Trading the Beach for the Bayou TOMORROW - A Quick 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
Trading the Beach for the Bayou TOMORROW - A Quick PTR
Okay, so I didn’t finish my last TR yet, and in five years I have been a slacker, but this is the first time I haven’t finished before another trip. But, this trip is one of the reasons I didn’t get done with the big push I was trying for. So, please forgive me and bear with me until we get back from the bubble next week. It’s not like you haven’t waited longer than a week for an update from me anyway.
So just a quick PTR for this trip that starts TOMORROW!! We always discuss “next year” when we’re talking about Disney, but hadn’t booked anything by February of this year, which is about when we usually do. Craig was hemming and hawing about it and we almost didn’t go. This was going to be the year of saving money. Well, I looked at it as the year before the year that might be our last trip for a while because Tyler will be starting high school and we won’t be sure of when we can go. And, it turns out our school year is starting about a week later than normal. We usually start the Tuesday after Labor Day and this year with the Jewish holidays the same week, our school isn’t starting again until Sept. 9th. Which meant we could try a different time of year and not have to take the boys out of school at all!! So, Craig said, “Okay, how about a shorter trip at the BC?” Then I said, “How about a longer trip at a moderate resort?” (Always working how to be there as long as possible ) Well, I did all kinds of research and questions on PP and texting with friends. and I laid out on paper the three time frames we were looking at and the prices for 4 nights at a Deluxe and 7 nights at a moderate and showed him we could go longer for cheaper.
We ended up choosing POR in a preferred room – the boys are excited about the Murphy bed and not having to sleep in the same bed – and we’re excited for less “he’s kicking me!!” “he’s on my side of the bed!!!” And after we booked, the 25% room discount came out…woo hoo!! So I called and saved us some money. We had already decided we weren’t planning to have TS meals for each night so it didn’t matter for us when the free dining was offered.
Who’s going??
Well, of course I am…Dawn, Disney fanatic and Starbucks addict. Still not sure how I feel about the two being combined on Main Street, but I’ll give it a whirl this week and let you all know. Craig, my amazing DH. He puts up with my fanaticism becaue he’s truly a Disney fanatic too. And he always tells me that he wishes I looked at him the way I look at my Caramel Frapuccino. Then there are Tyler (11) and Jason (8). Nuts in all kinds of way (except for the eating of nuts…and other things). They keep us laughing and happy and crazy as well, at all times. Here they are on the first day of camp this year.
Unfortunately Zach won’t be making the trip with us this year, he started college…yes, college…and couldn’t take the time off to come with us. We will miss him terribly this trip.
Our plans??
We’ve never visited during the summer months and decided we’d take a little bit more of a laid back approach and not hit as many morning EMH and take breaks in the middle of the day and try to hit the evening EMH instead. Also, we only have five TS meals planned, and a couple of those we may or may not keep. So here it is…
Thursday Aug. 29:
Morning flight at 7:10am…we never seem to leave our house for Disney after the sun has come up. We get into MCO early and figured we spend some time looking around our new resort and relaxing before hitting a park. Then we plan to go to MK first and get a few things done and then have dinner at GF Café. If we’re up to it after dinner, we’ll watch Wishes from the marina. I like to see it from all different angles.
Friday Aug. 30:
If we aren’t too exhausted from the night before, we’re going to try to make RD at the MK. Then an afternoon break and dinner at Coral Reef and Epcot evening EMH. That was Tyler’s choice. I gave each of the boys a choice of one restaurant this trip.
Saturday Aug. 31:
All I have for this day is AK. We have no TS meals planned and no evening plans. We might try to see Yehaa Bob’s show at POR. I think it’s something my boys would really get into. Or maybe a trip on the boat to DtD. Not sure yet.
Sunday Sept. 1
We have a breakfast TS at CMC this morning. I’m not sure how good of an idea this is being as we aren’t staying at our beloved BC. There might be a lot of moping around the resort after dinner. Mainly by Craig. But, we will get to see Teena today so that will be good. Then we’re heading to DHS either by boat or by walkway. Another afternoon break and then maybe back to MK to see MSEP and Wishes if we didn’t see it on Thursday. Of course I’d like to see it more than once while we are there anyway.
Monday Sept. 2
We may actually venture out to one of the waterparks for the first time. Figured summer is a good time to try one. Now, we’re leaning toward Typhoon Lagoon…but who knows. Then we have dinner at Mama Melrose this night with DHS evening EMH. That was Jason’s choice. I’m happy with that because I love the Penne Vodka there!
Tuesday Sept. 3
This is one day that we are going to try to hit morning EMH at Epcot. We don’t seem to have much time planned there and we have lunch at Via Napoli, this is a first for us. Nothing planned for the evening. Maybe we’ll come back to Epcot because I know Craig wants to get on Soarin’ more than once this trip, or maybe we’ll go to DtD because the boys have wanted to try DisneyQuest for some time now.
