Sarilas' O-fficial Pre-Trip Report -1/2009 (a.k.a. Vacation, Take TWO!) - Page 20 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Sorry about the bonus check...I think it is that way for many of us now but positive is a good thing. I knew that our December trip was going to be a real budget. But I was happy we were there and as you said...there are others trips, why do it all at once
Hope you figure out your departure traveling soon....
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.
Sorry about the bonus check...I think it is that way for many of us now but positive is a good thing. I knew that our December trip was going to be a real budget. But I was happy we were there and as you said...there are others trips, why do it all at once
Hope you figure out your departure traveling soon....
You know, that's the one thing that kept my spirits up about the majorly smaller than we anticipated check; there are people without jobs right now, and the fact that my DH is gainfully employed and we can take a trip to WDW at all is such a blessing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DyanKJ130
Congratulations on securing your airfare down there!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on the tickets!!
Now if only we could decide how we want to come home! LOL
So, you may have noticed I've fallen a WEE BIT BEHIND the last few days! That tends to happen to me on weekends when I've got DH and everyone at home and under foot, but never more so than the days before Christmas I suppose.
On the plane ticket front, DH and I are trying to decide if we want to stay the entire last day at WDW and take the latest flight possible home. What we would actually DO with our time we're unsure of but we thought about either adding a day of park tickets and hanging out at whichever park becomes our favorite or going to Disney Quest, but I don't know that DQ has anything for the littlest two to do...
But I digress! We have a countdown to attend to!
The ‘roots’ of the Swiss Family Robinson Tree are built 42 feet into the ground for structural support.
Dumbo was first released in the US released in 1941
Splash Mountain boasts one of the world's longest flume drops and promises guests a 40 mph descent -- faster than any other attraction in Magic Kingdom.
Mickey Mouse was originally drawn using circles -- for head, body, and ears. The Pointer, in 1939, was the first cartoon that featured a drastically new design for Mickey. His body became more pear shaped than round, and pupils were added to his eyes, making them more expressive.
I cannot believe we're almost under the one month mark... DH and I keep talking about it like giddy little kids, we're so excited!
AND, if we can figure it out accordingly, I may have talked him into another trip this fall!
And because I've slacked so much in finding posting time, I have mondo ginormous countdowns to post. (Spot the days where I was having trouble finding interesting facts!)
38” is the height requirement to ride Kali River Rapids.
The ride technology for the Soarin' attraction was based on an erector set model created by Walt Disney Imagineer Mark Sumner. One million pounds of steel provides the ride structure and 37 tons are lifted during each ride cycle.
Winter Summerland is a 36-hole miniature golf course located near the entrance to Disney's Blizzard Beach water park.
There are 35 lifelike Audio-Animatronic figures used in a variety of historical scenes such as Plymouth Rock, Valley Forge and the Civil War in The American Adventure in World Showcase including flags from the Revolutionary War, Colonial period, as well as foreign flags that once had claim to the land.
The ride vehicles of Expedition Everest are known as "Steam Donkeys", are modeled after steam-engine tea trains, and carry up to 34 passengers per train
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad can reach speeds of up to 33 MPH, which is faster than Space Mountain!
Walt earned 32 Academy Awards aside from what was won by his studio.
I watched a special documentary on Sunday of the Disney live action classics, so this countdown is really apropos. (And anytime there's a Disney time line I bawl like a baby when Walt passes away.
But I digress.
Lots of action going on here at our casa; DH dug our suitcases out of the deep recesses of our storage shed (which prompted the cleaning out of said shed and I'm sure Goodwill appreciates those dozens of boxes and bags of goodies). Today the kids and I will be making sure each piece of luggage is in tip top shape for the trip. I still have the old pieces of Samsonite hard side luggage from when I was a little girl and they're perfect for taking breakfast items with us to Disney (the hard sides will prevent the crushing of cereal) and also for bringing home souvenirs in one piece. I HOPE!
I have a very short list of things we still need such as a bag for both Kyle and Tatiana (something backpack or fanny pack-ish that they won't set down and forget about at inopportune times). A neighbor gave us a very small closet organizer type thing that will work great for the bathroom at POR.
OH! I nearly forgot- I spent the weekend adding rhinestones to my girls' shirts (and Tatiana's Tink jacket); I just never found the fortitude to print my own designs, but I had so many shirts that I'd purchased for the girls from Disney that it was pretty easy to alter them a bit and they turned out so cute! I have a bit more work to do on some but I'll take a pic when they're finished.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Oh, what a year this is going to be. I'm insisting on it! It's been a rough past couple of years and this is going to be one where the words fun and relaxing are worked into as many sentences as humanly possible.
So! Back to Disney schtuff!
Today is 29 DAYS TILL DISNEY!
