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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I have yet to find a downside to online checkin. Sometimes the line to get up to the desk may be about equivalent, but not having to wait for them to print your KTTW cards or pull together other paperwork will save you time, which, as you mention, is a good thing with a squirmy toddler in tow! And sometimes the line is significantly shorter (like when I checked in at POR last February -- the line for online checkin was probably 1/4 the regular checkin line). I'm sure it depends some on what time of day you arrive and whether DME has just deposited a lot of people at your resort.
I'm still reading through your TR, and really enjoying it. Your DS is soooo cute!
But I just had to chime in, even though it may be too late - but it seems like you are skipping DHS and there they have the Mickey Clubhouse show and you can meet the characters from Toy Story and Cars too. Just sounds like your DS might really like that.
OK, back to reading now.
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Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa
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I have yet to find a downside to online checkin. Sometimes the line to get up to the desk may be about equivalent, but not having to wait for them to print your KTTW cards or pull together other paperwork will save you time, which, as you mention, is a good thing with a squirmy toddler in tow! And sometimes the line is significantly shorter (like when I checked in at POR last February -- the line for online checkin was probably 1/4 the regular checkin line). I'm sure it depends some on what time of day you arrive and whether DME has just deposited a lot of people at your resort.
I might give online check-in a try. I didn't think there were any downsides, but I guess I never viewed it as necessary either. I'll have to talk to my in-laws about it this weekend. We've requested connecting rooms and I think it would be best for us to either all do online check-in or all check-in at the resort. Maybe it doesn't make a difference, but I think it would be better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Not much longer!
I know!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MGW
I'm still reading through your TR, and really enjoying it. Your DS is soooo cute!
But I just had to chime in, even though it may be too late - but it seems like you are skipping DHS and there they have the Mickey Clubhouse show and you can meet the characters from Toy Story and Cars too. Just sounds like your DS might really like that.
OK, back to reading now.
Thanks. DS definitely knows how to use his cute to his advantage. He causes trouble and then flashes a big grin. Gets me every time. As far as DHS goes I do think DS would like the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show, but he's not really into sitting and watching shows in general. I know that the Disney Junior show allows the kids to get up and dance around, but so many other things at DHS do not. DS would never sit through the Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. I'm not even sure he'd do well with Muppets. I enjoyed DHS, but I felt like a lot of it was shows and sitting. DS does not sit. He runs around. He does fine sitting on rides as they're moving, but if we're not moving he's not happy. So we decided to skip DHS this time. I'm thinking our next trip we'll definitely hit DHS. And maybe we'll change our minds when we're down there and decide to take one of our other park days and swap it with DHS. We'll see how it goes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexiemom
Not much longer!!!! Almost to single digits.
Sounds like things are coming together, good luck with the packing this weekend!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I always feel that once we hit 10 days the time just flies by!
I sure hope the time flies by. Or maybe not... I still have quite a few things to do before we leave!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Single digits!!
I can't believe it! But yes, single digits! SINGLE DIGITS!!
Wow! Only 10 more days! I agree about doing the online check-in. It will be just one less thing you'll have to worry about when you get there. I always feel like it gives you a better chance at your room being ready, but that may just all be in my head.
5 DAYS! This trip is going to be here before I know it. This past weekend DH and I were able to go over our packing list and pull out the suitcases. Then on Saturday I was able to get all the laundry done and we piled up the clothes we wanted to bring with us on the bed. Of course, DS thought it was great fun to "help" us. Needless to say most of our time was spent re-folding things and chasing around a toddler asking him to please give us our clothes back. I will admit it was quite amusing when DS would try to put on some of my shirts. He gets the concept of getting dressed and can help us put his clothes on, but he isn't so great at it when he does it solo. He ended up trying to put his head through the arm holes of my shirts many times.
We were lucky as DS actually took a 2 1/2 hour nap on Saturday so DH and I scrambled to get at least our clothes zipped up in the suitcases. We were just finishing up when DS wailed for us to come and get him out of his crib. Then for some reason it dawned on me that we had been having trouble getting shirts over DS's head recently. I had tried a few of DS's t-shirts on him and then decided I could just hold up the other shirts to the ones that fit to compare sizes. Well when I did that I remembered that I didn't pay much attention to the head hole. So I took out a few t-shirts and realized that I didn't think they will fit over DS's giant noggin (I suppose it's not giant, but he is in the 75% for head circumference). Good think I checked on this because sure enough there were quite a few shirts that I had packed that were not going to make it on to him. I started to panic slightly, but then remembered that we had gotten quite a few 2T sized clothes from a co-worker of mine. I hadn't taken them out yet because DS is just now starting to outgrow his 18 month stuff. After a trip into the crawl space to retrieve the clothes bucket we were in business. I was able to replace the t-shirts that didn't fit and all was right with the world.
