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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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There are other changes as well.
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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
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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.
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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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It's finally time for me to start my TR. I'm not going to reiterate anything from my PTR - I have a link up above if anyone is just tuning in or needs to go back and re-read anything Here we go.
Mom's buying so we're flying - July 20 to July 27 2011
I’d like to say our vacation started on Tuesday the 19th but it didn’t . We had a bunch of pre-vacation things to do and none of it was fun. We didn’t even order out for dinner like we have in the past. I don’t even know if I can say our vacation actually started when we woke up on Wednesday morning.
Tuesday night we all managed to be in bed - and asleep - early. Lenny and Abby were both asleep by 8 and I was asleep somewhere between 8 and 9. Unfortunately, I woke up about 1:15 to use the bathroom and I just couldn’t get back to sleep . By 2:15, I’d had enough of tossing and turning so I just got out of bed for the day. Other than getting ready and waking everyone else up, I had nothing to do. Since mom was going to drive us to the airport, she had insisted that her car be completely packed up Tuesday night. It was - with the exception of Abby’s friends. I couldn’t make her shove them in a bag to be left in the car overnight but that was the only thing not put in the car.
So there I was - the only one awake with nothing to do at 2:30 in the morning, so I did what any other going to Disney in a few hours Disney fanatic would do. I came here to the boards . I didn’t spend a lot of time here as we did have to be out of the house early. I was off the computer by 3:15ish and I spent the next hour making sure everyone else was getting up and ready, unloading the dishwasher and giving lots of attention to my 3 dogs and my bunny . Our "goal" was to be out of the house and on our way to the airport by 4:30 am. And we made it with minutes to spare - which mom liked. She hates leaving late for anything (but I can’t blame her, she still had to come home and get ready for work). The drive was uneventful and we made it to the airport at 5:10. Part of me wasn’t overly happy as that meant we now had a 3 hour wait before our scheduled flight . In the long run, it was still good though because with Lenny having metal hips, I didn’t know how long we’d be at security for.
Mom pulled up to curbside check in and instead of the long wait I expected, there was next to no wait at all. I think there was only one family in front of us. And truthfully, the next few events happened so fast that a lot of it is a blur to me. I know the skycap who took our luggage also got me a wheelchair for Lenny. He asked if I needed someone to push Lenny and I said no, with all our checked luggage gone I could manage him. The skycap also told me to take Lenny over to the right of the security queue to the employee queue (which I learned is also the wheelchair line). As soon as we got there, I started getting out our boarding passes and ID’s then mom was there to say goodbye again (we had given hugs and said goodbye at curbside) while the TSO was asking for everything from me. So that was all kind of confusing trying to say goodbye and hand over all the paperwork all at the same time. The TSO handed me back our stuff and told me which line to get in and while I was trying to figure out what carry ons I needed to open, mom was peeking through all the cracks in the partitions between the public area and the security area to try to talk to us some more so our turn came sooner than I expected. I kind of started throwing things in bins because I didn’t want to hold up the line behind us. I do know the TSO here took some of the bags out of the bins and I’m not sure where Lenny went to but he was gone and off somewhere else so he wasn’t there to help. Abby was still with me trying to help but she forgot to take her backpack off and someone told me that she still had it on because I hadn’t even noticed.
I have to say despite all the confusion for me, security really was a breeze . The only thing that was flagged for being double checked was Lenny’s 8 ounce bottle of Pepto Bismol that he wanted to keep with him. I have to laugh about that though for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that the bottle was completely safety sealed - plastic wrap and foil seal - but it still needed to be checked. The other reason why I have to laugh is after all our stuff went through the scanner I picked it all up, kind of threw it to the side at a bench where Abby was sitting and then started taking my time putting things to rights - including putting on my shoes. The whole time I was doing this (somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes I would say), the TSO was standing there at a table with the bottle in front of him. I thought he was standing there waiting for someone to come and test it but that wasn’t the case. After I was all set, he had Lenny open the bottle to test it. I’m not sure why he didn’t have Lenny open it while I was getting all set but hey, maybe he enjoyed watching confusion at work . And in all that confusion, Abby put our bag of breakfast items on the floor instead of the bench and ended up stepping on it . That’s okay though - Lenny and Abby still ate the stuff .
