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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 stayed for Fantasmic before, and are thinking of doing a dinner reservation? I think there are several restaurants....wondering which is the best. Our kids will be 7 and 10. If I understand it right - you eat dinner, then get a reserved seat for the show?
Hollywood and Vine, Mama Melrose and Brown Derby are all Fantsmic dining package restaurants. The Brown Derby is a signature dining and will cost you 2 dining credits (if you're on the Disney dining plan). Depends on what kind of food your kids like. Hollywood and Vine is a buffet and is pretty large and has a good selection. Mama Melrose is "Italian" and is really cute decor inside and you order off a menu. We like them both but have recently done Mama Melrose more because the buffet situation was getting out of control there for a little while.
Be prepared that if you book a Fantasmic dining package you'll be eating at an "off" time. For example...your "dinner" could be at 3:00pm; but you do get the pass for the show so that's the trade off. Just don't be surprised if you get a strange dining time
I love the Hollywood Brown Derby, but it is a signature restaurant. If you don't want a signature meal, then of the others, Mama Melrose's gets my vote.
If you are on the dining plan, you get an appetizer when you use the dining plan for the Fantasmic! dining package at Mama Melrose. (appetizer is not included in the basic dining plan, so it is an extra great deal for the dining package)
We have done the Fantasmic! dining package 3 times--once at Hollywood and Vine, and twice at Mama Melrose. They have a great dessert on the kids menu that is a cupcake but it looks like spaghetti.
Also note that the entrance to Fantasmic! for the reserved seating has changed locations--we were just there. It is now past Tower of Terror. Look for the signs.
We've always done Hollywood and Vine and I agree with PixieMichele, the last time we did this (5 years ago) we found the buffet getting a little crazy.
This is a little off topic but do you still get seated on (what I consider the far) right side of the theater? Although we've done this dining plan three times, that's the only thing that turns me off about this arrangment. I would think they'd give you seating more toward the middle of the theater. Two years ago we were on a strict budget and got in line with the masses an hour before show time and had good seats; yes it's a trade off.
SW+7
If you don't mind signature dining, Brown Derby is very good. If you want to use just one dining credit, definitely go with Mama Melrose. I've only eaten at H&V once, but it was awful. By far, the worst dining experience I've had at WDW.
I'm going to have to go with The Brown Derby. Mama Melrose quality just seems to be too hit and miss....and it is a far walk from Fantasmic, H&V is ok....not the greatest food....but The Brown Derby usually does NOT disappoint,and to ME anyway, is worth the price.
I have never tried Mama Melrose or the Brown Derby, but H&V was the worst Disney dining experience we have ever had -bar none!
BTW, you do not get reserved seats per se. You have the ability to sit in a reserved section of the ampitheatre. You should still be there early or you risk not getting a seat.
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