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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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Are you planning a trip sometime in May 2008? If so, share your dates and plans with your fellow travelers here! The following information is helpful to know. You can copy and paste it into your post or rearrange it as you see fit!
Destination:
Date: (when you'll be there, arrival to departure)
Adventurers: (who's going with you, their ages, and their experience)
Resort/Hotel: (where you are staying)
Celebration: (why you are going, even if just for R&R)
Meetings: (places you'll be at if others want to join you, plus ways fellow travelers can spot you, such as wearing a PassPorter Pin, etc.)
Feel free to post even if your plans aren't firm -- you're always welcome to return and update us when you've made more plans!
When you return from your trip, we encourage you to share your adventure with us in our Sharing The Adventure message board!
Destination: WDW Date: May 20th-25th, 2008 Adventurers: Karen, Steve, Kelley, & Caroline Resort: POFQ Celebration: Family Vacation prior to our first cruise!
Destination: Port Canaveral to the Bahamas/Double-dipping at Castaway Cay! Date: May 25th-29th, 2008 Adventurers: Karen, Steve, Kelley, & Caroline Resort: Cat. 6 stateroom aboard the Disney Wonder Celebration: Kelley's high school graduation!
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Last edited by eeyore8484; 11-14-2007 at 10:49 AM..
Reason: add dates
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Destination: Port Canaveral to the Bahamas/Double-dipping at Castaway Cay! Date: May 25th-29th, 2008 Adventurers: Karen, Steve, Kelley, & Caroline Resort: Cat. 6 stateroom aboard the Disney Wonder Celebration: Kelley's high school graduation
We will be on the same cruise!
Destination: 1 night at Radisson at Port Canaveral, 4 night DCL "Double Dip" Cruise followed by 3 nights at Vero Beach. Adventurers: me, of course, DH - Charlie, DD - Macy, Charlie's son, Justin. Resort: Radisson at Port Canaveral, Stateroom 6634 and 6635 on the Disney Wonder, and Vero Beach Resort Celebration: Summer, our first cruise, first time staying at Vero Beach and the first time Justin joins us for a Florida vacation!!
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Cheers to sailing the Dream with great friends!
Last edited by MontiMouse; 01-04-2008 at 11:17 AM..
Destination:WDW
Date: May 24-31
Adventurers: Me, Dh-Eric, DD#1 Taylor (13), DD#2-Maegan (9)
Resort/Hotel: All-Star Music
Celebration: No special reason, just because we want too.
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Last edited by taymaesmom; 01-05-2008 at 04:53 PM..
Trip has been postponed until Oct 08 due to big inspection at work
Destination: The Laffing Place (AKA WDW) Adventurers: SouthernBelle and Grumpy Dates: 11-17 May 2008 Resort: Shades of Green the reservations are made Why: 19th Anniversary and to Celebrate Grumpy finishing and receiving his Master's Degree
and the ever beautiful Flower & Garden festival
ADR's: None made yet, but for sure we are eating at the Cali Grill on our Anniversary (13 May)
Destination: WDW!
Date: May 1-10
Adventurers: Me Megan (33), DH Leo (40), DS Hayden (8), DS Mikey who we hope will have his adoption finalized by that time (will be 13 mos at time of travel), FIL Grandpa, MIL Nana (we're foster parents so we may have other children of various ages as well. I am PRAYING I get to take a little princess with me!!)
Resort/Hotel: SOG - our first time (FIL is retired military)
Celebration: DH and my 10 year honeymoon anniversary, Nana's B-day, Mikey's adoption, DH turns 40, Hayden's baptism, and Christmas (Santa is bringing to tickets - I CAN'T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!)
Meetings: We'll be wearing white polos with Mickey or Minnie or blue tye-dye MouseEars T-shirts. We'll also be wearing our special guest tags with all our names.
We are so excited. I have plane tickets booked and reservations at SOG. I'm just waiting for my 2008 Deluxe Passporter, Birnbaum's, etc. to come in the mail.
Does anyone know if SOG has package delivery from the resorts?
I really wish they hadn't changed DDP for 2008 and I wish that SOG had the Disney Dining plan and Magic express available. I guess beggers can't be choosers, though. The rooms there are huge and a STEAL!
CAN'T WAIT
TILL 2008!!!
Ok, since this trip is a Santa Secret there are very few times/places I can really say this the way I want to :
WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!!!! AHHHHHH!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!
