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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Forgive me for this very simple question, but since we are traveling at a time when the parks close early, it's relevant for us this trip:
When the parks close early, do the restaurants close particularly early too? For example, when AK closes at 5 pm, does that mean the latest dinner is, say, 4pm
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that the restaurants in the park will take reservations up until the park closing time. Even though the parks are closed, you may be able to get a 4:45 or 5:00 ADR. The rides/attractions will not be open after 5, but I think the shops and restaurants remain open for an hour or so after closing. I know this is atleast true in the MK, I remember one evening browsing the shops along Main Street well after park closing.
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When you call for your ADR's ask what time the restaurants are open until, i think it depends on the park because we've made one of the last reservations for dining in the Magic Kingdom and walked out after the park was technically closed, but I just heard that they closed the restaurants at DHS earlier than travelers anticipated last night, so there was a problem finding a place to eat.
We have a 4:45pm ADR for Yak & Yeti on a night that Animal Kingdom closes at 5. When I made our reservations online I entered a Peter time and all that I was offered was the 4:45 time
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Restaurants at Epcot take reservations right up until 9pm. Most of the other parks take reservations until 15 minutes before park closing, so its definitely possible to eat dinner while the park is closing. We were the last ones out of Coral Reef one night and the park was completely empty. I think we got a private bus ride back to our hotel that night. Disney will not leave you stranded at a park, but sometimes those past close buses stop at more than one hotel! If you don't want to eat that early on your AK day--consider one of the AKL restaurants for a later dining time--all three are very good!
We had an ADR that was exactly at closing time at the AK. We were not pressured to speed up our meal at the Yak & Yeti and were able to stroll out of the park (with CMs stationed at all the major pathways between the Y&Y and the exit to make sure we knew where to go.)
It was very empty and quiet, but it was cool to walk out of a park where there almost zero guests. We joked that we felt like we'd hear a big "click" and see the lights on the Tree of Life flick off.
We ended up not eating there, but like Eileen, we had gotten ADRs at Tusker House for 5:00. But, I think it depends on the park and when they close - AK closes so early (for the animals) that they didn't want to lose all that dinner revenue, so they take ressies as late as they can.
What got me was the day we were at DHS for EMH, so the park "closed" at 6 and EMH was 6-9. All of the restaurants were closing down aroudn 5:30 or so. I'm not certain about sit-downs, but we had to eat at the Commissary around 6, because it was the only CS open! I would have figured that they'd base hours off of when they actually close....
I think that the restaurants in the park will take reservations up until the park closing time. Even though the parks are closed, you may be able to get a 4:45 or 5:00 ADR.
Like someone else said, you could be in the park after closing, but Cast Members are all over the place, and they're not shy about telling you if you're headed in the wrong direction (i.e., not OUT).
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This sounds like it would be a great oppurtunity to see the parks close to empty though- especially if you booked someplace like Crystal Palace! It would be so nice to get a pic near castle without a lot of other people in the photo!
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We had 4:45 pm dinner reservations at Yak & Yeti in September. Finishing dinner or being rushed through it wasn't an issue, but the CM's were a little pushing about getting us out of the park. ,As we exited the restaraunt, I paused to put my sunglasses on and put my regular glasses in my purse, and was informed that the park was closed and the exit was this way. Truly one of the only times I have felt uncomfortable at WDW.
I've read of other people's experiences with closing time ADR's at Yak and Yeti. On one of our trips we booked an 8pm ADR and the park closed at 8pm.
It was very apparent that CM couldn't wait for us to leave. Our server trolled our table every few minutes to see if we were done yet. The frozen drink machine was turned off for the night making it a runny concoction and not what I'd expected. The food was okay, but not stellar. (The exception being the pot stickers)
I felt so dismayed with the service that I have yet to return to Yak and Yeti (or Yak and Yucky as we call it).
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The Durando's
Our server trolled our table every few minutes to see if we were done yet. The frozen drink machine was turned off for the night making it a runny concoction and not what I'd expected. The food was okay, but not stellar. (The exception being the pot stickers)
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