A Dream That Came True! The First Timers TR - COMPLETED 9/10 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am glad you are writing your TR. I have been looking forward to it. You really made the most of the airport situation. I think I would have been less happy about the whole thing. I am not a morning person to say the least…lol! I admire your attitude about the whole thing. From there it all sounds wonderful! I love seeing the Disney sign…..it always makes me tear up with happiness!! The CBR sounds, & looks amazing! I love all the pictures of it. The Christmas decorations add even more magic. Getting a room upgrade must have been a real treat! Hollywood Studios is a great place to start. That huge tree looks very cool! Rock n Roller coaster first thing… now you sound like us! It’s always RnRc & Tower of Terror first thing!! I am sorry to hear Scottie didn’t like ToT! I love all the parade pictures! We didn’t get to see that while we were there. We also never rode TSMM the wait was always too long & they were always out of FP’s. Everything sounds, & looks great so far! I can’t wait to read more….who could be at your door…what a great way to keep us anxious to read more!
Thank you so much! I must say we really loved the huge trees at all the parks, they were just gorgeous. That parade was our favorite out of all of them!
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Originally Posted by disneyfreeeak
Wow that short of a wait for both ToT and RRC? That's awesome! Sorry that Scottie didn't like ToT. I was the same way when I went on it my first time, too.
It was awesome!! I couldn't believe it. His reaction was really funny, though not to him lol.
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Originally Posted by lazanya
Congrats on the upgrade! Great way to start off your trip!
Great day so far at DHS! Love your pictures!
It really was a great way to start a magical trip!
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Originally Posted by emvenable77
So glad I found your trip report. I have been looking forward to reading about your trip! Sounds great so far! Love all the pics. RnR and ToT are two that I didn't get to do but want to try them at least once. The bad thing is that I will have to ride alone as it will be only DH, DD (3) and me again on our next trip. Can't wait to read more.
Thank you for following! I loved both rides and am so glad we got to try both of them.
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Originally Posted by elbodans
aaaack! you cannot leave us hanging like that!
Sorry lol, gotta keep attention somehow! I promise to not leaving you hanging for long though!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Great pictures at CBR! It truly is a beautiful resort! You all had great luck with ride wait times at DHS! Can't wait to find out who is knocking on your door!
I really wish I had gotten more pictures of the actual resort, it is really gorgeous! You won't have to wait much longer lol.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great day at DHS! Love the pictures!
Thank you, I definitely want a new camera before we go again lol.
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Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Isn't it amazing that these days the wait for what used to be the headline attractions--RnRC and TOT can be so short but the wait for TSMM is always a disaster! Can't wait to read about the mysterious knock and dinner as well!
I was also amazed at that! Everytime we went, TSMM was at least an hour wait!
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Originally Posted by mcc0313
Sorry for the long wait for your flight but I think going through those WDW gates made up for it. Love the pictures from the resort and it sounds like you had a great start to your trip at DHS (minus a not so enjoyed 13 story drop for Scottie). Can't wait to hear more.
I really cannot describe the feeling of going through those gates for the first time! It is the most magical feeling in the world!
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Originally Posted by Jessie092408
I love RnRC, and if we aren't trying to ride TSMM first thing, we head there! Last trip, we rode twice in a row with no wait, and then had a ten or fifteen minute wait before our third ride. (This was in September.) When we came out the third time, the wait time had jumped to forty minutes, so we headed to TOT.
Sorry Scottie didn't like that ride. Tell him that when my brother was 10, he went on that ride with us, and came off very green. My dad, being a joker, couldn't help asking "Do you want to ride it again?" Jake turned WHITE as a ghost. That ride is definately not for everyone.
I think the funniest part is that he literally told EVERYONE he met how scared he was on that ride lol.
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Originally Posted by lonereb
who's that knocking at your door.....who's that knocking at your door???
You're about to find out!
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Originally Posted by chezp
At least you were able to hit two of the three headline attractions at the Studios, even if it sounds like Tower of Terror wasn't exactly a hit...
I still can't believe we were able to ride RnRC twice in a row in such a short time!