We spent the rest of our weekend gathering up our miscellaneous trip items. Took a while to find some of that stuff. I knew we had ponchos. And I remember putting them away in a location that would help me remember where to find them, but it still took some time to figure out where they had gone to. The rain cover for the stroller was also MIA. I thought I put it with the stroller and gate check bag for the stroller. Cause that would be logical, but it was with the ponchos. I think I'm down to just a few little things that are still nowhere to be found, but I've got a few days to find them. As long as DS didn't throw them away - he's big into putting things into the garbage can at the moment and I've caught him trying to toss my keys a couple of times - I think we'll be fine.
Sunday we started discussing what we have to get done before the trip and what time we think we need my mom to pick us up to take us to the airport. I was surprised how much traveling with a toddler changes what has to be done before we leave and when we actually think we need to show up at the airport. Do we give DS a bath the night before we leave or in the morning before my mom picks us up? What tasks can we accomplish with DS in tow and which ones do we have to divide and tackle with one of us keeping DS out of the way? How much extra time will divide and tackle add? We managed to figure out a pretty good plan. We think my mom will have to pick us up around 9:45 AM. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport from our place and we want to be out the door by 10 AM at the latest. We figure it will take around 30-45 minutes to get through security and to our gate with having to stop to check our bags and fold up the stroller and what not. So we're thinking we'll be to the gate around 11:30 AM. Then DS needs to be fed lunch and allowed to run around for awhile before he has to sit on the plane for 3 1/2 hours. We're thinking boarding of the plane will start around 12:30 PM so that gives us an hour or so to have lunch, change diapers, etc. If it were just DH and I we never would get to the airport that early. We would just run through security and have packed some snacks for the plane, but with DS tagging along we have to make sure he gets a nice full lunch at around the same time as he usually does at home. Otherwise he turns into a loud whiny kid and no one wants that.
We called my MIL on Sunday afternoon to discuss our airport plans with her. Initially she had wanted us to meet them at her place and then we could all take a cab to the airport together. I do think it would be nice to arrive at the airport together, but with her tendency to run late for everything I figure it would be better to not have our schedule tied to hers. Plus my mom would have to drive us to my in-laws and drop us off there and although their house is closer to ours than the airport is they do not live in an area that is easy to navigate. So I used that as an excuse to my MIL - my mom thinks it's easier to get to the airport and doesn't mind driving us the extra distance. Well my MIL told us that she was planning on having the cab pick them up around 11 AM. Meaning they would get to the airport around 11:30 AM. That's probably plenty of time for them to get through security and to the gate. We didn't have any issues with that at all, but told MIL about our plans to get there at about 10:45 AM so we have time to have lunch and stuff. Then MIL decided that it would be nice for us all to have lunch together. Plus she's more than happy to help us schlep all of our stuff through security and help contain the unruly toddler. Not that he's really unruly, but more of a runner who doesn't get the concept of stay by mommy. It's really a nice gesture and I'm sure we would love the extra help with security checks and such. However, I'm doubtful that they will make it to the airport by 10:45 AM. They'll have a cab scheduled to pick them up so maybe that will help get MIL out the door on time. We shall see. I told MIL that we would love the help and it would be nice to have lunch together, but that we would play it by ear. We'll call when we get to the airport and if they're already there or in the cab and close we will wait for them. Otherwise we'll just keep moving ahead and see them at the gate. So I think we're all happy on that front now.
So all in all I think we're really progressing on getting ready for this trip. I did manage to meet another milestone on Sunday that I kind of tied to this trip. I haven't written about it here on my PTR because I wasn't sure if I would actually meet this pre-trip goal because it's something I've been struggling with since DS was born, but I managed to make quite a bit of progress so I figure I could post about it now. My goal had been to make it back to my pre-pregnancy weight before our trip. I was left carrying around about 15 extra pounds since DS was born and I have wanted them gone for a LONG time. I've been working really hard at trying to meet this milestone before our trip and on Sunday I was able to put on a pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans! I've still got about 3 lbs to go before hitting pre-pregnancy weight, but the jeans fit and they weren't overly tight either. So I managed to squeeze that in before the trip as well. Now we'll ignore the fact that DS is 18 months old and it took me 18 months to get back to where I was before and just count it as a win as I managed to do it before this trip.
I really can't believe this trip is almost here, but I feel like we'll be able to get everything we need to taken care of before the trip and everything will go smoothly (well as smoothly as things can go with a toddler in tow). Tonight we're going to spend searching the house for the rest of the stuff we couldn't find this weekend. Tomorrow I'm expecting to have to work into the evening as Legislative Session starts tomorrow. Wednesday night DH has to work so I probably won't accomplish much then. Thursday night we'll try packing a few more things up and clean a little - especially the fridge. Friday I'm sure will be quite hectic with last minute packing and such. Then Saturday we leave whether we're ready or not!
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I fell behind and now your trip is almost here! Sounds like you've got things pretty well under control now. I'm glad to hear work has calmed down a bit. And congrats on losing the weight!
Oh wow -- just 4 days to go now!! It sounds like you got a lot done over the weekend and you're very prepared. I think you handled the situation with MIL beautifully.
Congratulations on losing the weight! It doesn't matter how long it took you to get it off -- you did it!!
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I can't believe it! But yes, single digits! SINGLE DIGITS!!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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