Snafus, Stupidities and So Many Firsts TR Dec 11- 19th - COMPLETED 1/25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Snafus, Stupidities and So Many Firsts TR Dec 11- 19th - COMPLETED 1/25
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the cast of characters and all the Ws in this trip you can read my PTR here)
As for the title? You’ll have to read on to find out who and what the snafus and stupidities were about (I know, not a very kind word but it flowed so nicely!) Wait ‘til you read what these seasoned travelers managed to mess up along the way. Not pretty!
Let’s get ‘er started:
December 11th – We depart!
The night before our departure was restless. Not necessarily because of the trip. We’re building a house for the first time and my DH, Ken had a lot on his mind. So his tossing and turning turned into my tossing and turning. Alarm was set for 5 and we were up around 4 unable to fall back asleep. Why does that happen before a vacation??
We woke up the kids, got ‘em ready in record time and headed out the door at 6:45 to pick up my MIL for her 2nd Disney excursion. We were also meeting my parents at the airport.
We had just gotten hit with a nasty cold snap so we felt like we leaving at a good time! And fortunately everyone was healthy which is a small miracle.
We got to the airport with enough time to comfortably check in, make it through security and get to our gate. Once parked, we took the shuttle to the terminal (only one in Milwaukee!) and were ready to check in. Ken noticed he did not put on the Disney tags yet so we stepped aside to do that. Hmmmm…why did we have 1 tag left over when we needed all 4 of them? SNAFU #1: We left a piece of luggage in the car back in the remote parking lot! Just in time a shuttle bus was outside so Ken raced outside, chased after the driver and got to the remote parking and back within five minutes. Whew! Disaster averted!
We then proceeded to check in to Southwest Airlines. Flying Southwest was the first "first" of the trip! Just like the goofy commercials everyone was more than pleasant and eager to help. We’re sold, especially since we bought our tickets for $200 round trip!
Flight left on time at 9:45 and we landed around 1:20. Smooth ride.
An airline pilot showed us how to get to DME. I never remember. I love cruising by the counter and corresponding line. We hopped on the bus within five minutes then waited, and waited for like forever to leave. Maybe it was only 25 minutes but waiting feels like forever when you really want to get somewhere!
We arrived at CSR around 2:40 and there was no line to check in. We did not do online check in since we had 3 rooms and wanted 2 of them to be connecting and all of them to be near each other. Not a problem. We were assigned 9b Cabanas and they upgraded us to water view which we were happy with so we strolled to our rooms. Our parents’rooms were ready but ours wasn’t. No biggie since we planned on dropping and going.
SNAFU #2: When we got to the rooms a cleaning lady was outside ours and the distinct smell of cigarette smoke came wafting out. Um, all rooms are non smoking for one and for two, Abby has asthma so I don’t care what you do to clean the room it wasn’t going to work. I called the front desk and the message was going to get passed to the room assigner to call back. Twenty minutes passed so I called back and asked to speak with the room assigner. Someone dropped the ball so I was told to wait where we were and someone would come with our new keys. We waited and waited and waited. Ken decided enough is enough. He was going to the front desk to resolve it. Wouldn’t you know that’s when someone came? Rooms changed we headed out to DHS.
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.
About This Page: 
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the cast of characters and all the Ws in this trip you can read my PTR 
(I know, not a very kind word but it flowed so nicely!) Wait ‘til you read what these seasoned travelers managed to mess up along the way. Not pretty! 
Alarm was set for 5 and we were up around 4 unable to fall back asleep. Why does that happen before a vacation??
And fortunately everyone was healthy which is a small miracle.
Just in time a shuttle bus was outside so Ken raced outside, chased after the driver and got to the remote parking and back within five minutes. Whew! Disaster averted!
I love cruising by the counter and corresponding line. We hopped on the bus within five minutes then waited, and waited for like forever to leave. Maybe it was only 25 minutes but waiting feels like forever when you really want to get somewhere!
Deb
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Threaded Mode
