Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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01-15-2005, 09:33 PM
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#1
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PassPorter Guide
 Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
by Jill Pekarek, Guest Columnist
Every time we head to Walt Disney World, I vow to experience something new and different when it comes to eating. There are so many wonderful restaurants in the theme parks and resorts that I set a goal for myself and my family to eat at each one. We travel to Walt Disney World quite a bit and have never tired of the astonishing selection of eateries ranging from the quick and inexpensive to the unhurried and exotic.
continued in next post...
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01-15-2005, 09:33 PM
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#2
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PassPorter Guide
Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,041
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
Unfortunately, my goal falls by the wayside whenever we consider where to dine at Epcot. Prior to leaving home for our most recent trip, I announced that we would not be eating at Coral Reef on this visit. Raising my voice above the objections and outright hostility, I persuaded everyone involved that we needed to look beyond what is familiar and take pleasure in something new and exciting. There are plenty of fantastic places to eat at Epcot and the variety is limitless.
My 12 year old daughter was not so easily convinced, so I reminded her of San Angel Inn in Mexico. How wonderful it would be to enjoy queso fundido and plato mexicano under a night sky dimly lit with Mexican lanterns. Or we could sample platters of couscous with lamb and chicken at Marrakesh in Morocco while dancers demonstrate the beautiful (and painful looking) art of belly dancing. How about Les Chefs De France, I tell her, hoping to sway her from the traditional to the innovative. She has always expressed the desire to visit Paris and enjoy the fantastic cuisine, not to mention the mouth watering pastries. I explained to her that since jetting off to Paris is not in the near future, she can still enjoy braised beef prepared in a tempting red Burgundy sauce and experience the amazing confections only the French could create.
She reluctantly agreed that maybe it would be reasonable to enjoy some new and exciting restaurants. Since we have been to Coral Reef about five times, we could decide on a different dining encounter. Happy that I have succeeded in convincing my daughter to broaden her horizons, I soon came to realize that I had underestimated the 12 year old mind and their mysterious gift of persuasion.
She began to recall all of the memorable moments we had at Coral Reef starting when she was just six years old. Bringing to mind the beautiful decor and the calming lights that radiate cascading water on the ceiling, I began to drift into the softly lit atmosphere that is exclusive to this enchanting restaurant.
She reminded me of the time she created animals with her peanut butter play-doh dessert (no longer served much to our sadness). Or the time when her Shirley Temple included an overabundance of cherries, not to mention the blue florescent ice cubes. I recalled the fantastic service and cast members, like Scott, Blanca, and Jose, who have made every visit memorable. Or the time my mother-in-law got a little wink from a bus boy. To this very day it still makes us laugh. The moment my daughter's best friend caught the eye of a very large fish who stared at her for half an hour. The time the chef came to our table to talk with us about our meal and we hadn't even asked. All we did was compliment the outstanding food to our waitress and all of a sudden there he was willing to take a few minutes of his time for a guest. Or when my youngest daughter fell sound asleep after being in the restaurants tranquility for just a few short minutes. We had a very peaceful meal that afternoon minus the frustrated whining of a one year old. My son actually ate a complete meal at this restaurant without complaining. That was the first and last full meal in public.
Before I knew it, she had convinced me she was right! For years we had enjoyed Coral Reef with our entire family or quietly by ourselves. I found myself becoming sentimental and thinking of how much I would miss another visit to this cherished restaurant. The fact was that this eatery had become a Walt Disney World tradition for the entire family. Being a mother who would never consider denying her family such a magical custom, I succumbed to the pressures of my charming daughter and agree that Coral Reef is the one restaurant we should never go without. Variety is highly overrated!
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01-16-2005, 07:26 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
What a great article! I am also a Coral Reef fan and I think it's wonderful that it has become a family tradition for you guys! I hope you continue to make cherished memories throughout the years there!  |
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01-17-2005, 02:36 AM
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#4
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Alaska
Posts: 1,797
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
What a wonderful article! I have never tried the Coral Reef but I am convinced. My daughter and I will definitely go there in April. Thanks for describing it so clearly that I can almost picture us there.
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01-17-2005, 03:01 AM
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#5
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Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London, UK
Posts: 1,468
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
I love your piece.
Now you've got me wondering. I've just worked out our final plans for our forth coming trip that doesn't include Coral Reef. Having eaten one of our best meals there on our last trip I was sorely tempted to go again this year but, like you I wanted to try places we've not been to. Now you've got me thinking that maybe I've made a mistake. Maybe as we'll be spending a fair bit of time in Epcot - it's DS1 and DS2 favourite park - we go for lunch one day.
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01-17-2005, 01:08 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Western Michigan
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 313
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
Thank you for the wonderful article, Jill! We ate for the first time at Coral Reef in December, and I fretted about the decision after hearing negative reviews. It turned out to be one of our favorite meals! We will definitely eat at Coral Reef again--maybe it will become our family tradition, too!
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01-19-2005, 01:24 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: In the state of Disney Dreaming!
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 10,572
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
This is truly a magical memory! What a wonderful article!
I totally agree with you and your daughter about revisiting magical spots each trip. For my family it is Cinderella's Royal Table.
Thanks for sharing! Every time we go to CR, we really enjoy it! It sounds like you hold it as such a special place for your family.
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02-08-2005, 02:59 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,547
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
I'd love to try the Coral Reef - maybe we'll go for lunch in July!
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03-09-2005, 07:38 AM
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#9
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Community Rank: Sightseer 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Buffalo (area), New York
Posts: 64
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
My tradition is always eating at the Bier Garten in Germany!!! I love it...and two favorites are the pretzled Bread and the warm apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce...mmmmm Also we can't pass up the huge chocolate covered rice krispy square at the Confectioners on Main Street...
Aww man...now I want one...<SIGH>...only 110 days to go...  |
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03-09-2005, 09:28 AM
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#10
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Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Western Pa
Posts: 1,500
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Re: Creating a Family Tradition: Dining at Coral Reef
As silly as it sounds, our family tradition is Cosmic Rays at MK. We ate there on our first trip together and now it is a must do. Even though the food really isn't anything special, to us it represents the joy and fun of WDW.
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