The Walt Disney World/Disneyland Double Dip Trip!! *COMPLETED!* 7/11 - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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I always make my itinerary with flexibility built in. I tend to schedule park days around EMH (either attending or avoiding), then make ADRs based on that. Having a week at WDW, I try to plan to hit each park at opening at least once to get a ride on all the gatebusters, as well as each park at least one evening, to see nighttime shows.
In San Diego, I decided on the Trolley Tour/Balboa Park on Sunday, and the Zoo on Monday (to avoid weekend crowds). Saturday afternoon and Tuesday morning will be miscellaneous sights, with a Harbor Cruise worked in there somewhere.
Having 5 days for the Disneyland parks, a plan isn’t necessary, but we did plan for meals. The parks are close enough together that park hopping can be totally spontaneous and is very easy. To my dismay, Fantasmic! won’t be showing this trip, but Remember Dreams Come True, Disneyland’s amazing fireworks show, will be.
Here’s where I’ll be and when:
Saturday, February 17 – We don’t land until 5:00. The MK is open late, so that’s where I’m going. No ADRs this day.
Sunday, February 18 – We’ll start the day at the Kona Café for breakfast, then hit the MK. Some time during the day, we’ll switch over to MGM and finish the night with Fantasmic!
Monday, February 19 (Presidents’ Day) – We’ll start off at Epcot, then finish the day at the MK. Lunch will be at Teppanyaki Dining Room. I want to catch Spectromagic and Wishes this night.
Tuesday, February 20 – MGM/AK followed by dinner at Boma.
Wednesday, February 21 – AK/Epcot with dinner at the Garden Grill. We’ll catch Illuminations this evening.
Thursday, February 22 – Epcot/MGM. Dinner is at Sci-Fi Dine In.
Friday, February 23 (DN Erica’s actual birthday) – AK, then MK for the and Party. Dinner is at the Plaza Restaurant.
Saturday, February 24 – early flight to San Diego. Dinner with Terri, Sarah, and Crystal at the Corvette Diner
Sunday, February 25 – Old Town Trolley Tour with stops around the city, including Balboa Park
Monday, February 26 – San Diego Zoo
Tuesday, February 27 – Squeeze in a few more sights before driving to Anaheim. Dinner with the PassPorter Girls at Tortilla Jo’s. (Margaritas all around )
Wednesday, February 28 – Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour
Thursday, March 1 – Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen with Karen, Eileen and Dawn, dinner at Napa Rose with the Girls
Friday, March 2 – Blue Bayou for lunch with the same cast as the Corvette Diner, and I will try to see Remember Dreams Come True
Saturday, March 3 – Breakfast at Storyteller’s Café with the Girls, and I want to see Remember again on my last night
Sunday, March 4 – flying home
Up Next: The Final Details
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
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Well, this is it. It’s almost time to go. I’ve packed, and let me tell you, that wasn’t easy! I finally just accepted the fact that I’ll have to do laundry at some point. Fortunately, there is a washer/dryer in the villa, so it’ll be a simple matter to do laundry before leaving Orlando. So I’m all packed, except for the few things I’ll need tonight and tomorrow morning. I’m bringing two suitcases to Orlando, but DM and DF have agreed to lug my smaller one home with them, so I’m only bringing one to California. I’ve even printed out a list of what to put in the “home” suitcase and what to put in the “California” suitcase.
Everything at work is taken care of and my desk is empty. I expect it to look a lot different after a two-week absence. I’ve set up my out-of-office notifications for email and voice mail, and I’ll be leaving work behind!
One little wrinkle popped up. I realized last Friday that my debit/MasterCard would be expiring at the end of the month. I knew I’d be away from home starting the 17th, so I called Citibank to make sure that I’d get the new one in time. The CS Rep very nicely told me that they mail cards out in the middle of the month and I’d get mine the last week of the month. Yikes! So I let him know I’d be away and needing to use the card and he had them send a new one that day, which I got the next day. Whew!
The boarding passes are printed (we got ‘A’). My AP, AP renewal voucher, DL ticket and San Diego Passport are in my PassPorter. Mail has been stopped. My fridge is empty (pizza for dinner tonight). My apartment is clean. I got a mani-pedi. My DB (in NY) is driving us to the airport and DF will pick me up when I get back. My TiVo is even set up to save my favorite shows for me so I can catch up when I get home.
I always take a lot of pictures, and I won’t have a laptop, so I bought a new 2G SD card for my camera. Along with my current 1G card, I’ll have room for thousands of photos (consider yourself warned ).
I’ll post all the San Diego/Disneyland days here and the WDW days will go over in the WDW Trip Reports board. What you've read so far is over there too. I’ll have to take lots of notes and I’m going to work on my TR during down times, so I hope to get updates out relatively quickly, but unfortunately, it’ll be a while before I get to the Disneyland days. But all the other Girl Trippers' TRs will be up without delay!
Now all that’s left is watching the clock and getting a good night’s sleep! Disney in the morning! See you all in a couple of weeks, and for 11 of you, even less!!
Up Next: Double Dippin’ Disney Style!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Man, do I ever need to take a course from you on "getting ready to go on vacation!" I am organized but all I can say is WOW, you have it all together! Can not wait until you guys are all back home and TRs are started! Have safe travels and a magical time.