Take Me On Vacation and No One Gets Hurt! Pre-Trip Report - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Take Me On Vacation and No One Gets Hurt! Pre-Trip Report
So we planned taking a Disney Vacation last year and due to lack of moolah we postponed! I was so sad but I knew it was best for the family. This year I wanted to go on vacation right after my DS6 got out of school in May but that was not to be since my DH will have used his first half of his vacation earlier in March. So the next time he can plan vacation is in July. So we go ahead a plan for July 14-22. The price is a little high but at the least we could take off two days and be about 700 dollars less. Okay so I make a binder full of plans and emh hours etc then what happens?? Free dining plan.
Love Love free dining plan--this means we can stay longer and for about 1000 less. Awesome. When we didn't have children we always went in Septmeber for our anniversary. So I have our TA move our trip over to September 1-9 so that Rusty only has to use 4 days of vacation since he gets Labor Day weekend off. Yay! Then I realize my DS's will be in school -have 4 unexcused days off and with the rules of the school any 3 unexcused days off within the first 9 wk they call social services.
Well that's not fair!!!! So I write my DS6 current teacher to get her take on whether or not the principal will work with us on this matter but I don't want to lose the July if September doesn't work out.
What to do What to do? Um- Book both!!! Don't tell Rusty!
SO what my heart thinks is for the PRE-TRIP Report we will be:
Dates: July 14-22, 2012
Hotel: Pop Century
Family: Me- Alisa
Husband--Rusty
DS4- Hayden
DS6- Harrison
We will be driving from just outside of Baton Rouge to Pop Century. We will be leaving on Saturday early about 4:00 a.m. and head towards Mobile Alabama. Biloxi has a Disney Outlet but it will be too early to go visit so we will have to hit that as our last Disney hurrah as we head back home. Kinda like a Disney Kiss Goodbye. Hopefully we will make it to POP sometime after 5.
Hoping to check-in, get settled and then head over to Downtown Disney for some Dino Chow.
But if September works out it will be the same exact plan just in the fall.
Lets see what happens!!! Either way---I"M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!
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.
Looking forward to reading all about it and hearing which plan works out! Our school district has the same rules but they gave our daughter an excused absence for the whole week as an educational trip.
Yikes!!! Calling social services sounds harsh! We have taken our son out of school for various family outings and have never had a problem with our school. Not everything that a family can do together can take place in a weekend. I am a firm believer of giving our kids "life"experiences.....you can never get too many opportunities for teaching moments. Looking forward to hearing more of your PTR.
Yikes!!! Calling social services sounds harsh! We have taken our son out of school for various family outings and have never had a problem with our school. Not everything that a family can do together can take place in a weekend. I am a firm believer of giving our kids "life"experiences.....you can never get too many opportunities for teaching moments. Looking forward to hearing more of your PTR.
That's why I'm asking now and have my back up plan--no way I'm losing my vacation!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tabitha34
Looking forward to reading all about it and hearing which plan works out! Our school district has the same rules but they gave our daughter an excused absence for the whole week as an educational trip.
Thanks-don't know how exciting it will be but I'll do my best!
Well it looks like after talking to the teacher that it will just be easier if we do our trip in July. I don't like to make a lot of waves and have some special needs with the boys that have to be addressed. Didn't really want to plant that on top of a trip request--so July it is. Plus the boys will get some down time after the trip to rest and not worry about work.
Oddly though I'm excited-I've made my binder full of menu's, dinner ressies, etc--but feel like I just can't be completely thrilled for some reason. Kinda like waiting for the rug to be pulled out from beneath me.
Well the rug kinda got pulled when I found a large boil on my DS4's mouth-it was an abcess on a tooth that was recently filled. Good thing is we just got insurance, bad thing is we JUST got insurance so not sure this procedure will be covered and it's kinda hefty. Ugh! Well at least our dentist took off 200.00 from the cavity being filled. I appreciate that. Well he gets his face fixed on the 20th so we will see what happens.
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 hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
Thanks everyone for the well wishes for DS4. I'll keep you posted!!!
I actually got out my suitcase today that hold my shirts I've been collecting. I tried them on and sadly a few are tight. I lost some poundage last year and slowly it's come back so I need to work on that too these next few months.
About This Page: 
I was so sad but I knew it was best for the family. This year I wanted to go on vacation right after my DS6 got out of school in May but that was not to be since my DH will have used his first half of his vacation earlier in March. So the next time he can plan vacation is in July. So we go ahead a plan for July 14-22. The price is a little high but at the least we could take off two days and be about 700 dollars less. Okay so I make a binder full of plans and emh hours etc then what happens?? Free dining plan.
Book both!!! Don't tell Rusty! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Pixies for your DS! 
Linear Mode
