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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Happy Birthday Cameron!!! Love the tricked out high chair!
I loved the way the high chair turned out. My mom is so creative. I asked her if she could maybe do a little something for his high chair thinking she'd just put some streamers on it or something and she went above and beyond.
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Originally Posted by shnewell
Happy 1st Birthday, Cameron!! It's always amusing to see how babies react to their first experience with cake. Cute cake and decorations!
And congrats on getting a good deal on airfare, even if it meant you had to change your schedule a little.
I'd never seen a baby react to cake the way Cameron did. He's an interesting little fellow.
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Originally Posted by lazanya
Happy 1st Birthday Cameron! What a cutie!
Congrats on the airfare!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
, Cameron! Glad you were able to get a good deal on your airfare! and for involving extended family in your WDW trip!
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Originally Posted by OCEANGRLLG
Happy Birthday to Cameron!!! What a great cake! and great lookin fmaily! Congrats on the airfare!
Thanks everyone! I'll make sure to tell Cameron he has some birthday wishes from friends of Mickey Mouse! To which he'll probably say "Daaa Duc" (Donald Duck). He hasn't mastered saying Mickey Mouse yet so whenever anyone says Mickey Mouse he says "Daaa Duc". I'm sure Donald would like that
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Thanks everyone! I'll make sure to tell Cameron he has some birthday wishes from friends of Mickey Mouse! To which he'll probably say "Daaa Duc" (Donald Duck). He hasn't mastered saying Mickey Mouse yet so whenever anyone says Mickey Mouse he says "Daaa Duc". I'm sure Donald would like that
He's just singing the original Mickey Mouse Club theme song
He's just singing the original Mickey Mouse Club theme song
True. True. He's a little young to know the original Mickey Mouse Club theme, but he sure nails it every time. He also says "Daaa Duc" when you point to a picture of Donald so I'm pretty sure he knows Mickey is Mickey and Donald is Donald. He just can't say Mickey. Or he prefers Donald. Not sure yet....
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Well it looks like the in-laws are definitely going to come with us. Last week it had sounded like MIL and FIL were coming with and considering getting their own room instead of sharing one with us. SIL had been considering joining us, but she works for an elected official for the county and with the state budget crisis she isn't sure if she will have a job in November - when the budget is final. She called last night and said she could make it work and was asking about air fare. She's probably going to do a connecting flight as it's cheaper. We would have done the same, but didn't want all that hassle with a toddler along for the ride. My guess is that MIL and FIL will fly with her to save some money. I still haven't gotten the go-ahead to book from MIL and FIL, but I'm booking next week so they have to make up their minds or handle their own hotel reservations.
So add these people to our cast of characters:
Jim - FIL. Owns his own construction company. It's a really small company so he works waaaaay to many hours a week as he's the one in charge of everything. The houses he builds are beautiful - we would love to have him build us a house someday. He's a pretty laid back person, but at the same time pays great attention to detail.
Jean - MIL. A social worker for the county. A very nice person, but can be a little much as she's always reading health journals and telling you what you should be eating and shouldn't be eating. Wonder what she'll say about a dole whip? Also always runs late and can't ever make a decision on anything. All in all I get along with my MIL and don't have a ton to complain about, but we'll see how much her "healthy advisories" and running late for everything I can tolerate in a week. My son absolutely adores his grandma. She always gets the biggest smiles.
Breanna - SIL. DH's younger sister. An administrative assistant to a county elected official. She recently graduated with a degree in Historical Preservation and Urban Studies. A kid at heart and all around fun person.
The whole family is into camping and went to WDW back when DH and SIL were in Jr. High. I believe that's the only time they were ever there. So early-mid nineties maybe. I'm not 100% sure exactly when and DH doesn't know either.
So we now have a total of 5 adults and a toddler. Good news is we have to get two rooms at POP. We looked into the family suites at the All-Stars, but it's still cheaper to get 2 rooms at POP so we'll go that route. Now I don't have to Worry about sharing a tiny little space with MIL and FIL. We would have made it work if we had to, but I'm glad we don't.
I really think it will be nice to have a few extra people. Now I don't have to go on all the big-kid rides by myself like I would have if it were just me, DH and DS! Plus it will be good for the in-laws to get to spend some extra time with DS. They see him about once a month, but I think MIL is really jealous of my mom as she does daycare for me and see's Cam 4 days a week. Plus the in-laws live 35 min from us whereas my family is just 10-15 min so we see them way more often.
