4 Adults, 3 kids, 1 week. An OCD planners dream! 8/30 - 9/6 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 Cast: Tyler (Ty) – 20 months old. Likes dancing to Disney Playhouse songs, playing with toy cars and trucks. He's a snuggler and a fantastic baby. tyler.jpg
Abigail (Abby) – 4 ½ years old. Loves Mickey Mouse Club House and anything with Hello Kitty on it. She's deathly afraid of "monkeys" but sleeps with a stuffed gorilla. Avery(Ave) – 6 years old. Loves Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and all of the Princess movies. She's an avid colorer and singer. 20372_1273989844638_1076681641_30851648_4576887_n.jpg
Abby is in purple - Avery is in pink.
Suzanne (Me) - 28 years old. I work at a VA medical center as a respiratory therapist. I enjoy reading and scrapbooking. 25752_109990622345065_100000023841348_255843_4020788_s.jpg Ben (DH) - 33 years old. Works at Quaker Oats “watching LIFE go by” (life cereal). Enjoys hunting (ducks, geese, turkeys). n1060240486_380536_105390.jpg Grandma Kent (Walt) – 58 years old. Retired R.N. Enjoys traveling, crocheting, and shopping. Grandpa Kent (Kathy) – 62 years old. Retired UPS driver. Enjoys hunting and traveling. 20955_644416996315_30404374_36865588_1846462_n.jpg Background on how this trip came to be:
I’m not a crier. But crying got me to Disney World! When I got pregnant with Avery, I was 21 years old. Ben and I had been married for 6 months. Due to having mono and strep throat, the medication I was on made my birth control not as effective. Wham Bam thank you Maim I’m pregnant. Ben was thrilled, I cried. After a few (15 or more) minutes of crying, I asked Ben “Can we take it to Disney World?” His response was “Yes. Of course.” Suddenly my little bun in the oven wasn’t such a bad thing. Fast forward six years later. We’ve had three children and we haven’t gone to Disney World yet. What gives?
Ben is not a Disney lover. He went once when he was 14 for one day and waited in line over an hour to ride Peter Pan. It was July and 100+ degrees out. I really can’t blame him for not loving it the way my family does. I had set aside a savings account and was putting money away to take a trip to Disney. In the economic crunch, Ben decided that we needed that money to live, and asked me to cancel my account. Oh, yeah, the fighting began. After a few days of butting heads, I do what I do best and cut myself off from the situation. Then one night I went to bed and started bawling. I’m really not a crier. Sure death/funerals. When I had an emergency c-section with my third child and was put under, because they didn’t think he’d make it, I cried. But money? Vacation? Not something I would cry about. Ben went into a panic. He doesn’t like my once every 2 year crying fits and I couldn’t speak through the sobs to tell him what my problem was.
The next day I talked to my Mom and my best friend about it. Breaking down and crying to my Mom yet again. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to say what I wanted to say. I wrote a letter. I told Ben why Disney was so important to me. My Dad worked long hours and I barely got to see him. Those 2 weeks a year when we’d go on vacation are the memories I have of my Dad growing up. This stuck a cord with him because he works well over 40 hours a week. The letter was long and went into a ton of issues. When he got home from work I gave it to Abigail (I know, use the 3 yr. old!!) and went for a run. I came home and nothing was discussed. The next day, nothing was discussed. 3 days later, Ben approaches me and asks when I want to go and how much it will cost. From this point on, he’s been nothing but supportive in the planning of our Disney trip. Which makes me wonder, why don’t I cry more?
With three kids and two adults, we decided to call in some back up. My parents (fellow Disney lovers) were happy to come along. At first we discussed driving the 20+ hours to get there. Then my Dad stated that he “Would rather have his teeth pulled out with no drugs than be crammed in a minivan for that long. It was okay when I was 30, but I’m too old now.” They then offered to pay for part of our flights. YEH!!! I really didn’t want to ride in a minivan that long either. We narrowed down dates, in hopes of free dining and what worked best with Ben’s schedule. Then began the long process of waiting for flights to be released.
Sorry the pictures ar so small. I can't figure out how to make them larger. If you want to see them you can double click on them and they come up in their own window.
January 25 after a couple bad weeks (my daughter had surgery, having a tough go at work) the flights are finally posted. It felt like I was waiting forever!! We got flights from an Airport about a 1 hour and 35 minutes away from our house for $97 each way through Airtran Airways.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Moline/Quad Cities IL (MIL) at 10:41 AM
Arriving Orlando, FL (MCO) at 02:13 PM Then we fly home
Monday, September 06, 2010
Departing Orlando, FL (MCO) at 07:45 PM
Arriving Atlanta, GA (ATL) at 09:18 PM
--- Connecting To ---
Monday, September 06, 2010
Departing Atlanta, GA (ATL) at 10:10 PM
Arriving Moline/Quad Cities, IL (MLI) at 11:11 PM
We won’t get home until after 1 AM. I’m considering getting a hotel for that night, but honestly I think we will just want to get back to our own beds at this point. Plus we can sleep on the plane.
Now we have to wait for our tax return to come back to book our room and tickets or for March 3rd to come around to make ADR’s.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Sometimes we must do whatever it takes!! Great start!!! Can't wait to read more about your trip!!!
Susan
PassPorter Guide Author
Our 3 princesses LOVE the RED SOX!!!!
Disney - 9.2012
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Hybrid Mode