Thank you for letting me vent! All this planning without being able to tell anyone is driving me crazy. We're telling the kids by wrapping a big box in Disney wrapping paper for Christmas morning. When they open it up helium Mylar Disney Balloons will float out with regular latex balloon, confetti, etc. There will be a huge envelope and inside it will say something like "Congratulations! You're going to Disney World May 1-10, 2008! Merry Christmas! Love, Santa" Then the other presents will be their clothes for the trip (the white polos and tie dye shirts), mouse ears for each with their names, name badges, autograph books, fat pens, etc. I am trying to find a way to get a "Pal Mickey" delivered to the house. Does anyone know anyway? The lady getting me the hats, tags, books, etc. doesn't do the Pal Mickey. Any help would be appreciated. I may post to the fairy godmailers board and see if someone can send me one if I give them a check in advance or something. I know, I know, that's really risky, but I'd like the kids to have pal Mickey before we leave. Ok, enough rambling. I'm so excited I could eat my socks!! Well, TTFN.
We're telling the kids by wrapping a big box in Disney wrapping paper for Christmas morning. When they open it up helium Mylar Disney Balloons will float out with regular latex balloon, confetti, etc. There will be a huge envelope and inside it will say something like "Congratulations! You're going to Disney World May 1-10, 2008! Merry Christmas! Love, Santa" Then the other presents will be their clothes for the trip (the white polos and tie dye shirts), mouse ears for each with their names, name badges, autograph books, fat pens, etc.
I LOVE what you are doing -- the look on their faces will be priceless!!!!!!! HOW FUN!
The plan are beginning to come together for my 3 week - yes you read that right trip.
Destination: WDW - 5/3-5/10, DCL Westbound Panama Canal Cruise - 5/10-5/25
Adventurers: Alice 5/4-5/8 Good friend who lives in Florida. She's an avid gardener. She's never done WDW on an adults only trip. We plan to wine, dine and enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival, Terri (DrDolphin) 5/8-5/10 and on the Cruise. She's been there many more times than I have. WDW will be a great way to get ready for our cruise. Me - I get to enjoy the entire vacation and my first trip home on my new DVC club points.
Resort/Hotel: 5/3 - Pop, 5/4-5/8 - BCV, 5/8-5/10 - BWV, 5/10-5/25 - Disney Magic
Celebration: To relax, see the Panama Canal, and enjoy good friends
Meetings: I know there will be some on the cruise, but if any of you will be at WDW at the same time, PM me. I'd to meet up.
We will take our first true vacation as a family (meaning not visiting relatives or friends) to WDW May 3-11.
Date:
Arrive at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, leaving Sunday, May 11
Adventurers:
Me (34) -- the Disney fanatic who cries at all the Disney commercials because I want to go so badly! Went once as a child, age 5, another time as an adult with my family (DH couldn't get off work), and another time to a wedding when DH was a groomsman. Because of his wedding activities, we really didn't get to do much as a couple, so I am looking forward to sharing the experience together
DH (36) -- *should* be a Disney fanatic, based on his other personality traits, but WDW was tainted by bad family experiences as a child -- they went nearly every year, but MIL was a commando style tourist and DH is much more laid back. He confessed to me last month that he has NEVER enjoyed a visit to WDW. (Feel lots of pressure there!)
DD - will be 5 when we go. Believes she is a princess (and she is!). The trip focuses a lot on her...we chose to go at this time because we wanted to go when WDW was still a magical place....we wanted to see "the World" through her eyes, believing that all the characters are real and magic is really possible.
DS -- will turn 1 during our trip. Because of his age, he is really just kinda along for the ride, and much of the trip will be spent at the villa with my in-laws while the rest of us tour the parks. However, he *is* going to have the ultimate first birthday party!
The in-laws -- DH's sister lives just an hour from Orlando and his mom and other sister live in the Carolinas. Since they don't get to see us much, they are coming down at various times during the week. MIL is not planning on going into the parks except for DS' birthday party, but SILs may join us at times.
Resort/Hotel:
We are staying off site at Magical Memories Villas.
Celebration:
Mentioned most of this above already -- want to to at a time when it is still magical for DD, before she gets into school so we don't have to go when it is *super* crowded. (Before DS was born, we had planned to go in Sept. 08, but had to change plans after we found out he was joining our family. )
We will celebrate DS' birthday on May 10. We are having a birthday party with DH's family at the Crystal Palace.
Meetings:
How you can spot me? Well, I have the two cutest kids in the world.
Not sure yet how y'all will recognize me -- have to think about that.
Our plans:
We will arrive Saturday night and take that time to get settled in the villa, possibly make a Walmart/grocery run, etc.
Sunday we will try to sleep in a bit, then head to the Magic Kingdom. Our main plan this day is to just look around a bit and also hit rides/attractions where you get WET! DD has a BBB appointment on Monday and I know she won't want to ruin her 'do after that. If the kids are up for it, we will stay for Spectromagic that night.
Monday, DD has a BBB appointment at noon and then we eat at CRT at 2:20. No real plans beyond that -- just play it by ear and see where we end up.
Tuesday, we head to Animal Kingdom. After it closes at 5, we may just go back to the villa OR if the kids are up to it, we'll head to Epcot to catch Illuminations, as it is DH's favorite.