We finally walked away from security and headed to our gate. Luckily TF Green Airport is small and once past security my only choices were to turn left or right - and our gate was off to the left. We made it there at about 5:50 and once Lenny and Abby were seated, they started to eat. I couldn’t relax and really didn’t want any food and after a little bit I needed a break from both Lenny and Abby. While they didn’t really do anything in particular, I just felt really stressed so I headed off to Dunkin’ Donuts for some drinks. The line was pretty long but we had plenty of time to wait so it didn’t bother me. I got some coffee for Lenny, a milk for Abby, a soda for myself and a water for all of us to share plus 3 english muffin sandwiches. Abby didn’t like hers so I told her she could go watch the planes taking off and landing at the gate next to ours. I could see her the whole time so I was fine with her being as far away as she was. Lenny wolfed down his sandwich plus Abby’s after she said he could have it and I managed to eat one and have something to drink with it. After that I was a little less stressed and joined Abby in her plane watching.
So glad you started your report!!! I can’t wait to read it!! I am so glad that I briefly ran into you at Animal Kingdom it was great to put a live face with my favorite trip reporter. It seems as though you guys were at Chef Mickeys at the same time as we were. I wanted to tell you Hi again but my husband said that was borderline stalking(he is no fun)! I hope you had a great trip we did even though tour groups followed us EVERYWHERE
Overall, I have to admit the time we spent at the airport went fairly quickly. As our time for boarding was approaching, there was finally someone at the SWA desk and I asked about a blue preboarding sleeve. The employee told me if Lenny was going to stay in the chair, I didn’t need one. All I had to do was park him in the preboarding area of the gate. I did that about 7 am and a few minutes later I took my Sudafed and my Afrin to get ready for our flight. Shortly after that, a woman I knew from the middle school came up to me. She was booked on the same flight headed to the same destination - talk about a small world. It was nice to see her and we talked for a few minutes and then she went off to her own family - of 12! I give her (and anyone else who does it) credit for traveling with that many people. I couldn’t do it.
Around 7:30 the boarding process started and we were first on the plane. Lenny took the very first row for leg room and Abby and I sat behind him for the tray tables and under seat storage. Lenny felt it would be rude of us to take up so much overhead area but I can tell you we could have done it. A lot of people who got on the plane, especially those seated up near the front, either got on with nothing or just small bags. Nothing like us with 6 but there was just some stuff I didn’t want to put into checked luggage and risk having it get lost or destroyed .
Everyone was finally on board and seated and I’m pretty sure we left on time. I had turned my phone off and didn’t have a watch to know what time it was. The pilot came over the PA system and said that the weather was really good and that we should arrive early - that of course made me happy. The less time spent on the plane was good news for me. I had taken my Sudafed and Afrin earlier so all that left was putting in the ear planes. I had a pair for me and a pair for Abby. I didn’t know whether she would have trouble like me or not but I wanted her to wear them anyway. As we moved away from the gate, Abby didn’t seem overly happy or excited to be on a plane and even as we taxied down the runway and took off, there was no change in her behavior. On one hand, that was a good thing as I kind of was thinking she might be anxious with all the noises and sensations of the plane but on the other hand, I was hoping that she would be more excited about her first plane ride. She did watch out the window the entire time until we got above the clouds and there was nothing to see anymore.
