The "Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The "Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" PTR
With the trip less than a month away, I figured it was time to start my first PTR. So, let’s back up and see how this trip came about.
My last trip to the World was January 2007 with my sister and then future brother in law. We had a fabulous time, but I knew I wouldn’t be back until at least the following year, or so I thought. My best friend was getting married in September 2007, and I was the Maid of Honor.
With all the commitments I had for the wedding (not to mention the money I had to spend), I knew I would not be able to swing a trip. After the wedding, I began to save money and going in December 2008 would be perfect.
Well, that did not happen either. My sister announced that she was getting married in November 2008, and again I was to be her Maid of Honor.
Again, money and commitments would spoil my chance at another trip to Disney. Now with everyone I know being married and no weddings to interfere, I began to look at another holiday trip.
Now that you know the background story, here are the cast of characters:
Me (Kathy, 33, and my 11th trip to WDW)
Mom (Donna, 56 and 4th trip to WDW, first since the 1987!)
We really wanted my Dad to join us, but he is a big party pooper! That’s OK; we will bring him back something nice. I don’t want to bore you all with too much, so I’ll be back with plans and all that good stuff a little later!
Up Next: There’s no Place like the World for the Holidays
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You remind me of Katherine Hiegel in 28 dresses...I am so glad your getting your disney trip . I can't wait to hear all the details. I would just love to take a trip with my mom.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ballston Lake, NY
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 46,162
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Thanks (Received): 139
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There’s No Place like the World for the Holidays
Thanks Everyone!!!
My planning really began before the trip was even booked! Originally I had planned the idea of the trip so that my DSis and DBIL (they live in AZ) could meet us in Florida to spend Christmas as a family. But they are actually going to be in NY before Thanksgiving so a trip to WDW was out of the question for them.
My mom and I were debating between right after Thanksgiving and the first full week in December. But I figured that it would be pretty quite after Thanksgiving before the Holiday crowds and Pop Warner started rolling in. Voile! November 29th-December 5th!
To the Disney website I went to price different options for the trip. We both agreed that a value resort would be the best option. I’ve stayed at Pop Century before, so to start the New Year off right I booked our home away from home for our first ever Holiday Disney trip!
Up Next: Let’s Talk ADRs!!
Last year we went around the same time for our WDW trip, right after Thanksgiving. It was a great time to go. Crowds weren't bad and the temps weren't too bad either. I think we had maybe one or two days where we needed our winter coats at night, but mostly a hoodie for us. You're gonna have a lot of fun!
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