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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Yeah I came home to find you had started your trip report. I had been waiting. I thought about you the Morning you were all flying out and hoped that it would go well for you. Did you or Abby have any ear trouble at all? Hope the ear planes helped. It sounds like Lenny and Abby were tired and maybe a bit too much excitement for her on the first day. I hope your SW plans went well the next day.
What exactly did the DTS have that the STS did not that Lenny was unhappy about ?
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Great Start!!! Glad you arrived safely and looking forward to more!
Thanks Kathy. You'll have to stay tuned as I've posted all I'm going to for today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shnewell
Yay, you started your TR! I'm glad everything went smoothly with the flight and that you got in early to boot!
Sorry that Lenny was being a pain about the directions and the driving. It can be so frustrating when you've spent so much time and effort planning a Disney trip and then someone complains about something relatively minor like that!
Love the photo of Abby and Lenny at HDDR! Glad that Abby had a great time and that you were able to get that ADR (even if it was on arrival day). Also glad you got your pressed pennies!
Sorry that Abby had a bit of a meltdown, but hooray for the sweet woman on the bus! Sounds like a very exhausting first day.
Can't wait to hear what happens on your Sea World day!
Thanks - everything started off smoothly and getting in early was certainly a surprise. I should have known all of that going the way it did meant something wasn't going to go right that day. And I totally agree, the type of car was so minor but Lenny spent much of the trip complaining about it. I finally told him when we got home next time we'll stick to the busses . He finally shut up about the car. And yes, our first day was exhausting - too exhausting truthfully (and I'm one that CAN go, go, go). I have to think of how we'll do things differently the next time around.
Quote:
Originally Posted by omd
I'm so glad that you started your TR I have been watching for it.
I thought of you on the day you left and hoped that your flight was ok and that you did not have any problem with your ears. Glad it went well.
You had a very busy first day and I'm sorry that you had some issues. It sounds I would think that the bus drivers had lots of experience with tired kids and could tell if they had to spread some magic but apparently the one you had was having a bad day.
I hope that after a good nights sleep everyone was in a better mood.
Thanks Olive. Our flight was okay - and come to think of it, all of you guys hoping for a good flight for us probably had something to do with it because I know how well Pixies work. And surprisingly I didn't have any trouble with my ears. My left one hurt a little bit but that was only due to the ear plane itself, not pressure building up or anything. We had issues the first day and I can admit that I didn't help matters any. I could have put my foot down and said no park because we're all tired but I was too tired to argue and the bus driver was something else. And he's not the first one at FW that we've had like that. If it's not something in the air (or the water) over there, I don't know what it is. Now as for a good night's sleep and a better mood, you'll just have to stay tuned, won't you (you know I don't give things away )
Quote:
Originally Posted by scrappyjae
Great start!
Thanks
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Great start! I'm so glad that airport security and the flight itself went so well. Can't believe you even slept a bit! Abby looks like she loved HDDR. Incredible that you also made it to MK that night even after basically no sleep the night before. I'm not surprised Abby said she wanted to sleep in the next morning.
Laurie, I still can't believe I slept on the plane. I never expected to be able to. Abby most definitely loves HDD - anything with music really. She'd probably love the Luau too but with her being so picky, I'm not sure if we should ever try for it. Like I said, I'm can go, go, go especially once in Disney. Part of it is the Disney Fanatic in me, the ohter part is being a mom and being used to having to go, go go even when I'm exhausted. If Abby had her choice, I bet she'd ask to sleep in every morning. The only problem with that at Disney is she doesn't make it to park closing even with late mornings. I don't mind sleeping in if we stay out late but it doesn't make me happy when they sleep in late and then want to leave the parks early.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coffeechef
Yeah I came home to find you had started your trip report. I had been waiting. I thought about you the Morning you were all flying out and hoped that it would go well for you. Did you or Abby have any ear trouble at all? Hope the ear planes helped. It sounds like Lenny and Abby were tired and maybe a bit too much excitement for her on the first day. I hope your SW plans went well the next day.
What exactly did the DTS have that the STS did not that Lenny was unhappy about ?
You don't have to wait any longer. I've started and I plan to keep going until I completely finish this time (DDP review and final thoughts as well, not just our days). Neither Abby nor I had any trouble with our ears, everything I took really helped. And while I don't know for sure if it was one thing over another or all three, all 3 are easy enough to do that I'll just keep doing them. As for Lenny and Abby being tired - I swear they always are no matter how much sleep they get and whether it was too much excitement or just too much period, it ended how it ended. How that will change things for the future, only time will tell.
As for the car, Lenny keeps telling me that the DTS has a LOT more trunk space than the STS. Me, I don't know, I don't care. We fit in it, the scooter fit in it - that's all that mattered to me. Yes, things were tight but in the long run, I told Lenny that no matter what he thinks, we paid for the name of a vehicle, not the size of a vehicle. Like I said, I finally got him to stop complaining by telling him next time we'll skip the rental and go with the busses. I won't as I totally hate the busses but at least I've stopped hearing about "we should have had a DTS, not an STS".
So glad the plane ride went so well. I know how stressed you were over how Abby would react. What a magical upgrade at the HDDR. I can't wait for my girls to see the play area at Pooh! I think they'll enjoy it! Sorry about how your night ended though. Glad y'all finally got back to ASSP. I agree with letting Abby sleep in. I too would have wanted to get up and go, but I can see how it'd be best for all of you to sleep in and not fight that battle!
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Sorry Abby had such a rough go of it.... Sounds like your original thought to just hang around the resort the first night would have suited you guys better..... Just like all of us with trips to Disney and elsewhere; live and learn....
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I'm so glad you started your TR happy to hear the flight went well, and i feel your pain with a complaining DH...i sometimes wonder myself how in the world did he function before we got married I'm sorry to hear about your rough first night and def agree about letting Abby sleep in. I hope your day at Sea World was fun and relaxing, can't wait to hear more!!
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I understand the first day meltdowns, I had one of my own right along side my son. It has to be the excitement and the tiredness. I'm glad Abby calmed down and I understand how frustrating the complaining and grumpies are. I hope everyone settles in and has a great time. Can't wait to hear about Sea World!
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I am so excited you started your trip report! I can't wait for all the installments. I'm not suprised Abby & Lenny had a meltdown, Sometimes there is a letdown when you realize something you anticipated a long time for is finally happening. Lenny probably wanted the trip to be perfect and after not getting a DTS was afraid other things would go wrong. Sorry you had a rude bus driver. That did not help at all. Hope things went better the next day.
Great start! I'm glad the plane ride went smoothly for you! I'm glad you enjoyed the HDDR, but I agree that you shouldn't push too hard on the first day. Sometimes it leads to adult melt downs in my house--so I completely sympathize with your DD!
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Sounds like a very exhausting first day. 
. He finally shut up about the car. And yes, our first day was exhausting - too exhausting truthfully (and I'm one that CAN go, go, go). I have to think of how we'll do things differently the next time around.
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Glad y'all finally got back to ASSP. I agree with letting Abby sleep in. I too would have wanted to get up and go, but I can see how it'd be best for all of you to sleep in and not fight that battle!
happy to hear the flight went well, and i feel your pain with a complaining DH...i sometimes wonder myself how in the world did he function before we got married 
I'm sorry to hear about your rough first night and def agree about letting Abby sleep in. I hope your day at Sea World was fun and relaxing, can't wait to hear more!!
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You did get a lot done on your first day. 
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