By 9 she had her DS on (I had turned my phone back on so I knew the time) and I was actually exhausted - to the point I closed my eyes to take a nap. I tried to read a couple of magazines I had (thanks Colleen) but I could barely keep my eyes open - which really surprised me. That was one thing I never, ever expected to happen on the plane - especially since I was told Sudafed can make you jittery. I figured I’d be jumpy the whole time and would need something to calm me down but nope, that never happened. I was tired and was able to take a nap . I didn’t sleep the entire time - it was on and off - but the time passed quick enough and we landed at 10:26. I’m not sure now how I knew that. Maybe I slept through the announcement to turn my phone off and it was still on when we landed. I don’t know. Either way, we landed half an hour ahead of time and I was very happy.
Trying to get off the plane though was a different story. I know everyone is anxious to get on their way to their destinations but to try and get something from the overhead bins is just asking to get trampled. Nobody wanted to give an inch so we could get our stuff. We were finally able to get it all and by the time we got off the plane, there was a wheelchair waiting for Lenny but nobody to push it. Someone did come along maybe a minute later and we were on our way to baggage claim.
Once there, the porter pushing Lenny called for another one to bring a cart for our luggage. Once he arrived to help with the luggage, the first porter left. When we had all our luggage, the porter took us downstairs to the rental car counter and literally in less than 5 minutes we had our paperwork for the car. Needless to say, time wise we were doing really great. I didn’t expect to arrive so early nor did I expect to get the luggage and car so quickly. We then made our way out to the rental cars themselves. I followed the porter and we soon found the luxury section of cars. They did have Cadillacs but not the DTS that Lenny had hoped for. Alamo had 2 cars to choose from (there were a few empty spots between the two so I can only assume there had been more at some point in time) - a dark colored one and a light one (it was more pearl I guess than white) and we took the light one. Lenny wasn’t thrilled with the car because it wasn’t a DTS but we took it none the less. The porter helped us load up the car (with Lenny kind of complaining about how he did it) and then we were on our way. We had noticed a few dings and scratches that we tried to point out to the car rental employee as we left the lot but she was totally unconcerned saying they were normal and didn’t need to be noted . I’m wondering if she wasn’t concerned because we had opted to take the CDW insurance. Whatever the reason, we left the lot and made our way to 417 .
So glad you started your report!!! I can’t wait to read it!! I am so glad that I briefly ran into you at Animal Kingdom it was great to put a live face with my favorite trip reporter. It seems as though you guys were at Chef Mickeys at the same time as we were. I wanted to tell you Hi again but my husband said that was borderline stalking(he is no fun)! I hope you had a great trip we did even though tour groups followed us EVERYWHERE
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoy my TR's. I'm glad too that you came over and introduced yourself. I'm unfortunately VERY guilty of walking by people in crowded places - and it's not because I'm ignoring anyone. It's just that I get oblivious to my surroundings. And what do husbands know about fun? I would have loved for you to come over at CM's. And that's too funny about the tour groups. There were plenty at the parks we went to (what was your schedule again? ) but it did seem that we were going in the opposite direction for the most part.
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Yay! You started! I'm so glad the travel went so smoothly - it sounds like it really couldn't have gone better. One thing checked off your list - whew! Now you're in a car in familiar territory...
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Yay! I'm very excited to read your TR! More so because I can actually see your pictures here at work. I know you said Abby didn't look all that excited but did she have anything to say about her first plane ride? Glad security ended up being easy for you guys to navigate through
About This Page: 
. We had a bunch of pre-vacation things to do and none of it was fun. We didn’t even order out 
for dinner like we have in the past. I don’t even know if I can say our vacation actually started when we woke up on Wednesday morning.
- early. Lenny and Abby were both asleep by 8 and I was asleep somewhere between 8 and 9. Unfortunately, I woke up about 1:15 to use the bathroom and I just couldn’t get back to sleep . By 2:15, I’d had enough of tossing and turning so I just got out of bed for the day. Other than getting ready and waking everyone else up, I had nothing to do. Since mom was going to drive us to the airport, she had insisted that her car be completely packed up Tuesday night. It was - with the exception of Abby’s friends. I couldn’t make her shove them in a bag to be left in the car overnight but that was the only thing not put in the car.
