My first PTR! 2 Superfans, 1 foodie, and a first-timer (we hope) - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
My first PTR! 2 Superfans, 1 foodie, and a first-timer (we hope)
Hello all! This is my first PTR attempt--here's hoping it goes well! I so enjoy reading the PTRs of others that I thought it was high time I contribute!
The cast: Me: Brooke (32)-Disney Superfan (ok, AND foodie) DH: 30- Foodie! My DS (20)- Disney Superfan My sister's DBF (21)-he's never been to WDW!
My DH and I had a trip planned for March for a long time when we found out that my other DS is pregnant (hooray!) and due in April so we wanted to move our trip back until after our new little nephew arrives so that we can be on hand to help she and her DH as needs be during the final part of pregnancy. We'd talked before about helping my DS and her DBF take a trip to WDW to celebrate his upcoming college graduation because he has NEVER been to WDW and always wanted to go, so we decided to invite them along to join us on a trip in May!
We booked a 1 BR Lake View at BLT (we usually stay in a studio so this is a real treat!) and decided that even if they cannot join us we will splurge a bit with our DVC points and really enjoy that jacuzzi tub! We gave them a call and asked if they would care to join us and after about 20 "Really? Are you serious? You're not kidding?" comments they screamed for about 10 minutes! So fun to do something unexpected and exciting for the people you love.
Of course there is a small snag...they are not sure they can come and won't know until mid-March (it was October at the time we did this)!
Up next: Two sets of plans- so that we are covered either way!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
How nice of you and your DH to treat your sister and her boyfriend to a magical vacation. I sure hope they can make it. I am looking forward to reading more of your PTR.
Sharon
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.
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
So, being the planning fanatic that I am, there was NO WAY I was going to wait until mid-March to make ADRs for May so I started to work on where we wanted to eat. My hubby and I decided to do the DxDP and keep my DS and her DBF off the ressie at this point so that we have the most flexibility possible (we can alway add them later). We started with our discussion about where we wanted to go--which places we HAD to do again and which restaurants we wanted to try that are new for us and also looked at the touringplans crowd calendar to determine best days for different parks and came up with a list of possibilities if its just the two of us and also decided where we wanted to go alone as a couple and where it woudl be nice to all be together. We figured some time planned together as well as some time planned apart is a sure way to make sure everybody gets couple time and each set gets to do what we like to do (that's code for "the young ones don't have to hang out with the old couple").
Then we thought about my DS and her DBF...she is a vegetarian and he eats meat and potatoes only . Where to take these two that makes everyone happy?
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I failed to mention that my DS and her DBF don't see the value in ADRs until they know for sure that they can come (extended discussions have been had and I have told them that I think they are ) so they have no ADRs when they are not with us...I wish them well (and will help them get whatever is left when they come to their senses!).
However, when we are all eating together we DO have ressies made! So- between 2 foodies, 1 vegetarian and 1 meat and potatoes guy, here's the plan:
Day 1: My DH and I will head to Epcot for the last day of the F&G Festival and my DS and her DBF will head to DTD. Dinner at the Yachtsman (new restaurant for us).
Day 2: Hollywood Studios! Lunch at Prime time and dinner at Brown Derby (just the 2 of us both times. My DS and her DBF have decided to go CS only this day).
Day 3: We will head to Epcot and the young couple will spend the day in MK. We will have lunch at Le Cellier (for 2) and then meet them for dinner at Tony's Town Square (all four of us).
Day 4: Breakfast at the Wave, spending the day at the pool, Dinner at Narcoosees (both just the two of us and both new restaurants for us). DS and her DBF haven't decided if they want an extra park day or a pool day today.
Day 5: Epcot all around! Lunch at Via Napoli (all 4 of us) and dinner at Flying Fish (just the 2 of us--we think they would both dislike this restaurant and its one of our absolute faves!).
Day 6: Spending our 6th Anniversary in the Magic Kingdom! Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (all 4 of us) and dinner at California Grill (just the two of us)
Day 7: Travelling home after breakfast for all fo us at the Kona Cafe (must have tonga toast)!
Thoughts for us on the choices? Any suggestions for changes?
About This Page: 
(it was October at the time we did this)! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I sure hope they can make it. 
I am looking forward to reading more of your PTR.
Sammi
Hope your sister and her DBF get to make the trip! 
Dora
so I started to work on where we wanted to eat. My hubby and I decided to do the DxDP and keep my DS and her DBF off the ressie at this point so that we have the most flexibility possible (we can alway add them later). We started with our discussion about where we wanted to go--which places we HAD to do again and which restaurants we wanted to try that are new for us and also looked at the touringplans crowd calendar to determine best days for different parks and came up with a list of possibilities if its just the two of us and also decided where we wanted to go alone as a couple and where it woudl be nice to all be together. We figured some time planned together as well as some time planned apart is a sure way to make sure everybody gets couple time and each set gets to do what we like to do (that's code for "the young ones don't have to hang out with the old couple").
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
