Honey, I can get cheap airfare, want to go to WDW with our toddlers? PTR Oct 09 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
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Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
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TGM, Unofficial Guide or Ride Max? How about all 3?
I like to plan. I really like to plan, which is probably a big duh since I am on this board. I have found that on trips where I actively try not to plan, we end up missing out on the really fun stuff. So, overplanning is better than under planning in my book. Anyway, which planning guides do I need for this trip?
I love to read, especially guidebooks. So my arsenal includes the Unofficial Guide and Passporter. I really like Fodor’s as well, but they aren’t as comprehensive for Disney so I won’t be getting that one for this trip. I need pick up another book at Barnes and Noble the other day, The Complete Walt Disney World 2008. I knew I didn’t really need another guidebook, but this one was on clearance for $6 and it had lots of colorful pictures, so I thought, “Why not?”
As I began my planning. I heard about Tour Guide Mike. I wasn’t sure I really needed another guide telling me what days to go to the parks, etc. But, I figured a $20 or whatever it was, subscription wasn’t too bad, so I signed up. I can’t say much about TGM, since I promised to not share TGM’s secrets. Let’s just say, its good, but lots of stuff to go over and I haven’t really delved into it all. Honestly, I am not sure I will remember enough of it for it to be useful.
After reading someone else’s pre-trip report, I heard about Ride Max. Now that sounded intriguing, a software program that mapped out exactly what rides you wanted to go on and gave times and options for including breaks. So, once I was 90 days out, I signed up for that. One negative is that they don’t have the hours for October loaded yet. Oh well, its still fun to play around with in the meantime.
One thing I like about Ride Max over the Unofficial Guide is the customization. I know there are some rides we are definitely not doing, like the Tea Cups. When I was younger I might have been able to stomach the Tea Cups, but no more. I also learned my lesson at MGM when I went there on my honeymoon in 2000. Dh and I did ToT, RnRC and Star Tours right in a row. I almost got sick on Star Tours, so I won’t be going on that again. There is also the kid factor, which means to do ToT and RnRC, we will need to do the baby swap. I am not 100% sure that is going to work, due to the kids having to wait while dh and I do those rides.
I have been wondering if we are really going to need all these plans. It sounds like the rides are pretty much “walk-on” in October. I guess it doesn’t hurt to be prepared and then not have to use a plan once we get there.
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.
Maybe I should have called this PTR, "Let the Pre-Shopping Begin?"
I have another pre-shopping update. I couldn't resist getting the kids their own rolling suitcases from the Disney site. DD got a princess one and ds got a Cars one. They already love to drag them around the house. I have some grand plans on ds dragging his own suitcase at the airport, but I am sure that is just a pipe dream.
I also got them a few more pairs of summer pajamas. It seems like we never have enough pajamas at my house.
I have to say I am a little dissapointed in the quality of the suitcases. Dd's zipper almost broke the first day. Hopefully they will hold up!
I have another pre-shopping update. I couldn't resist getting the kids their own rolling suitcases from the Disney site. DD got a princess one and ds got a Cars one. They already love to drag them around the house. I have some grand plans on ds dragging his own suitcase at the airport, but I am sure that is just a pipe dream.
I also got them a few more pairs of summer pajamas. It seems like we never have enough pajamas at my house.
I have to say I am a little dissapointed in the quality of the suitcases. Dd's zipper almost broke the first day. Hopefully they will hold up!
Pictures in the next post.
I purchased gym bags for my girls last year. Hannah Montana and Giselle from Enchanted. My DD's HM zipper broke the day after we got it. I wasn't real impressed with the quality either.
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Great purchases
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Melanie
Dd's zipper almost broke the first day. Hopefully they will hold up!
Liz 
them. 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Hybrid Mode
