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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Right now our plans are to drive down over two days, arriving around 1 p.m. on Sunday. Plans for arrival day are late day at Studios with a counter-service dinner and Fantasmic (on FastPass+). There is a chance that we will change to flying in (if Delta rates drop to a reasonable amount), but right now that's slim and none, and slim is waiting on the platform at the train depot. We are considering having lunch at Whispering Canyon. How busy are they at lunch? Is an ADR necessary or can we swing it on a walk-up?
I would think where it's a non-character resort meal that chances would be really good for a walk up. The other way you could do it is when you know what your timing is, go on the MDE and book your ADR that way even if it's only a couple of hours in advance.
I would make the ADR. A few years ago we were waiting to be seated at Trails End in Ft Wilderness and while there were plenty of tables and servers available (we were like 25 min early) we saw a family turned away till one of them punched it up MDE and made one. Talked with couple on a boat back to Ft W one night who relayed that they had same experience at WCC a few night before So for what it's worth I would make the ADR
I never make an adr for arrival day because you never know what's going to happen. Driving you could encounter anything from a long stretch of road construction to a fatal car accident that closes the road or unexpected car trouble. If flying your flight could be delayed for any number of reasons or even cancelled. If I was to make a reservation for arrival day it would be with a restaurant that you can call and make a reservation with directly that wont charge you a no show fee if you have to call and cancel your reservation that day. I don't know about you but no matter how smoothly and free of problems my travel days are they're always slightly stressful and I don't see the point of adding to that stress by having a dining reservation that I need to worry about making. Of course, I fly in from the west coast so by the time I actually get to my hotel I've been up since oh dark thirty and am tired and hungry. So, all I really want to do is ditch my stuff in my room, get something eat without having to do the whole hurry up and wait routine that a table service meal entails, unpack and relax a little before calling it a night.
One thing I've suggested in the past - once you get on property or near enough you feel safe, you could log on and make an ADR. Then you have it just in case and you don't get bumped by another walk up. I would imagine there would be some for Whispering Canyon, but I would have backup options just in case.
That said, I've never really tested it. I did it with a restaurant in Disneyland once though and it worked fine.
__________________
I want adventure in the great wide somewhere...and coffee
We usually arrive after an overnight drive around 6:30 am. We grab junk food at the MK for breakfast and then snack around Epcot and have an early dinner somewhere in Epcot. Usually Rose and Crown but next trip for some reason there were no adrs available at all that day for Rose and Crown so DH got his wish and we are eating at Le Cellier.
My biggest concern would be if you will have the energy for much of anything. I fly but I am usually pretty tired no matter what time I arrive. I think I would be even more exhausted after a long drive.
We seldom make ADRs very far out and have always gotten a good reservation.
I agree with others about waiting until you are sure of your arrival time and how you feel after the drive, then make the ADR. If you make it earlier and then decide you want to cancel it within the 24 hour window, don't cancel and lose the deposit. Just change the ressie to another day, then cancel that one. I read this suggestion last year and ended up doing it last April when I got sick during the trip and needed to cancel an ADR. It worked beautifully. You can do all of that online.
Another vote for holding off on the ADR. See how you feel when you arrive, then log onto MDE and see your options. I'd say there is a good chance you will find a last-minute reservation without the worry of missing your ADR or opting out. Enjoy!
Usually I avoid ADRs on arrival days, especially if weather may impact your arrival in anyway. That being said I am planning one for my trip next June. Sometimes it is the only way they work.
We tend to avoid ADR's on arrival days...too much stress. We have tried it in the past, got in later than expected and they did honor our reservation even though we were late. We found ourselves half wishing we didn't have it because after all that sitting we wanted to walk around and stretch our legs not sit for a meal.
We never make an ADR on the first day. We always fly and it would be just too stressful for me to worry about whether we will make it there in time. I'd imagine driving would be just as worrisome. We're always at least an hour late on our road trips due to traffic/construction. Way too stressful for me to start out a vacation.
another vote for 'wait until you arrive THEN make an ADR'. i've made reservations as little as an hour in advance using the app. i've also tried to walk up to a lesser known resort restaurant (boatwrights) and was turned away because i didn't have a reservation, even though the place was empty.
We usually keep an ADR but never for less than 3 or 4 hours after our arrival time. I usually choose to skip the lunch reservation unless it is a late lunch or if we are arriving super early. You Just Never Know!
About This Page: 
Arrival Day Lunch -- To ADR or not
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Aimee
Linear Mode
