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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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May I suggest a re-do of the siggie pic? You can take them to Beaches and Cream after.
My DS had so much fun playing around inside that car!
That's a cute idea....we will be having dinner at Cape May...
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
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Ugh, I hate the tiers at Epcot and DHS! Why have to choose between Soarin and Test Track or between RnRC and TSMM? Ok, rant over.
Glad you were able to figure out the split FP+! I took advantage of this a lot, as my youngest son Adriel has turned into a little chicken just like his dad.
Congrats on adding the dining plan! I swore I would never get it again as now we're all Disney "adults", but my boys eat like animals. So I'm considering getting it next year. That way there will be no one dying of hunger because of lack of food or budget reasons.
I'm glad I'm not the ONLY one who dislikes the tiers.. There are really only 3 rides that honestly need FP+ (IMO) anyway - and your forced to choose only 1. Even when Maelstrom was open, we were able to walk on it during our last TWO trips...same with the Three Caballero's ride in Mexico...even in the crazy busy summer month of July. Even with the major headliner, Test Track closed. Do we really need a FP+ for The Seas with Nemo? Again, this was a ride we walked on to every time.
As for the boys - I'm still dreading the teen years, but at the rate their eating me out of house and home, I wish we could have a Dinning plan for here too
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Haha, I am the same with my signature pic...my picture was from almost 7 years ago...my guys are now 9, 12 & 15...
We both should update our pictures....if they will ever sit still long enough
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Friday was a really tough day - it was the final day of school for my students and also the 1 year anniversary of the sudden death of one of the most popular kids in their grade. My 10th graders put together a great tribute to Levi, organized a balloon launch, a grave side vigil and a picnic afterward. Picnics and social gatherings were a favorite of his, and he was quick to organize many grade level gatherings at local parks where the entire class of 124 students would be invited WITH parents. He was an amazing person.
My older two had a day camp, Camp Laff-a-lot, held at their elementary this past week and I "think" they had fun because they returned home exhausted every day. Brian was ready to end his stint as a stay-at-home Dad by Wednesday...and was a bit disgruntled to realize I don't finish work until Tuesday of this coming week. He is looking forward to helping out at Cullen's Safe T Town this coming week though, and a bit more of a relaxed routine as I finish up my school year.
This weekend is the big Strawberry Festival in our town and we walked up there this morning. The boys were treated to dairy-free strawberry flavored Kettle Corn and a dairy free strawberry shortcake, as well as a strawberry-lemon shake up. We also noshed in a "chicken on a stick" kabob from a Greek food stand. The stand out foods (always) were the strawberry doughnuts, the strawberry burrito and the strawberry salsa.
Disney:
7/20 is our "check out" day at the Poly...it's also the 1/2 way point of our vacation. We had a breakfast ADR at 8:30 at 'Ohana. After we stuff ourselves, we're going to have bell services pick up our luggage. We will then check out and head over to AoA where we will check in. I'm not counting on our room being ready, so we'll stow our things with Bell Services and head over to DHS. Our 1st FP+ is for 1:35, Tower of Terror. I may alter this and have Nolan and Cullen go somewhere else...Cullen keeps wavering on riding and Nolan has been pretty adamant that he wants nothing to do with it because it "goes to high".
The other FP+ Toy Story at 4:35 and the Frozen Sing Alon at 7:05. I felt like I was really stretching to find 3 FP given that we're only in this park for the afternoon/evening. I almost made this a 2nd MK day and still may change my mind...
We've never seen Fantasmic! and while it looks like a great show, we probably won't see it this trip either because we're getting a late start at this park.
Next up: New Camera or cell phone/Memory maker?
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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Wow! Levi sounds like he was an awesome kid!! What a wonderful thing to do!! I love the name 'Camp Laff a lot'! and the strawberry festival sounds very nice. Great plans for your split day!! (even if they change, I am sure they will be great plans!)
I so want to be with you at the Strawberry Festival right now. Yummy breakfast plans on your check out day. I just realized we will be there exactly 4 months later. Well, not Ohana, but at Disney World. In Africa to be exactly. The fact that you haven't seen Fantasmic.... well, I can understand with sensory issue kids. However, maybe, just maybe, you can see the 2nd showing of it. Caden highly recommends it.
That sounds like a wonderful tribute to Levi and he sounds like a very special person.
I wasn't lucky enough to know him, but I remember the news story. He was the class president, the VP for the 4H and FFA groups and just a truly nice kid. His loss has hit this class very hard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Sorry for the rough day, sounds like a great tribute for him though!
Thank you! This is truly an amazing group of kids. I'm going to miss them next year as I'll be teaching all 10th grade again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara
Wow! Levi sounds like he was an awesome kid!! What a wonderful thing to do!! I love the name 'Camp Laff a lot'! and the strawberry festival sounds very nice. Great plans for your split day!! (even if they change, I am sure they will be great plans!)
