"Yes, The Past Can Hurt, But You Can Either Run From It or You Can Learn From It" - PTR - COMPLETED 9/20 #184 - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm thinking of getting the shirt autographed at the Character breakfast and then wearing it later on that day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Great start. I think you will find September to be way lower on the crowds.
Ever since New Fantasyland opened the crowds have increased, so trying to rely on data from previous years has been somewhat difficult. It's been a few years since I went during September, but I do remember seeing fewer crowds too. I'm hoping this is still the case.
That was so sweet for your husband to get you a ticket to go back the next night! How thoughtful!!
Yes it was very sweet. I do hope we will be able to enjoy the MNSSHP this time around. I still couldn't believe my son got sick that night. It's very unusual for him.
I was able to get a lot of things accomplished this past week. Sharon, my travel agent only works Sunday thru Thursday, so I was getting a little worried when we started playing phone tag, especially this past Thursday, when I got a phone call, that for some reason or another, went to my voicemail box, stating she was getting ready to go on vacation and would not be back in until June 17th. Anyway, I was finally able to get a hold of her and I’m happy to announce I made my final payment for this upcoming trip. I still had time before it was due, but I don’t like waiting till the last minute, so I am relieved that I can check this off my to do list. Along with making my final payment, I pre purchased our tickets for the Tuesday’s MNSSHP and ordered the Photo pass +, since they were both discounted. Now I can sit back and relax a little before I have to go into the next phase of the planning….what to take/bring or pack for this vacation. I really hate this part…I started looking at packing apps, but so far I haven’t seen anything that I can honestly say catches my attention. Will went down to his dad’s house this past weekend and stopped by the Super Wal-Mart and picked up some shorts and shirts for both him and Joshua to take on vacation. Joshua is currently in the final stages of wearing clothes from the boy’s department and is slowly working his way into the men’s department. He can a men’s small shirt, but still has to wear pants from the boy’s section. So I’m hoping the clothes my husband picked out will still fit him when we go on vacation.
Joshua’s regular school year ends next week, so we are now preparing him for the summer months. He’ll spend two weeks at the therapeutic day camp “Waves of Fun” program. They’ll go to an indoor splash pool and have other fun activities for the kids to do during that time. The only part Joshua doesn’t like is that he has to go to a different recreation building during those two weeks. They use his afterschool recreation building during the summer months for another camp group. I hate the fact that the drive in the evening will be longer for me since it is another thirty minutes to get there. Joshua’s school has an extended program, so he’ll be doing this from July through the first two weeks of August. Then he’ll have a quick two weeks before his regular school season starts up again and before he knows it he’ll be back at his favorite recreation building again and we’ll be that much closer to the start of our Disney vacation.
We also started going out to eat breakfast at local sit-down restaurants on Saturday mornings to help prepare Joshua for when we go to Chef Mickey's. He really has enjoyed going out to eat at the different places, especially “Bob Evans Restaurant”. A few things we have learned on these outings is that it’s better to get a booth versus a table and to bring his I-pod along to distract him while he waits for his food. I just wished Chef Mickey’s had booths, but I’m going to ask for the next best thing…a corner table. We’re looking to try and recreate different experiences here at home, before we go there. Next on the agenda for Joshua will be to visit and play a game of mini-golf at a nearby golf course, something he has never done. So, it will be interesting to see how he does with the crowds. We also found a few sleeper amusement parks that are only a few hours away where you pay per ride so it won’t cost us that much and will give Joshua a chance to practice on how to wait in line.
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It's wonderful that you are planning so much in advance for your son! I think taking him to breakfast is a wonderful idea! You guys are going to have a great trip!
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It sounds like a wonderful idea to recreate various scenarios before going to Disney World! That should be very helpful.
Thanks! I just wish I could recreate the "Disney" experience more at home. The theme parks around here fall very short in that area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mushu22
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
It's wonderful that you are planning so much in advance for your son! I think taking him to breakfast is a wonderful idea! You guys are going to have a great trip!
I must admit it is nice to go out to eat and not have to cook breakfast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great plans! I hope Joshua enjoys his summer!
Thanks!. I hope with all the extra activities, Joshua won't get bored during this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Love the shirts! Awesome working plan so much ahead for your son and to take care of the budget!
