Feature Article: Dine with An Imagineer - Disney Dining Review - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Feature Article: Dine with An Imagineer - Disney Dining Review
Dine with An Imagineer - Disney Dining Review by Bernie Edwards
As a member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel, I sometimes receive questions about unique experiences that most guests haven't done. One of my favorites is "Dine with an Imagineer," which takes place on select days at Walt Disney World.
It gives guests an opportunity to dine with one of the magic makers from Walt Disney Imagineering. Dine with an Imagineer takes place during lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney's Hollywood Studios, or during dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe at Disney's BoardWalk. In both cases, a member of Walt Disney Imagineering will be there for an informal discussion about developing attractions, resorts, shops, restaurants, or cruise ships for Disney Parks and Resorts during the course of the meal. I had the privilege of experiencing this over lunch at the Brown Derby.
At the Brown Derby, the event takes place at 11:30 am and is usually offered on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It is typically a little over two and a half hours long. When I did this, I went to the Brown Derby lobby where I received my Dine with an Imagineer name tag and was asked to wait. Shortly after 11:30, we were give a short but awesome tour of the Brown Derby and then led to the Bamboo Room. The Bamboo Room is a secluded private dining room and is gorgeous. It's almost a perfect setting for the event and has one long table; the only thing bad about the location is that when there is a loud show going on outside by the Sorcerer’s Hat the music and noise can be heard inside. When I went, the Disney Imagineer sat at one end of the table but I was told that some Disney Imagineers sit in the middle of the table (which I think would work best).
Lunch was a four course meal consisting of soup, salad, an entree, and a dessert. Soup was a Portsmouth lobster bisque, though guests could also order chicken noodle soup if desired. The salad was a small serving of the Brown Derby's famous Cobb Salad. For the entree, guests had a choice of:</p>
• Char-grilled filet of beef with Cotswold butter over fingerling potatoes, asparagus, Ugly Ripe tomatoes, and a broken Carbernet-shallot vinaigrette
• Noodle bowl with a grilled breast of chicken, soy beans, sugar snap peas, bok choy, and Shitake mushrooms in a red curry broth
• Coriander-dusted grouper, cauliflower risotto, fresh English peas, crunchy sunchokes, and a yellow tomato coulis
For dessert, guests could choose either the Brown Derby's famous grapefruit cake or a double vanilla bean creme brulee. I went with what was basically a filet mignon and the grapefruit cake. The filet mignon was absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed every bite. I wasn't a fan of the grapefruit cake and wished I had gotten the creme brulee; however, most guests at the table ordered the cake and seemed to absolutely love it.
The food, except for the grapefruit cake, was excellent. I have to also say that the service was exceptional! However, the highlight of the meal was interacting with the Disney Imagineer. My group had the privilege of having lunch with Disney Imagineer Dan Flynn, a Show Program Manager. Dan started with the Disney Company in 1989 on the Walt Disney World College Program; he worked in Downtown Disney, the Magic Kingdom, and Epcot. In 1998 he joined Walt Disney Imagineering and first worked on the construction of Test Track. Besides Test Track, some of the other attractions he has worked on include Mission Space, Journey into Imagination with Figment, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Expedition Everest, Turtle Talk with Crush, and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. He was also heavily involved in the development of Disney’s new resort, Aulani, and he spent a lot of time in Hawaii away from his family in Orlando.
Dan was charming, enthusiastic, and witty. He told us that a Show Program Manager for Walt Disney Imagineering provides management of the show design, production, and installation and provides a conduit to the Facility and Ride teams on the project. He shared his experiences working at Disney and told us about the many projects he worked on at all of the parks in Walt Disney World and at Aulani in Hawaii. For example, he told us how Expedition Everest has no elevators in it, and how he constantlyhad to climb up to 17 stories, throughout his work on the attraction. He also spent a lot of time talking about Walt Disney Imagineering in general and the path that some people take to become Disney Imagineers. It was interesting to find out that Walt Disney Imagineering is made up of over 140 disciplines, each with its own set of responsibilities when it comes to completing a project.
Although Dan could not share any trade secrets or talk about any future projects, he answered all of our questions. In my lunch group, all of the other guests were Disney fanatics like me, which led to a very enjoyable lunch interacting with Dan and everyone else at the table. At the end of our meal, each guest received a commemorative plate depicting Sorcerer Mickey signed by Dan, in addition to a personalized menu and the name tag I previously mentioned.
I highly recommend experiencing Dine with an Imagineer if you are interested in learning a little bit about how the magic is brought to life. The meal is absolutely delicious and the opportunity to interact with a Disney Imagineer over a couple of hours is fantastic, especially if you are a fan of Disney Parks and Resorts. Guests of all ages can attend (there was a baby at the session I went to), but I personally think this experiences is best for teenagers and up. The Disney Imagineer won’t speculate about anything that might come to Walt Disney World in the future, but he or she will be able to share a lot of information on current and past attractions and the development of them. Since the group size is very limited for each opportunity, you will definitely want to make a reservation as soon as possible. Reservations can be made by calling 407-WDW-DINE or by booking online.
What do you think? Please add your own comments, experiences, or news related to this article in this thread! Reader feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
I enjoyed every moment of this experience. I also believe that this is a more bang for your buck experience. Rather that use a dining credit from the free DDP or as a paying customer I will choose this experience. Well worth the time and money.
The food was excellent. The Imagineer was great. Hands down one of the best "backstage experiences" that I have participated in.
For those that want to know. Dive Quest is my #1. To be able to be part of the show and put a smile on a child's face is very rewarding!
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