Returning to our Happy Place: Pre-trip report - UPDATED 09/08 - Page 6 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Just joining in. Plans sound great. I'm excited for you. Congrats on the room change. I assume you were able to keep the free dining too. Sorry about your day-care. I had a problem with my son's as well. They didn't get a visit from the state but I would bet my life on the fact that they were over the teacher/child ratio. And on a regular basis.
Great plans so far!!! Can't wait to hear about AoA!!! I wanted to stay there for our next trip but DH insisted on using our DVC points
Just as an FYI.........with the flying thing - you can bring food snacks thru the security (you had mentioned purchasing after going through security) you just can't bring beverages. So fill up that carry on with yours and Abby's fav snacks! Good plan (and deal!!!) staying at airport hotel night before! This is what we always do - as we usually take the earliest flight available! More time in the bubble!!
We will miss you by 2 weeks! We will be there 10/4! (Although trying really hard to convince DH to add on a day or 2! )
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Congrats on the lil Mermaid room @ AoA!!! We'll be there some time to visit & check out the resort for our 9/2013 trip plans. Maybe we can work a PP meet when plans get closer to our vacation date.(We drive to FL & have our own truck; My DH enjoys visiting other resorts & likes being in-control of our transit/travel time.)
Awesome! I'm glad you were able to find that great CM and get everything changed. I think Abby will love that surprise!
Thanks! It is killing me not to tell her. I don't think I will ever be able to surprise her with a trip. I am really bad at keeping secrets!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on the new room!
Thanks! I am so excited to be staying at this resort!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Yay! I love changes for the better! Congrats on getting a Little Mermaid room!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by OCEANGRLLG
Great plans! Congrats on the Little Mermaid room!!!
Thanks! She will be so excited!
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Originally Posted by lazanya
Awesome! Congrats!
Thank you!
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Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
I can't wait to see photos of the Art of Animation resort--congrats on the great changes!
I will definitley be taking lots of pics! Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cajunlace
Just joining in and we are from South Louisiana (Lafourche Parish). Enjoying your plans, can't wait to follow more.
Hi neighbor! Thanks for following along!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Congrats on the resort change!
Thanks! I am so excited to be staying here. The Little Mermaid section will have been open for only 3 day! I am thinking we may be the first to stay in the room!
__________________
Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
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.
Awesome, I will take you up on that. Maybe y'all could join us for a lil PP meet if y'all aren't busy. I will definitely contact you a little in advance before we head that way. Probably sometime this summer. DD and I leave for Disney in 30+ days so we are busy with prepping for that.
Great plans so far! And CONGRATS on the room/resort change. Love that y'all are going to surprise Abby with it. Can't wait to hear how that goes!
Finding Nemo is my favorite movie! My Tahoe is named the "butt." I actually have a propeller thingy in the trailer hitch so really its a "boat."
Yes please contact we when you guys come! A PP meet would be great!
Have a great trip. I see it won't be long now for you!
__________________
Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
Just joining in. Plans sound great. I'm excited for you. Congrats on the room change. I assume you were able to keep the free dining too. Sorry about your day-care. I had a problem with my son's as well. They didn't get a visit from the state but I would bet my life on the fact that they were over the teacher/child ratio. And on a regular basis.
Hi! Thanks for reading along! Yes I was able to keep the free dining. I was really surprised and excited about that! Only two more weeks at the daycare!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Congrats on getting a Mermaid room at AoA! Take lots of pictures as we'll all want to see what this cool rooms look like!
I will do Cam! I can't wait to see the resort! The pictures online look great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Great plans so far!!! Can't wait to hear about AoA!!! I wanted to stay there for our next trip but DH insisted on using our DVC points
Just as an FYI.........with the flying thing - you can bring food snacks thru the security (you had mentioned purchasing after going through security) you just can't bring beverages. So fill up that carry on with yours and Abby's fav snacks! Good plan (and deal!!!) staying at airport hotel night before! This is what we always do - as we usually take the earliest flight available! More time in the bubble!!
