Our First Bounce Back Pre-Trip Report (9/13/14-9/20/14) - COMPLETED 9/6 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
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Our First Bounce Back Pre-Trip Report (9/13/14-9/20/14) - COMPLETED 9/6
Even though I’m still five months away, I’m super excited about our next adventure, so it’s time for my pre-trip report.
First a re-introduction to the Cast of Characters:
Erin: Soon to be turning 45 this December and just maybe it everthing goes well I’ll be celebrating a solo trip someplace special…hint (Disney) Meanwhile, I’m just having fun going over the day to day plans of our family trip.
William: DH 46, who really enjoys Disney, but dislikes planning, but willing to help out if needed.
Joshua: Who will be turning 15 this coming November. He is now taller than me and recently started showing the beginning signs of a moustache. (I am so not ready for this).
The planning for this upcoming vacation started on our second to last day of September 2014 vacation. We really enjoyed our stay at Port Orleans Resort, so much that I was overjoyed when I found their bounce back offer in the welcome booklet and that it was currently offering the free dining package. So, with a quick call, I was able to make our next reservation for the following September dates 9/21/2014 – 9/27/2014. Now I had an official countdown, only 362 days before we would be heading back to Disney.
Well, the family and I came back home and life went on as usual. Joshua, who turned 14 this past November, continues to do well at his school. He is currently participates in weekly life skill and work adjustment classes. The ultimate goal is to provide him with the skills, tools and resources necessary to successfully transition to the highest possible level of independent adult living. The school has a proven record of helping many of the students there in finding jobs in the community. So, far Joshua has shown an interest in the hospitality field and enjoys doing table place settings and preparing the rolled napkins with utensils. His class also participated in the DC Fall Special Olympics and I’m proud to say he brought home the gold.
On the eve of our last trip Elmo, our seven year old Maine Coon mix, suddenly passed away. Our other cat, Zoe really missed her friend and although it took a little while, we finally found the perfect playmate for her and great new addition to the family, Bonnie a brown/tabby mix Maine Coon.
At the time we made our reservation, it was for a six night stay with a 6 day magic your way tickets without the park hopper option. Of course, that meant we could only do one park per day and that the closest we would come to park hopping was on the one day where we would be heading to MNSSHP. Around the beginning of December, my DH and I felt that we needed more time at Disney, especially since I really wanted to spend one full day at Hollywood Studios, instead of a half day like we did on our last trip. So, we did what any fun loving Disney fans would do, we added on an extra day at the beginning of the trip and decided to stay there from Saturday to Saturday.
About This Page: 
, so it’s time for my pre-trip report. 
Meanwhile, I’m just having fun going over the day to day plans of our family trip.
So, with a quick call,
I was able to make our next reservation for the following September dates 9/21/2014 – 9/27/2014. Now I had an official countdown, only 362 days before we would be heading back to Disney. 
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