Wednesday will find us at DHS/MGM. We are doing the Fantasmic Dining Package at the Brown Derby....Fantasmic is my favorite and I can't wait!
Thursday will be at Epcot. Lunch at the Garden Grill (the one thing DH says he enjoyed as a child). Hopefully the kids will be up for Illuminations!
Friday is our "just wait and see" day...we may go back to favorite parks, take a Disney break and go to the beach or Sea World or something else. DH wants to do the Richard Petty Driving Experience, so we may do this on Friday, don't know. I am crossing my fingers that they will do a Pirate and Princess Party this night!!!!!! (I know, I know, it probably won't happen, but you gotta have a dream!)
Saturday is all about DS!! We plan to go to MK, get him a birthday badge (plus I am planning to make him some special "I'm ONE" clothes) and show off the birthday boy. If he has any hair (he is bald now) we will have his hair cut at the Main Street Barber Shop. The birthday party is a late lunch/early supper at the Crystal Palace. I intend to order a cake so he can do the big first birthday "smush." If the kids can stand it, we'll stay for Wishes.
And, Sunday, we head home.
I hope to see some of you while we are in "the World!" Everyone here has been so helpful -- I couldn't have made our plans without the info I've found here!
~K
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Last edited by korki-rad; 12-14-2007 at 10:17 AM..
Destination: The UK for 8 wonderful days! Date: Leaving the states the night of 5/1, which will land us in Heathrow the morning of 5/2. Returning the morning of 5/10 which lands us back in Philadelphia the afternoon of 5/10. Adventurers: The travelers are Sue and Steve, but we are meeting some very special friends! Resort/Hotel: To be determined Celebration: Vacation! We have never travelled out of the country, and England seems like a fine place to start!
Adventurers:
Me, 6th trip to the world, lover of all things Disney, addicted to Disney podcasts
SIL, Dorothy, never been to WDW or DL, loves Disney movies, has no idea about how this trip will change her life.
DFriend, LeAnn, she's been once with her extended family but they made all of the plans and didn't have a clue. She missed so many things. She hasn't told her 3 daughters yet that she's going to Disney without them. Once, they find out ~ I'll be afraid! (I lead music in children's church so they know me quite well)
Resort/Hotel: Pop Century
Celebration: Dorothy's 55th BD & first trip. LeAnn's fact finding mission, "Really girls, it's just so I can a plan a great trip for my family"
Meetings: I don't have any scheduled but if you're going to be there, PM me and we'll try to hook up.
I plan on us going 'commando' most days but I've scheduled some mid-afternoon breaks in the park or visiting a nearby resort. We're trying to see the "best of the best" in 5.5 days and live to tell about it.
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šOš ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
Last edited by Minnie Lor; 01-04-2008 at 11:04 AM..
Destination: Walt Disney World Florida! My home away from home!
Date: Departing Boston, MA on 5/7/2008. We will be there until 5/13/2008 when we depart Orlando for Boston.
Adventurers: Priscilla (me) 30. I've been to WDW 7 times with my last time being in 2007. My husband, Rick (32) who has also been to WDW 7 times. My DS, Jonathan (12) has been to WDW 1 time (2000) and my DD, Isabella (4.5) who has been to WDW 1 time in 2007. My father Jorge (64) who has been to WDW 4 times with the last time being in 2007.
Resort/Hotel: We'll be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort.
Celebration: We are celebrating my father's 65th birthday and his impending retirement. Also, we are going to spend time as a family!
Meetings: You can't miss my daughter's baby pink stroller and I'll be wearing a Disney Lanyard covered in pins. You can't miss me at the Magic Kingdom...I'll be the one riding BTMRR and POC over and over and over and over again!
Destination: Walt Disney World Date: May 3 - May 11 Adventurers: Me (36) I think this is my 19th visit. Nell (30 something) This will be her first trip to Disney World. Resort/Hotel: All Star Movies Celebration: No celebration just Nell wanting to see Disney World
Why: Treating myself to a single mom break and celebrating National Nurses week with a fellow RN (Grandmasam)
ETA 4/13: As Sharon and I have dubbed this a "nurses conference" so our respective left-behind family members don't feel left out, it's ironic that I just discovered last night our arrival day kicks off Nurses' Week!!
MEETS: Sharing a room with Grandmasam (Sharon); hoping to see WDWFan (Lesley) & DrDolphin (Terri) on the 8th. Also hoping to run into some of the other Passporters that'll be there during the same time. If you see me say hello-I'll have my Passporter Passholder around my neck. Sharon and I will be taking the Keys To The Kingdom tour on the 8th @ 8:30AM; we are also going to the Tea at the Grand on Tuesday.
ETA 1/22: I'm definitely going <Lord Willing>-received an e-mail this AM from AirTran for awesome airfare-after applying my credit I only had to pay tax! YAY!