We will miss you by 2 weeks! We will be there 10/4! (Although trying really hard to convince DH to add on a day or 2! )
Maybe you need to work on a girls trip for you again so you can stay there! Thanks for the tip about the snacks! That will work better for us as she is a picky eater. I wish our trips would have overlapped, I would have loved to have a PP meet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommy4allkids
Congrats on the lil Mermaid room @ AoA!!! We'll be there some time to visit & check out the resort for our 9/2013 trip plans. Maybe we can work a PP meet when plans get closer to our vacation date.(We drive to FL & have our own truck; My DH enjoys visiting other resorts & likes being in-control of our transit/travel time.)
Yes I would love to set up a meet up. I do think there are some others here that have said that they will be at WDW around these dates. I think I will start a meetup thread here in a minute. Thanks for following along!
__________________
Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
First let me say that I am sorry for the delay. Life has been crazy, busy and hectic and I have been keeping up with the boards on my phone but just haven’t had the time to get on the computer at night.
Let’s see…what have I done Disney related that I can tell you about…I purchased our MNSSHP tickets the other day and they have already come in the mail . We are going on Friday September 21st.
Today I went to JC Penny and purchased two swimsuits and a cover-up so those will definitely be coming with me on the trip. I really think that I will be good on clothes for the trip. I have been purchasing Disney shirts when I see some I like at different stores so I have plenty of those. I do plan to request a MNSSHP desgin from Shadowryter for a shirt for the party but I don‘t think Scott will go for the matching shirts. That is about all that I have done recently related to our trip so here are my plans for Day 2.
Day 2: Our first full Disney park day.
Wednesday September 19th-
Today we will start our morning with a light breakfast in our room and then head out to Animal Kingdom. I am planning attractions as if Abby is 40 inches so with that I would like to be able to do the following:
First I would like to find out what kinds of procedures will be going on at Rafiki’s Planet Watch as I think that Abby would love to see this. She always talks about being an animal doctor (specifically a dolphin doctor). Our first trip we took the train out here but I have to admit that I didn’t really research this area and so we didn’t really know what it had to offer so we looked around a bit and got back on a train and headed out. (it was also later in the afternoon-so not sure if we would have seen any procedures anyway). Last year we didn’t even get back out there but since I have read all about lauriep’s mornings at Animal Kingdom I am inspired to head out there early and see what is going on with the animals.
Here are the other attractions/rides we are planning (again assuming Abby is 40 inches) Kilimanjaro Safaris
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Lion King
Camp Minnie Mickey
Expedition Everest (just me as I know she won’t be 44 inches) Finding Nemo
Kali River Rapids
It’s Tough to Be a Bug (did this the first trip and didn’t make it through the whole show but hoping we can convince her to try it again) Dinosaur ( I know it is a bit scary but she really wants to go on this one) The Bone yard (since Abby found out about this place she has asked about it just about every day. She is so excited to be digging for dinosaurs.)
At some point in the day we will probably stop off for some lunch but it will be counter service and will probably be whatever we are closest to when we are hungry.
I would also like to watch the parade although I have a feeling Scott will complain since we have already seen it but I just love that parade. I think it is one of the prettiest parades that Disney does.
I don’t see us doing everything in one day so we will probably be back another ½ day at some point in the trip.
I plan to head back to the resort by about 3 so we can rest a bit. We may swim for a bit and then wash up and take a bus to the MK. From there we will hop on the Monorail to head over to the Poly for our 6:45 ADR at ‘Ohana! I am really excited about this reservation. Although it was not in my initial plans this trip, it is a place I have been wanting to try and I am excited that we get to go twice this trip .
After dinner we will probably take the monorail to EPCOT and see what we can get done there since it will be open until 12am on this night. I am not sure how long we will stay because we will be planning an early morning and late night at DHS the following day but knowing my comando touring husband we will stay until close to closing time.
__________________
Check out my Pre-Trip Report for our 9/18-9/23/12 trip here:
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.