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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 understand the airlines will not consider a feeding pump in a backpack to be part of the passenger's baggage allowance, but how do you manage a continuous feeding? Will the TSA allow a feeding to be infusing while going through the security check and while flying?
I'll talk to home health about this question, but I assume we'll travel with the pump they provide us, rather than renting one when we get there... But what about the formula, bags and tubing, as well as syringes for flushes? -- do we take that, or arrange it to be delivered to the resort by an agency in Orlando?
This is new territory for us!! Thanks for any light you can shed on our path!
I don't have much that can help, unfortunately but wanted to say that my DS is tube-fed. We checked everything - bags, cans, pump, etc. because he eats at night. It might be easier to rent it all down there but I was more comfortable with our own stuff. Hope home health can give you more insights! Happy travels!
I would not check it at all, even gate check. Anything you can't do without should be carried and brought on board. I would suggest bringing what you need for the flight plus at least 24-48 hours extra in case of delayed flight.
You can bring those items thru security ( go to TSA | Transportation Security Administration | U.S. Department of Homeland Security and look at their pages about travel for people with disabililties and specisl needs). The airline will not count the bags toward your baggage or carryon allowance as long as what is in the bag ID all medical supplies. For the feedings on the plane, check with your airline's special needs department. It may not be easy to find on their website - the easiest way to find an email address or phone number is usually to do a search of their website for the word wheelchair.
From what I have heard from other people, it was handled like other electronic equipment. They had to have the equipment put away or safely stowed during takeoff and landing and were able to use it during the time it was OK to use other electronic equipment.
Some people choose to ship or check as baggage the remainder of their supplies. You can also have your current supplier work with a supplier in Orlando to deliver supplies to your resort. If you have anything you know is unusual, specialnorder or hard to get, those are the things I would bring along.
How does the Airline know the extra bag contains only medical supplies? Do we open our bags to prove it? Do we label the bag on the outside?....
Thanks for the great information!
In our experience, they will take your word that the bag is full of medical supplies. They do have a right to look if they want and there have been some people posting a suggestion on the Internet to pack a small amount of medical supplies in each of a number of bags to claim all of them as medical supplies. The airlines can charge if the bag contains anything other than medical. Since they are wise to people trying to get bags in free, I would pack assuming it's possible they may check.
Take onboard the plane anything that you cannot live without for 24 hours and/or when broken cannot be easily and/or cheaply replaced. I have dented luggage and one has a gash so you can understand that if they can do major damage to a steel frame the what would they do to something fragile.
If it looks medcal they will probably not ask questions. Honest people will immediately be able to explain things and know what they are doing. I agree with packing everything in one bag and declare that as medically exempt. If you have onboard 24 to 48 ours of formula then you can always buy more when you land.
Sue really is the expert by the way.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
As far as the airline looking into the bags, some of that answer may depend on the terror alert level at the time of travel and if you are randomly selected for a closer search.
I was randomly picked for that once, and they really did go through all my items with a fine tooth comb.
Your question about having the feeding pump insfusing while going through check-in is one that I would clear-up before I get to the airport. I think you'll be much safer if the airline knows you are coming and can put some sort of flag on the reservation so you are not delayed.
It sounds like you'll be carrying a few sharps and liquids, which may not conform to the current standards. I'd also check in advance to see how the airline handles that.
It really is a shame that we have to go through such scrutiny, but I'm glad it keeps us safe.
I hope you'll check back and let us know what the airline told you. This is an important question!
Whatever the airline decides, I hope you have a magical trip!
I have a HUGE tote from Land's End a friend of mine got me as a gift. It carries the kids supplies (enough for a couple of days) and it fits under the seat in front. I don't pack any of our supplies in our luggage. DS1 is on a feeding pump only at night. I carry it (we have an Enteralite) in my carryon bag.
We run Normal Saline Solution through it as he needs it as he dehydrates very easily. I usually carry 3 1 liter bags of it (same stuff they run through an IV at the hospital) with me too. I put them in a very large ziplock baggie with them individually labeled by the home care pharmacy. I then put in a note from the dr in so TSA can just look at it. I do the same thing with his Pediasure (he will drink only the enteral formula). I get a dr's note for those too and do the same thing, putting them in a very large baggie with the note facing out.
I do basically the same thing with DS2's diabetes stuff. I get a note from the dr for the lancets (which put in a snack size baggie) and insulin, put them in a sandwich sized baggie.
I'm sure it seems like overkill but it is all visible with dr's notes and so easy for TSA to check. A few have thanked me for it.
I ship most of our medical supplies myself. This way I am sure that I have enough of everything (since I tend to overpack). DS1 also has an ostomy so I have to ship all that stuff down too.
I carry enough supplies in my carryon for 3 days, with the exception of the pediasure. I have tried using a home care company while down there but there was some confusion when we used them a few years ago. I had the pharmacy up here ship it down. The last time we did it, the formula didn't show up til day 3. In all fairness though, it was the pharmacist's first time shipping something for me. In Feb, I shipped the formula down and there was no problem. Now mind you, I am talking about CASES of cans of Pediasure, not the containers of a powder formula, which is WAY easier to ship.
If you do use a home care company down there, ask about an IV pole. We got a couple of "portable" ones 3 yrs ago, when both kids were on pumps. They fit really nicely in suitcases and they are lightweight. We got to take ours with us.
Sorry my response was so long, but hopefully it helped.
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I'm sure it seems like overkill but it is all visible with dr's notes and so easy for TSA to check. A few have thanked me for it.
I ship most of our medical supplies myself. This way I am sure that I have enough of everything (since I tend to overpack). DS1 also has an ostomy so I have to ship all that stuff down too.
Sorry my response was so long, but hopefully it helped.
Thank you so much for that GREAT info!
As far as TSA goes, I don't think there is any such thing as overkill. They have a job to do and I think they appreciate when we do our homework.