So all in all I think this is a good direction for our trip. Now I just have to get the reservations done and make ADRs and plan our park days and our packing. Another thing is that there is a possibility of a room upgrade for our Disney trip! It all depends on what happens in the next few weeks. So I'm not sure if I should wait to see what happens with that before I book the hotel - which I wanted to do next week - or just go ahead and book POP and then upgrade later if I can. How hard is it to upgrade a reservation to a moderate or deluxe? I'd likely have to pay for our rooms upgrade and the in-laws upgrade, but I'd probably do that.
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Glad that the final casting call is over and you now know who all will be traveling. And even better that you'll get a room to yourselves.
I can tell you from experience that after our first trip to Disney World with grandparents, we now refuse to do it any other way! Well, at least until the kids are a bit older. It is a TREMENDOUS help to have extra eyes, ears and hands to help out. And hopefully you and DH can spend a little time on your own while the ILs watch your DS, even if it's just to go grab a bite or have a cocktail somewhere.
I remember going to WDW when mine were itty bitty & it really would have been nice to have some extra grown-ups around , especially for going on attractions with your husband, it will cut down on the baby swap dance, lol! Your plans sound great, fingers crossed the "new" job & pay bump happen for you!
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"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."
Captain Jack Sparrow
As all of you know yesterday they announced FREE DINING!! And our travel dates were included! So I spent the morning sending emails to family members telling them I was going to book our trip. And then MIL responded "Well I don't know. See Verna (DH's 93 year old grandmother) has been having health issues and has a doctors appointment tomorrow and we want to wait and see what the doctor says." MIL cannot make a decision to save her life. It is so frustrating. Now I do agree that they need to take Verna's health into account, but I really don't think they'll learn anything today that will affect the trip. The trip is 6 months out and even if the doctor says Verna is fine today she could take a turn for the worse before the trip. So I said we should all have travelers insurance and go over with MIL the cancellation policy and tell her that we can cancel before 45 days even without trip insurance. And MIL still won't commit to booking the trip.
Then I get an email from SIL and she said she for sure wants to go and wanted to know if it would be OK if she came even if MIL and FIL couldn't come. She would share a room with us and babysit one night so DH and I could go out. I told her sure. Apparently she had been really frustrated with her mother because she wouldn't commit to going (well she kind of did and then kind of took it back and then said they were going and then said they weren't). SIL had seen a really good deal on airfare and didn't book it because she was waiting on her mom to make a decision. She was not happy when the airfare she had seen went up $50 per ticket.
So anyways I emailed MIL again and told her that I was going to go ahead and book a trip for me, DH, DS and SIL and that she and FIL could book their own room when they made up their minds. I told her that free dining was limited and I didn't know when they would sell out and told her exactly how much they would save with free dining. So she emails me back saying well maybe we should just have you book for us and she was going to check with FIL and then let me know.
By this time it was afternoon and I really just wanted to get on the phone and book the trip with free dining, but I didn't as I waited to hear back from MIL. I had an afternoon full of meetings at work so I didn't really have time to book the trip anyways. So MIL sends me two more emails while I'm in meetings - one saying go ahead and book and the other saying no maybe we shouldn't. I am beyond frustrated. Normally it wouldn't bother me if someone wouldn't commit to a trip because they were considering the health of an elderly relative, but this is a standard occurrence with my MIL. It could be coming over to our house for dinner and it takes her a week to get back to me to let me know if it will work or not.
I had plans to meet someone for drinks after work so I figured I would talk to DH about it when I got home and we would likely just book our trip and MIL and FIL could book theirs. When I got home I asked DH if he had talked to his parents. He said no, but that he had seen all of the emails flying back and forth earlier in the day. I asked him if he would call them and find out what was going on. He called his dad and his dad said what I had tried to tell MIL: I really don't think we'll learn anything tomorrow that will affect the trip. Even if the doctor says Verna is fine she could take a turn for the worse before the trip. He said they could just get travelers insurance. And then he told DH that he would check with MIL and call him right back. And he actually did call right back. And said "go ahead and book".