I have to admit I'm becoming somewhat addicted to theses personalized shirts. So I'm trying to contain it to only two for this trip. One for the Crystal Place breakfast and the other for the MNSSHP. However, I don't think that will happen
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
Wow time flies when you’re planning to go to Disney. We have now entered into the double digit zone, so hold on to your seats…time is going to go by even faster now. Many of my friends and coworkers really don’t understand the whole “Disney Planning”, like making ADR’s at the 180 day mark. I totally forget to call for reservations for the Pirates and Pals Fireworks, so that’s currently off the agenda… or is it? The reason I actually hesitated to even book it back then was because of two factors. First, the cost and second whether or not it was something my family would want to do. I myself knew about this and really wanted to do this after reading reviews and trip reports from fellow pass porters. So, a few days ago I decided to tell Will about it and guess what? He loved the idea and even said the cost was reasonable, which actually surprised me, especially the part about the cost. I then told him that it usually books up pretty fast, so we probably wouldn’t be doing this on our upcoming trip. However, I thought I would take the chance, try my luck, and see whether or not I would have the remote possibility of booking this fun voyage so soon to our trip date. Crossing my fingers and sprinkling a little pixie dust, I called the reservation line. I started with the first day of arrival and the cast member informed me that there was no availability. So, we tried for the second night…again nothing available. Third night was out since we we’re going to MNSSHP. They didn’t have any voyages setting sail for Wednesday or Thursday. So, I’m thinking at this point it’s not meant to be, when the agent comes back with …we have openings for Friday…”Do you want to reserve? I told him yes hurry and book us before it’s too late and we miss the opportunity. So it looks like on our final night in Disney we’ll be attending the” Pirates and Pals Fireworks” on the Seven Sea Lagoon after all.
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I'm thinking of getting the shirt autographed at the Character breakfast and then wearing it later on that day. 
I still had time before it was due, but I don’t like waiting till the last minute, so I am relieved that I can check this off my to do list. Along with making my final payment, I pre purchased our tickets for the Tuesday’s MNSSHP and ordered the Photo pass +
, since they were both discounted. Now I can sit back and relax a little before I have to go into the next phase of the planning….what to take/bring or pack for this vacation. I really hate this part…I started looking at packing apps, but so far I haven’t seen anything that I can honestly say catches my attention. Will went down to his dad’s house this past weekend and stopped by the Super Wal-Mart and picked up some shorts and shirts for both him and Joshua to take on vacation. Joshua is currently in the final stages of wearing clothes from the boy’s department and is slowly working his way into the men’s department. He can a men’s small shirt, but still has to wear pants from the boy’s section. So I’m hoping the clothes my husband picked out will still fit him when we go on vacation. 
Awesome working plan so much ahead for your son and to take care of the budget! 
and not have to cook breakfast.
So I'm trying to contain it to only two for this trip. One for the Crystal Place breakfast and the other for the MNSSHP. However, I don't think that will happen 
, so that’s currently off the agenda… or is it? The reason I actually hesitated to even book it back then was because of two factors. First, the cost and second whether or not it was something my family would want to do. I myself knew about this and really wanted to do this after reading reviews and trip reports from fellow pass porters. So, a few days ago I decided to tell Will about it and guess what? He loved
the idea and even said the cost was reasonable, which actually surprised me
, especially the part about the cost. I then told him that it usually books up pretty fast, so we probably wouldn’t be doing this on our upcoming trip. However, I thought I would take the chance, try my luck, and see whether or not I would have the remote possibility of booking this fun voyage so soon to our trip date. Crossing my fingers and sprinkling a little pixie dust
, I called
the reservation line. I started with the first day of arrival and the cast member informed me that there was no availability
. So, we tried for the second night…again nothing available. Third night was out since we we’re going to MNSSHP. They didn’t have any voyages setting sail for Wednesday or Thursday. 
So, I’m thinking at this point it’s not meant to be, when the agent comes back with …we have openings for Friday…”Do you want to reserve? I told him yes 
hurry and book us before it’s too late and we miss the opportunity. So it looks like on our final night in Disney we’ll be attending the” Pirates and Pals Fireworks” on the Seven Sea Lagoon after all. 
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