugs for our entire vacation, even though we only had the dining plan one day and were moving to another resort the next day. We don't drink soda, so the mugs were pretty much a non-issue for us... we did get coffee a couple of times during the trip... and I don't know if what the castmember told us was the official rule or just his interpretation.
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Deer Isle Mom
Last edited by deerislemom; 04-09-2011 at 10:08 PM..
I think just getting DDP for one night is a great way to try it out. We did QSDP in August for 3 nights, and enjoyed it, though we were scrambling to use the snacks at the end (but you can use them for beverages too which can come in handy at the parks).
This trip we had the basic dining plan for two nights and loved it! For our TS credits, we had lunch at Yak & Yeti (which was incredibly good!), and dinner at Boma (a new must-do for us! ). For CS we ate at Cosmic Ray's and Mara. Enjoyed both.
We have been wary of DDP in the past (especially because our two older children are now "adults" under the plan) but it really is very convenient, especially for our older kids who can get their own snacks with the room card. Also nice to be able to select pretty much whatever entree we want without having to always consider the cost each time.
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Previous trips: POFQ 2005 & 2007, Boardwalk 2008, BCV & AKLV 2009 (our honeymoon) & 2012, BCV & BLT 2011, BCV 2013, AKLV 2014
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). For CS we ate at Cosmic Ray's and Mara. Enjoyed both.
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