. I didn’t spend a lot of time here as we did have to be out of the house early. I was off the computer by 3:15ish and I spent the next hour making sure everyone else was getting up and ready, unloading the dishwasher and giving lots of attention to my 3 dogs 
and my bunny 
. Our "goal" was to be out of the house and on our way to the airport by 4:30 am. And we made it with minutes to spare - which mom liked. She hates leaving late for anything (but I can’t blame her, she still had to come home and get ready for work). The drive was uneventful and we made it to the airport at 5:10. Part of me wasn’t overly happy as that meant we now had a 3 hour wait before our scheduled flight 
. In the long run, it was still good though because with Lenny having metal hips, I didn’t know how long we’d be at security for.
for Lenny. He asked if I needed someone to push Lenny and I said no, with all our checked luggage gone I could manage him. The skycap also told me to take Lenny over to the right of the security queue to the employee queue (which I learned is also the wheelchair line). As soon as we got there, I started getting out our boarding passes and ID’s then mom was there to say goodbye again 
(we had given hugs and said goodbye at curbside) while the TSO was asking for everything from me. So that was all kind of confusing trying to say goodbye and hand over all the paperwork all at the same time. The TSO handed me back our stuff and told me which line to get in and while I was trying to figure out what carry ons I needed to open, mom was peeking 
through all the cracks in the partitions between the public area and the security area to try to talk to us some more so our turn came sooner than I expected. I kind of started throwing things in bins because I didn’t want to hold up the line behind us. I do know the TSO here took some of the bags out of the bins and I’m not sure where Lenny went to but he was gone and off somewhere else so he wasn’t there to help. Abby was still with me trying to help but she forgot to take her backpack off and someone told me that she still had it on because I hadn’t even noticed. 
. The only thing that was flagged for being double checked was Lenny’s 8 ounce bottle of Pepto Bismol that he wanted to keep with him. I have to laugh about that though for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that the bottle was completely safety sealed - plastic wrap and foil seal - but it still needed to be checked. The other reason why I have to laugh is after all our stuff went through the scanner I picked it all up, kind of threw it to the side at a bench where Abby was sitting and then started taking my time putting things to rights - including putting on my shoes. The whole time I was doing this (somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes I would say), the TSO was standing there at a table with the bottle in front of him. I thought he was standing there waiting for someone to come and test it but that wasn’t the case. After I was all set, he had Lenny open the bottle to test it. I’m not sure why he didn’t have Lenny open it while I was getting all set but hey, maybe he enjoyed watching confusion at work . And in all that confusion, Abby put our bag of breakfast items on the floor instead of the bench and ended up stepping on it . That’s okay though - Lenny and Abby still ate the stuff 
.
so I headed off to Dunkin’ Donuts for some drinks. The line was pretty long but we had plenty of time to wait so it didn’t bother me. I got some coffee for Lenny, a milk for Abby, a soda for myself and a water for all of us to share plus 3 english muffin sandwiches. Abby didn’t like hers so I told her she could go watch the planes taking off and landing at the gate next to ours. I could see her the whole time so I was fine with her being as far away as she was. Lenny wolfed down his sandwich plus Abby’s after she said he could have it and I managed to eat one and have something to drink with it. After that I was a little less stressed and joined Abby in her plane watching.
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Pixie Dust
I hope you had a great trip we did even though tour groups followed us EVERYWHERE
but there was just some stuff I didn’t want to put into checked luggage and risk having it get lost or destroyed 
- which really surprised me. That was one thing I never, ever expected to happen on the plane - especially since I was told Sudafed can make you jittery. I figured I’d be jumpy the whole time and would need something to calm me down but nope, that never happened. I was tired and was able to take a nap 
. I’m wondering if she wasn’t concerned because we had opted to take the CDW insurance. Whatever the reason, we left the lot and made our way to 417 
.
) but it did seem that we were going in the opposite direction for the most part.
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