The Strawberry Festival is "The" festival in the area, and the "official" kick off for summer around here. People come from all over the country, and there isn't a hotel room left in the county. We're going back today to check out the classic car "cruise in" on the bridge. Brian waited 45 minutes in a line for Strawberry Doughnuts for me to take to work tomorrow.
The Camp Laff A Lot is a blast for the boys - they play all sorts of crazy games - it's like a giant, day-long, phys ed class.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
I so want to be with you at the Strawberry Festival right now. Yummy breakfast plans on your check out day. I just realized we will be there exactly 4 months later. Well, not Ohana, but at Disney World. In Africa to be exactly. The fact that you haven't seen Fantasmic.... well, I can understand with sensory issue kids. However, maybe, just maybe, you can see the 2nd showing of it. Caden highly recommends it.
We're going to "test" the waters with fireworks on the Poly beach on our first night and ease into things that way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
It would be so hard to lose such a promising young man as Levi. Plans look good, but I totally understand the rethinking. I do that all the time.
It is really hard, and Levi was the only boy in his family. His parents have started a scholarship in his name and they were really, really touched by the Friday plans the 10th graders made in his honor.
I've rethought....and I am going to switch the days.
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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After posting our plans yesterday, I started thinking...my least favorite park? DHS. Why? We always get there well after opening and it's always so miserably crowded. Why would I willingly do this to myself AGAIN this trip? So....
Yep, I changed things. First, I looked at easy wdw which has the entire week at a "7" for crowds....then I went to Touring Plans...which has the week at a 9....and DHS was rated the WORST park for the 20th because the EMH evening hours are for this day. This would never work because that tends to make the park crowds swell as the day goes on. So, I started tweaking...and decided why didn't I think about making it our 2nd MK day? After we clear out of our room and eat our yummy breakfast, we can leave the car parked at the Poly and take the monorail or boat to MK.
I plugged in a few of our "must rides" after cancelling our DHS FP+ on MDE (all these acronyms make me fell like I'm at work ). I choose our "3" option:
Jungle Cruise 10:55-11:55
Space Mountain 12:55-1:55
Festival of the Fantasy Parade viewing 2:45 - 3:05
I know there are many who say "don't waste" a FP+ on parades BUT with my littles, this will prevent us having to line up at 1 for a 3 pm parade. A 15 minute wait is manageable. Our 2012 trip, people started staking spots for the MSEP at 7:00 on a night when it ran at 10
The new plan is to head to MK - tour until after the parade, then go back, pick up the car and go to AoA to check in. We will (hopefully) find our room ready so we can cool off, unpack a bit and let the boys explore/swim etc. After dinner, we will give them the option of returning to MK or hanging out at our resort.
Up Next: Revising the 21st...
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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That sounds like a great change!! We are among the lemmings that will be at DHS on the 20th! We usually avoid EMH parks at night but I love HS in the dark!!
I don't think a Fastpass for a parade is a waste at all. We had Fastpasses for the Magic Kingdom parade on our most recent visit and, although we didn't use it in the end, as they put an earlier parade on, I'd happily use it as one of our choices again, as to me, it takes the stress out of having to get there early and stake a spot out.
I like your new plan much better. Good thinking! Sounds much less stressful and much more enjoyable for all.
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First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
That sounds like a great change!! We are among the lemmings that will be at DHS on the 20th! We usually avoid EMH parks at night but I love HS in the dark!!
I knew that you were going to be there that night, and I really wanted to keep the plans JUST to have a meet up with you, but in the end, I just worried that it would be crazy crowded with a late arrival. I'll have to figure out another time our plans coincide....
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I don't think a Fastpass for a parade is a waste at all. We had Fastpasses for the Magic Kingdom parade on our most recent visit and, although we didn't use it in the end, as they put an earlier parade on, I'd happily use it as one of our choices again, as to me, it takes the stress out of having to get there early and stake a spot out.
It does relieve stress because we don't have to arrive quite so early.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wishes
I like your new plan much better. Good thinking! Sounds much less stressful and much more enjoyable for all.
Thank! Sometimes, changes can be beneficial
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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So I'm considering getting it next year. That way there will be no one dying of hunger because of lack of food or budget reasons.
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and the strawberry festival sounds very nice. Great plans for your split day!! 
(even if they change, I am sure they will be great plans!
The fact that you haven't seen Fantasmic.... well, I can understand with sensory issue kids. However, maybe, just maybe, you can see the 2nd showing of it. Caden highly recommends it.
. So, I started tweaking...and decided 
why didn't I think about making it our 2nd MK day? After we clear out of our room and eat our yummy breakfast, we can leave the car parked at the Poly and take the monorail or boat to MK.
We had Fastpasses for the Magic Kingdom parade on our most recent visit and, although we didn't use it in the end, as they put an earlier parade on, I'd happily use it as one of our choices again, as to me, it takes the stress out of having to get there early and stake a spot out.
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