I figured I better just book quickly before they change their minds. So I got on the phone and started the process. They told me a 15 min wait and I think that was about what I waited on hold. I called at 8 PM at night - 9 PM FL time. I told the CM that I needed two rooms at POP Century and that I had seen an offer online for free dining. She asked me if I had a code. I told her the code that they list on the website. It's on the free dining page under the Check Availability button. And the button is right under the dates for travel - both 2011 and 2012. And she comes back to me and says "That code is for 2011, not your travel dates". She was kind of rude about it too. I told her that I got the code off of the webpage and that it was right under the 2012 dates. She told me "Sorry this is not the right code. It is possible there is free dining for your travel dates, but not with this code." So I asked her how do I get the promo listed on the website and she finally said she would look into it.
I had also never booked multiple rooms before and didn't really know what all was involved in that. So I asked her a few questions about how multiple rooms would be booked. And honestly she sounded annoyed. She gave me my answers and said that they would have to book two reservations. I told her that was fine. So we started the process. She did one room for me, DH and DS. Got all of our information and free dining. She told me the total and I knew that the travelers insurance was included as it was higher than I remember the trip being when I looked it up online. So I asked about the insurance. And she started telling me about it. I asked about DH's grandmother and if we would be covered if she took a turn for the worse. And the CM told me that if she passes away and we have to cancel or cut our trip short we would be covered. I asked her about hospitalizations and she said she thought that was only covered if it was one of us who was traveling. So I told her to take it off our reservation. I'll get it somewhere else.
Then we go to book the room for FIL, MIL and SIL. And she asked me for their phone number and address. I asked her if I could just have the reservation in my name as I didn't know if they were OK with me giving out their information and the CM told me no. That I had to have their room under their name and address. I had never experienced that before. I've always been able to book multiple rooms at places. I get that they would need their names and such so they knew who the park tickets were for, but why couldn't the reservation be under my name? Is this something that Disney just requires? I don't know. Anyways I wasn't prepared for that and had to keep asking DH for his parents information - phone, address, email. I apologized to the CM about not being prepared. And she said it wasn't a problem. And from then on she was pleasant to me. She went from rude to pleasant after I apologized. Maybe I was rude before? I didn't think I was and I asked DH about it and he didn't think I had been either. I know people taking phone calls have a difficult job and get yelled at by people on the phone so I always try to be nice to them. I know I had initially given her an invalid code (although I don't know why it was invalid as it was on their website), but I didn't yell at her or anything about it. I had simply asked how I could get the offer listed for my travel dates.
Anyways, once I gave her the information on the in-laws she booked and gave me my confirmation numbers. I can pay for the in-laws rooms, but I can't have the room in my name. Oh well.
So we're all official now! We have airfare (well me, DH and DS do), rooms, tickets and FREE DINING! And the in-laws are coming. We called them after the booking was finished and MIL was really happy about it. I knew she really wanted to go. And they had figured out the finances so I knew it was fine. I told them I would figure out travelers insurance. So that's my long winded booking story. Sorry for rambling.
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, Cameron! Glad you were able to get a good deal on your airfare! 
and 
for involving extended family in your WDW trip! 
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Pixie Dust
Congrats on the airfare! 
So I spent the morning sending emails to family members telling them I was going to book our trip. And then MIL responded "Well I don't know. See Verna (DH's 93 year old grandmother) has been having health issues and has a doctors appointment tomorrow and we want to wait and see what the doctor says." MIL cannot make a decision to save her life. It is so frustrating. 
Now I do agree that they need to take Verna's health into account, but I really don't think they'll learn anything today that will affect the trip. The trip is 6 months out and even if the doctor says Verna is fine today she could take a turn for the worse before the trip. So I said we should all have travelers insurance and go over with MIL the cancellation policy and tell her that we can cancel before 45 days even without trip insurance. And MIL still won't commit to booking the trip.
I don't know. Anyways I wasn't prepared for that and had to keep asking DH for his parents information - phone, address, email. I apologized to the CM about not being prepared. And she said it wasn't a problem. And from then on she was pleasant to me. She went from rude to pleasant after I apologized. Maybe I was rude before? I didn't think I was and I asked DH about it and he didn't think I had been either. I know people taking phone calls have a difficult job and get yelled at by people on the phone so I always try to be nice to them. I know I had initially given her an invalid code (although I don't know why it was invalid as it was on their website), but I didn't yell at her or anything about it. I had simply asked how I could get the offer listed for my travel dates.
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