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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We have never gotten the DDP and are not getting it this trip either. I do have ADR's at three places because we don't want to be locked into an ADR everyday but did want to make sure we ate at several of our favorites. Does everyone get DDP now? I guess I just wanted to find out if others prefer to dine w/o DDP. Would love to hear what others are doing. Thank you.
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We've never done DDP before. I prefer not to do that, but my husband is pushing for the quick counter one this year, since we do tend to eat a lot of quick counter meals. Personally, I don't know that it's worth it, but I make all of the other decisions, so if he's so set on it, I guess we could go with it.
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Disney World Trips So Far: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015a, 2015b, 2016a (2016b in planning)
We really like the DDP, simply because everything is paid for in advance, and it allows you to have a more all-inclusive trip. That said, it does get kind of old to have to worry about a lot of ADR's. If we weren't going in Sept., which is "free dining time" , we probably would have gone without the DDP this time. DH especially is getting really tired of having to be in a certain place at a certain time.
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If they didn't bring out the QSDP, then I wouldn't choose any dining plans at all. I did not care for deluxe because of all the tips and I no longer like basic because I feel it's not a good value, but rather just a convenience.
However, I do like the QSDP and have selected it for this trip. The dining plans are a personal choice and a lot of people don't feel it fits the needs of their family. You're definitely not alone.
I also have 3 TS meals selected during my trip for the same reason that I don't want to be locked into an ADR every day. The QSDP guarantees me I am eating at least 2 times per day, get 2 snacks per day, and the refillable mug. These are things I would have purchased anyway, so it makes sense. Then I just pay OOP for the 3 TS meals I selected. In the long run, I feel I will come out ahead.
I have had good experiences with the DDP in the past, and I have used the menus at Allears to help me crunch the numbers a little. We have always saved money with it, especially when we've gotten it for free!
That said, we didn't have the DDP on our last trip, and I got an AP and a Tables in Wonderland card instead. We saved a lot of money that way, and we liked the flexibility of sometimes getting apps and/or skipping (or sharing) desserts, without feeling like we weren't using a package most effectively. I would definitely use TIW again, but I still think the DDP can be a great deal, too, depending on your dining plans.
We went our first "adult" trip without it: on paper it looked like a bad deal and also the rest of our group decided to stay at the FWCabins and cook meals to save money. We switched to going dining plan since then and love it. We've done the basic plan twice and deluxe once and are hoping for an adults only trip this spring on the Quick service plan (got a PIN code, so it's free)
I think the deciding factor is likely how you feel about spending money on meals. I really enjoy the freedom of not having to check prices on the menus because I am the martyr type who would order one of the less expensive items just to watch our bank balance. If you are lucky enough to not have my hang-ups then the only other consideration I can think of is to do your reading and pick the plan most suited to your eating style. If one matches what you would be doing OOP then it is likely a better deal, but if it would force you to eat in a different manner than you would without it, then you may be best off dining OOP. It helps too that we have always gotten the plan for free (either PINS, or bounceback offers) so it really was a no-brainer for us.
I'm not doing it this trip because I will use our gift card promo for most of the meals. If we didn't get the gift card, I would def use the ddp. LOVE it. So conven. but it is less of a savings as in past years. When we go, my daughter and I use the table service meal as our downtime and relax and unwind for a bit
Ive done both, but we have decided to go with the DDP for trips going forward because we really like having everythign paid for up front (as much as possible).
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We found that when we had the DDP we tended to eat way more than we normally would just because it was paid for and we wanted to be getting our monies worth. On this trip we decided not to use the plan and I made ADR's for 1 TS per day for places we really wanted to eat at.
Whispering Canyon Buffet
Le Cellier
Rose and Crown
Marrekesh
Garden Tea
Wishes Dessert Party
All the other meals will be CS except breakfast which we will eat in the room. Brought things for breakfast from home.
Hubby and I did deluxe dining last year and were tired of ADR's by the end of the week. This year, we debated QS DDP for our son's first trip but even with the QS meals we had last year on the DDP, we felt like we wasted a lot of food, soda, etc. This year we will be paying out of pocket for QS and three ADR's- based on looking a menus and what we will really eat, we should come out $100 under the QS DDP.
We have been on three trips. Two of them we were not on any DP. One of them we were on the QSDP- because it was FREE.... I really enjoyed the QSDP for that trip, but if it were not free, I'm not sure that it would be cost effective for us. Over a week + long trip, we like to do a couple TS dinners and the rest CS; we don't typically eat dessert and I have tweens that are charged the adult price- so DP just isn't of great value for us. However, I would LOVE to go during free dining again
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We don't. Even with free dining, it's isn't the best value for us. My olders, considered adults at 11 & 12 eat like birds. They eat kids meals or split an entree. With the DP, we'd spend more for them to do that. If the savings were substantial enough to warrant forking over my money 45 days prior (in essence giving TWDC an interest free loan), I'd do it, but the savings just isn't there any longer.
There are many other reasons we don't use it, but those are my top two
We don't get the DDP. I want to be like everyone else and get it But it isn't cost effective. I crunched the numbers for our family of 3. And we would have to eat 75$ or more a day. And on average, we are closer to 50. Just doesn't add up money wise at this time...
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