A Dream is a Wish--Mini-TR [UPDATED WITH PIX posts 316 & 320] - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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We did the character breakfast at the PCH Grill and it was okay. If I recall correctly, the characters were basically the Fab 5, except we had Daisy and I don't think we had Donald. The food was pretty good, but nothing spectacular.
My sister and I and out families often vacationed together when our kids were children. I think it's great that you sister can join you and it is actually good for your son to have a cousin to bicker with. Those bickering fights teach kids so much about negotiating and getting along (at least that's what I am going to tell myself when my 3 adult kids are all home and fall back into sibling bickering).
Our two family vacations were usually 10 people with an occasional extra cousin thrown in. And we sometimes did it with only two baths. Have fun and enjoy!
Those bickering fights teach kids so much about negotiating and getting along.
I'm going to say that mostly what they will learn is what Mom/Aunt Kim is like when pushed to her limit. And it's not pretty.
Actually, to be fair, they have gotten along much better in the recent times they've been together. I need to cut them some slack.
They are 7 (DS) and 8 (DNeph) now. When DNeph was adopted, they were 3 and 4. They had a lot to figure out, since DS had been in the family from birth, but DNeph was older. It's been an adjustment for everyone, I would say. DSis now has a foster daughter, age 3, who will not join us for our trip. I think not being the "newest" grandkid has helped DNeph's sense of belonging quite a bit too. I might need to change my expectations to something more positive!
My 32 year old son still has fond memories of times he spent with his cousin as preschoolers. KIds bicker for attention. If they don't get it they will find something else to do. When mine were young, bickering sent them to separate rooms. They seemed to prefer sibling/cousing\ company to no company.
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My 32 year old son still has fond memories of times he spent with his cousin as preschoolers. KIds bicker for attention. If they don't get it they will find something else to do. When mine were young, bickering sent them to separate rooms. They seemed to prefer sibling/cousing\ company to no company.
Now we're talking. The times that really get me are bickering coming from the back of the car. I have pulled the car over and taken cousin out cause he didn't honor the "5 minutes of silence" order. Grrrr.....
What has worked pretty well is to set an expectation of a positive tone and stay on them, catching minor infractions quickly.
Ohhhhh, can you guys tell that this issue is huge for me? I seriously only have one child cause I can't stand dealing with bickering. For years before we successfully had August, I was dead set on just one, cause I can not deal with kids fighting. I had a very bad babysitting experience in my early 20s. They fought about EVERY LITTLE THING. Eventually, I just stopped calling the dad back when he would offer me jobs.
So! August and his cousin will just have to get along, right?
Sooo, after reading the reviews of PCH Grill, Goofy's Kitchen, and Storeytellers, I'm leaning toward Goofy's kitchen because of the interaction. Dsis doesn't think her boy is very into meeting characters, however, so it may be a moot point. Storeytellers appeals to me because it looks like a very nice ambiance. If it were just me and DS, that might be my pick.
OK, I'm a bad aunt/sis. Had a conversation with DSis this afternoon, and I feel guilty about it.
She let me know that they aren't sure they will be able to get childcare back home for their 3yo foster daughter. I let her know that I'm emphatically opposed to them bringing her. Yes, I'm a jerk.
This trip was planned as a way for me and Ddad to do our Disney thing, with my DS and DMom along for the ride. My sis had said over and over again that she and her family would not be choosing this for their vacation dollars. We resolved that it would be a me and dad-type trip. In the end, Dad liked the bigger condo, and we had room. We offered to DSis again, this was before they brought foster niece home.
Before you all think I'm totally evil, I didn't take my own son to Disney till he was five. In our family, kids don't go to Disney till they are old enough to really enjoy it, remember it, and not be a big drag to the experience.
So when I learned she is considering bringing DNiece, I was like...I can BARELY afford this trip. It is a huge financial investment. I DO NOT want the flow dictated by the overwhelming needs of a toddler. NO.
She was somewhat taken-aback. We'll see how it rolls out.
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If you DN is a foster child, she may need the trip more than all of you and having her separated (again) from her family would not be good for her. I have worked with the child welfare system many years and can never understand why so often foster kids don't get to go on the family vacation.
My grandson, joined us this spring at 11 months. While he may not remember the trip, hos presence brought more joy to me than you can imagine. Yes, we adjusted our plans a little but it was still a wonderful family vacation.
By caring for foster children, your Dsis is doing a great service. And you will have a wonderful time because you know that it's not really just about the vacation but about you family and I've read enough of your posts to know your family values giving to and supporting others, especially the less fortunate.
I can understand how you feel. Would it be possible to split up some of the time, and not have to all be together all of the time? That's what we did when we went to WDW with extended family, and it worked out pretty well, just meeting up for certain meals and things.
Oh boy, here we go...Dang it, you guys. I don't want to deal with toddlers on my Disney trip. That I get to take rarely. Like, the next one will be in 3 years. Yes, I'm being totally selfish. It's not about not wanting to include this sweet little girl on our trip. It's not about her being new to the family or not a blood relative at all, it's about her age, period. I didn't take DS to DL till he was 5, because it seemed like more trouble than it was worth, and that's how I feel here too.
GRRRRR... The other part of this is that I'm coving for my dad, who feels as strongly as I do, but doesn't feel like he can say it to my sis without it upsetting their relationship. I'm not worried about that, Dsis and I are solid in our own way...but shoot. I do feel bad. It's awesome that they are able to offer a loving home to Dniece. It's not about that at all. I don't think I would feel differently if she were their bio kid.
I think the advice to split up is great. Enjoy them at the house and then go your own way.
If your dad does not want the child along, he needs to speak for himself. If he doesn't I would be suspicious that he might be giving your DS another message.
Do not idealize your Disney vacation. It will only lead to disapointment. You will have a good time no matter where and who is there.
I'm afraid I have to side with the others, too. I really understand your wishing to have this be the trip you've been dreaming of, but there's a tipping point at which you just have to go with the flow. That little girl may be only three, but hasn't she been left behind without a family too many times already? I agree that if you and your dad and DS go off together to have park time together that's great. It's too big a group to tour comfortably together in any case.
OK, I've taken my time reply to your messages above. I had my little fit, and now I'm ready to re-assess. I'm getting together with my dad tonight, partially to discuss welcoming Dniece along.
I think my sis is right, by the way, to insist that she comes or that her family stay home. I can't imagine leaving a 3 yo with other folks, even if they are familiar, for that amount of time. But, I hated so much to let go of my dream trip.
I wasn't ready to hear your advice either, Laurie and Huntermom. I didn't want to give up my dream vacation! But I do have enough experience to know that it's the unpredictable and new that brings fresh energy and excitement to life.
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