How cool is it that our 30 day marker was New Years Eve?! Of course I couldn't really point that out to anyone but DH because we're hiding our actual trip date from the kids! They still think we're leaving in February... :rolleyes1 But inside I was
But here's a picture of our countdown calendar, as misleading as it is!
You'll notice the 22 is the black Mickey head toward the center of the calendar... that's our ACTUAL #1 Mickey head, which is taped down completely and says "Surprise! We're going to Disney World TOMORROW!"
Okay, so I tried to get a shot of our strollers a while back (you can see our countdown to the countdown calendar pinned up in the background)- we bought two of these pink beauties for Stasia and Lexi, and we LOVE them!
Lightweight umbrella type strollers with a basket underneath, sun shade, a partial mesh back for ventilation and these little fanny pack style storage compartments between the handles to store small items. They're perfect and the girls love them (as evidenced by Stasia not wanting to get out long enough for me to take the pic!)
I also said I'd take some pics of the shirts I was adding rhinestones to, but darned if they didn't show up very well and I am in no state to try and re-take all the pics! Nonetheless...
Here's an Ariel shirt- there are rhinestones in the air bubbles!
Cinderella- stones are in the magic dust swirling around her as well as within her name.
There are two of these, but I just they're already silver and sparkly so I just added a couple of stones randomly within the letters.
There are also two of these- I placed stones in the already there white 'sparkles' throughout the shirt.
There are stones within the air bubbles here, too!
You can see these stones the best (on the dark fabric)- they're within the magic dust and her name as well!
This is Tatiana's Tink hoodie- you can see it is covered in Tinkerbells but I just placed stones randomly throughout it (on a few of her wands and such - not all over!) and also on the pocket detail. Everything is very subtle- it's not Disney Vegas after all!
Here is a jacket that I bought today at Wal-Mart- we went in for groceries and the kids section is RIGHT next to the grocery area... I still needed a lightweight jacket for the little girls and I saw these!
THEY LIGHT UP! Come on! I couldn't resist. Now they match the girls Princess shoes which also light up... okay maybe it IS Disney Vegas!
So I'll leave you with our countdown quotes, and a New Years wish from all of us to all of you- may this be the best year yet, full of hope and wishes and dreams fulfilled!
From me, my DH, and of course...
Kyle
Tatiana
Anastasia
And Alexandra
Walt Disney's widow passed away 31 years and one day after Walt, from a stroke. She was 98 years old.
The blades of grass at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure soar 30 feet high!
The 29 missions that the United States and the Soviet Union sent to the moon between 1959 and 1976 are each designated on the moon sphere in the Planetary Plaza of Mission: SPACE.
Love all the updates....glad you had a good holiday and the kids look like they were enjoying all the New Year festivities. Love the shirts...they look great (and I love all your shiny additions). The Tinkerbell sweatshirts you bought for the little ones are adorable...
Love all the updates....glad you had a good holiday and the kids look like they were enjoying all the New Year festivities. Love the shirts...they look great (and I love all your shiny additions). The Tinkerbell sweatshirts you bought for the little ones are adorable...
Thank you! I knew I wanted to get some hoodies for the little girls (I keep being told we need to dress in layers for the weather at this time of year!) so these are perfect. They had cute little princess ones too, but these were the winners as chosen by my 3 year old.
Space Mountain only travels at a maximum speed of about 28 miles per hour.
Holy carp that just sounds downright SCARY! It gives me goosebumps and tingles to think that our trip is SO CLOSE!
Did I tell everyone that I confirmed our return flight?! I can't remember! We're flying home on Sunday on the latest flight (7 something that night) so we will have some time to fiddle around in one of the parks before having to get on the bus back to the airport!
This begs a question to be answered though: How much time do you alot for getting the bus back to MCO? For instance, if our flight leaves at 7, what time do we need to be at POR in order to get to the airport and get through security? Anyone?!
First things first though- today I'm breaking out the suitcases, laying them in ours and the little girls room and I'm going to start organizing! I've got to get a feel for exactly how much luggage we'll need, and I can get away with packing much of our clothes now as far as the lighter layers are concerned (shorts, etc.).
I'm debating on packing a suitcase with breakfast items or just ordering from Garden Grocer... I may end up doing a little of both so we can have milk for the girls in the room and what not... DECISIONS!
I'm still debating on which of our ADR's to keep too- I'm thinking about canceling Chef Mickeys, because I already know they'll freak Anastasia out and she'll end up not eating. Not to mention it's a late (8 pm) ADR and I can totally rebook it for October (knock on wood) for a better time. I'm resolute on canceling Cindy's Table as well- it's another late ADR (1:30 lunch) which is the girls' nap time, and it can be rescheduled for a better time next trip. I think I'll keep 1900 Park though- I get such a kick out of the idea of the step sisters and the kids want ONE princess meal...
About This Page: 
but positive is a good thing. I knew that our December trip was going to be a real budget. But I was happy we were there and as you said...there are others trips, why do it all at once 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
