Escaping The Brutal Northeast For Sunny, Warm Florida and Fun! Completed 7/12 - Page 11 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Yes indeed! Just a mattering of getting there now!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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.
After, a pretty good nights sleep, I woke up at just after 3 am. I only woke up a couple of times and was able to go back to sleep rather easily. I always worry about oversleeping and have only done it once for a trip. I did it by about thirty minutes, but everything worked out and just had to rush a little, but not too much. I could officially say, I’d be in Disney World today! In just about six hours, I’d be landing in Orlando.
I got ready to go and had a little bit of breakfast with a glass of milk, a some juice, a banana and a piece of pound cake. I packed a few last minute items, such as clothing I’d need after landing, since with Disney’s Magical Express, my luggage would not arrive for a few hours after. Just made sure everything was packed. I also reset the thermostat to the minimum as I wouldn’t be home. A few days ago, I also had my mail held for the length of my trip. So good now, that you can set this up online. I also watered the lone plant I have in my condo as well. It was now about 4 am and Sharon would be here soon to drive me to the airport. I brought my three bags downstairs and left them in the foyer. Now, I just waited for Sharon to arrive.
It was now 4:15 am and when Sharon said she’d arrive. She wasn’t here yet and of course I kept checking out my windows, to look for lights as it was quite dark out and not likely there’d be other traffic in my condo complex. Finally, at 4:25 am she arrived. I locked everything up and put my bags in Sharon’s car. She said she was a bit late as she had to stop for coffee! Priorities of course! It was a bit cold outside in the mid to upper 40's and sprinkling a little bit. I had checked my flight status before leaving and my flight was running on time. We then took the short drive to Westchester airport. There was very little traffic on the roads and arrived at the airport at 4:50 am. I grabbed my bags, gave my thanks and goodbyes to Sharon and went inside the terminal.
This is a small airport with only eight gates, which I love much more than the larger airports like JFK. There are fewer amenities here and that’s the only drawback! There are only a few check in desks for Jet Blue, American Eagle, Spirit and Delta. There was only one person in line in front of me and the process went rather quick. Everything looked good and had my Even More Space seat in the front row. There was still another hour until boarding, so I went to Dunkin Donuts for a coffee. Always so good and pretty reasonably priced!
I did a bit of exploring in the terminal, but not too much to explore with it’s size. There is an upstairs with a small lounge to relax and an observation deck inside to watch the action on the tarmac.
My flight is Jet Blue 1895
Downstairs in the terminal and not exactly busy! The check in desks and TSA security are just over to the right of this
My Jet Blue flight
After a bit of doing this and hanging in the lounge a bit, I headed to security. I was able to skip the line and use a different entrance, since I had the Even More Space seat! The line was pretty good size, so this helped and went through rather fast. Now I just waited in the lounge area by my gate for boarding to begin. It began on time at 6 am and I was one of the first to board. Love the Even More Space seats and costs only a bit more and feel it’s worth it. Always like the Direct TV and Sirius Radio too. A few people were a bit late boarding so the plane left the gate a few minutes late. No big deal!
It was still a bit dark out when we took off, so the photos didn’t come out too well. We flew over close to where I live and tried to look for my condo complex, but from the air a lot looks the same. Just spent the time watching some Direct TV and reading a bit of my Passporter. I had some coffee and some Blue Terra Chips, which are standard on Jet Blue flights!
Over Northern Florida, just prior to landing
Central Florida in the Orlando area
We landed about ten minutes early at 8:50 am.
A bit blurry, but just as we landed!
Pulled up to the gate
So, we pulled up to the gate and were able to depart the plane shortly. Could feel the warm Florida air once off the plane and in the gate entrance. So, I headed first to use the restrooms and soon after to the monorail to the main terminal.
Always like the sight of this upon arrival in Orlando! A short wait and ride on the monorail to the main terminal. Went outside for a bit as it was fairly warm in the low 70's for this time of the day and overcast. Thunderstorms are forecast for later in the day!
NEXT: Magical Duo and Riverside!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
All went well and pretty much a breeze luckily! Always helps to be organized, be well planned and be prepared if one little thing could throw this off! Most of the time, these things are out of your control!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Landed and ready for the fun to begin! The air looks pretty muggy in Florida.
I couldn't wait to get to Disney! It was quite muggy for sure!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Sounds like smooth traveling to the Sunshine State!
Yes it was! Loved flying out of a small airport direct to Orlando! Can't beat it!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!