The Search For My Wits (or, "Toy Story 1-1/8"): a May solo PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
The Search For My Wits (or, "Toy Story 1-1/8"): a Solo TR - 7/8 UD
"I have been chosen. Farewell, my friends. I go to a better place."
The time has come, at long last....
for my solo trip to Walt Disney World!!!!
Well, the planning of it, anyway.
When you're a SAHM to three active boys and also happen to home school, 60 seconds alone in the bathroom is a luxury.... A long weekend away is heaven on earth!
I am also married to THE BEST man on earth, as he is willing to grant me this time away to find and gather my wits. Keeping in mind we have three boys, you know they'll have a major "guy's weekend" at the same time I'm off smelling roses and having tea and doing all sorts of other girlie-girl stuff (which is unusual for me since I would not describe myself as a girlie-girl). I'm also reminded of the recent tv spot for the minivan, where the mom is sitting inside in her robe, chatting with her BFF of the phone, doing her nails and such....and she tells the camera that her husband likes her to spend time in the van because it makes her more relaxed and she gets less headaches..... So it wouldn't be fair to say that my darling DH is entirely innocent in his granting my time away for a Disney solo.
This magical journey to solo bliss will begin in May. And, it happens to fall over Mother's Day weekend, which is apropos. Or not, depending on your point of view....after all, I wouldn't be a mother without kids, but yet I'm celebrating Mother's Day, in Disney World, without them.
Discuss....
Originally this trip was going to happen in January. Then I moved it up to late August, hoping for Free Dining again. Finally, after watching the "Yard Crashers" episode on DIY Network where they went to the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, the little gears in my head suddenly starting turning. I knew Disney was offering some discounts for spring travel, so a few mouse-clicks and some Fuzzy Disney Math and voila!....I now have a May trip and will get to see the F & G Festival! It's also a good way to "convince" the kids that they would be bored on such a trip and explain why mom is going alone.
Yeah, right.
A few details:
Who: ME!! Alone! When: May 8-11, 2010 Where: Pop Century - first stay in this resort and very excited to experience it! Why: well, other than trying to keep my wits about me, I specifically chose May in order to fully experience the Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot!
You know, there are LOTS of TRs and PTRs around here. I would be honored if you chose to follow along with mine. I like to think I have some talent in writing, but I'm also pretty good with the camera so I do promise that if you stick around, your eyes will be treated to some pretty nice photographic pixie dust (more so in the TR that follows, but I'll toss some in here now and then as a teaser....).
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
This PTR is unique for me in that I have never, ever written a PTR for a SOLO trip!! Can I write for 2 months, about a trip that is shorter than the norm and only involves one person?!....
You betcha, baby!
This is my long-awaited solo trip to the World. Pure heaven. I can hardly slow my mind down long enough to get the thoughts straight! So much to do!.....no taking a vote on anything!....Where to go?...what to eat?!...who to meet??!! (which kind of begs the question....is it weird to be a solo adult and still want your pic taken with the characters?....). I can hear some of you now – You're a mom, and you're going without your kids??! Why YES!...as a matter of fact I am!
Do I feel the least bit of guilt? Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do.... You can't help it. If my kids didn't care much for Disney (oh perish the thought!!) it would be different. But they love it. Totally and completely. As of this writing they don't know about Mom's little get-away. I intend to put off that news as long as possible! But they've been before and they'll go again. This is Mom's trip.
This trip is my chance to see the magic in my own way, to take in details that I never have time to stop and see when my family is with me. To do whatever I want, on my own schedule. The only thing I can tell you without a doubt that I will not be doing is sleeping in!....lol! I'm looking forward more than ever to those early morning coffee walks. Of course I won't be at Port Orleans Riverside this time...but all Disney resorts offer their own flavor of the Disney magic so I don't expect to be disappointed by my walks around Pop. It'll just be different.
Great start. I would love a solo trip to WDW. Can't wait to hear all about it. I know it's natural to feel a little guilt, but you deserve it, plus in the end it will make you a better mommy and wife. Have fun!
great start and dont have guilt ive done several trips to the world without my son. he goes alot and i try to make it fair so last year i went with my hubby alone now this may its just a mom and son trip . have a great time look foward to more post
Thanks for all the fantastic replies!! Glad y'all are enjoying it so far. Just wanted to update everyone and let you know that I'm on a little hiatus from the boards until after Easter, but please stay tuned!....there WILL be more to this PTR!
About This Page: 
So it wouldn't be fair to say that my darling DH is entirely innocent in his granting my time away for a Disney solo.
I like to think I have some talent in writing, but I'm also pretty good with the camera so I do promise that if you stick around, your eyes will be treated to some pretty nice photographic pixie dust (more so in the TR that follows, but I'll toss some in here now and then as a teaser....
).
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
![[SIGPIC]](signaturepics/sigpic27594_7.gif)
PassPorter Guide Author
Susan
Hybrid Mode