Wednesday Sept. 4
Another morning EMH today at AK. An afternoon break and then maybe DHS…or Epcot if we didn’t go back the night before. No TS meals so we aren’t tied to anything special this day.
Thursday Sept. 5
Our departure day…Boo!! But, we don’t fly out until 6:53pm so we have a decent amount of time. We plan to hit MK EMH and play there today. I like MK to be my first park and my last park if I can swing it. Then we’ll go back to the resort for our DME pick-up.
Other plans:
Now, it just so happened that a certain “royal” and her whole family will be down when we are so we’re hoping to meet up with them on one of our AK days. Note to self: bring chocolate for Sharon’s mom. Then we’ll text with Sharon and see where she’s bopping around after her family leaves. Also, two of our friends from home will be there. Actually, one is overlapping us and arriving at POR on Sept. 1 so it should be pretty easy to meet up with them. And another Disney family that we’re friends with from home is booked the same time we are and are planning to fit into our schedule as well. So, we’ll have plenty of PP and other friends to meet up with while we’re there.
So…that’s all the plans and the packing is almost done, which is actually a big deal for me. I’m usually packing til the wee hours and sleeping very little before the trip. I plan to be in bed early and sound asleep before my alarm goes off at 3:00am tomorrow morning. (we’ll see what actually happens ). I’ll be updating my girls from down there too. So, until I return…
Gah! I'm so jealous! I want to be there too! Especially since my in-laws arrive on Saturday as well.
But I'll just have to take all the smiling faces pics Dawn has promised to text me to hold me over the next 6 weeks when I can return the favor.
Have a fabulous time my friend!!!
I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
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
Have a great trip Dawn!! My brother also did a late summer trip down because of that late school start (guess it came in handy).
Will look forward to hearing all about it when you return (and since you did not finish your other report it will be a double dose of fun reading.....lol)
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.
Have a great trip, and you needed to title this "I interrupt the trip report to bring you a trip report" An interruption that's well worth it, IMHO
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Sounds great! I think your boys will love either water park (but remember the goggles!!). I'm hoping I can stay caught up in READING this TR.....I am actually considering only reading TR's when they say complete, and then giving myself a week to go through them. There's just not enough time in the day when I start getting subscribed to too many!
And your off! I hope you had a uneventful flight down.
I want all the details of POR when you get back. Your pros and cons. We are staying at Port Orleans in May, but I can't decide which one. I am leaning toward POFQ because it is compact, but POR looks so beautiful and peaceful and AB looks so pretty. Please let me know how you liked it and how the walk to the buses were.
Have a wonderful, magical trip full of pixie dust!
About This Page: 
But, this trip is one of the reasons I didn’t get done with the big push I was trying for. So, please forgive me and bear with me until we get back from the bubble next week. It’s not like you haven’t waited longer than a week for an update from me anyway. 
We always discuss “next year” when we’re talking about Disney, but hadn’t booked anything by February of this year, which is about when we usually do. Craig was hemming and hawing about it and we almost didn’t go. 
This was going to be the year of saving money. Well, I looked at it as the year before the year that might be our last trip for a while because Tyler will be starting high school and we won’t be sure of when we can go. 
And, it turns out our school year is starting about a week later than normal. We usually start the Tuesday after Labor Day and this year with the Jewish holidays the same week, our school isn’t starting again until Sept. 9th. Which meant we could try a different time of year and not have to take the boys out of school at all!! So, Craig said, “Okay, how about a shorter trip at the BC?” Then I said, “How about a longer trip at a moderate resort?” (Always working how to be there as long as possible 
) Well, I did all kinds of research and questions on PP and texting with friends. and I laid out on paper the three time frames we were looking at and the prices for 4 nights at a Deluxe and 7 nights at a moderate and showed him we could go longer for cheaper. 
So I called and saved us some money. We had already decided we weren’t planning to have TS meals for each night so it didn’t matter for us when the free dining was offered. 
Craig, my amazing DH. He puts up with my fanaticism becaue he’s truly a Disney fanatic too. And he always tells me that he wishes I looked at him the way I look at my Caramel Frapuccino. 
Then there are Tyler (11) and Jason (8). Nuts in all kinds of way (except for the eating of nuts…and other things). They keep us laughing and happy and crazy as well, at all times. 
We get into MCO early and figured we spend some time looking around our new resort and relaxing before hitting a park. Then we plan to go to MK first and get a few things done and then have dinner at GF Café. If we’re up to it after dinner, we’ll watch Wishes from the marina. I like to see it from all different angles.
But, we will get to see Teena today so that will be good. 
and her whole family will be down when we are so we’re hoping to meet up with them on one of our AK days. Note to self: bring chocolate for Sharon’s mom. 
(we’ll see what actually happens 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
PassPorter Guide Author
Can't wait for the texting to begin.
![[SIGPIC]](signaturepics/sigpic27594_7.gif)
Liz 
Linear Mode
