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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Had a bit of catching up! Interesting about your certification.....my daughter just registered for AP English next school year
Nice on the side trip!!!
Thank you!
As for AP English - I hope she's prepared to write. It's going to be a BIG shock to my students who haven't been asked to do much intensive writing in our curriculum
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Phew! School is officially out for the boys (this past Thursday for the older 2, and Friday for the youngest) and Brian is done except for packing textbooks up. Our hectic pace is starting to slow to the gentle rhythm and laid back pace of summer Of course, I still have 7 more work days before I can begin my summer, but I'm no longer running around like a headless chicken...which leaves more time for changes
The side trip is going to b scaled back because....we have to purchase a new car. Currently we're decided between a Ford Flex (my choice) and another Town N Country (His choice)....for those of you on FB....you'll know why I don't want another Town and Country or Chrysler anything. It's a bit bitter sweet (and ironic) because both our current vehicles are paid off. Part of me isn't ready to give up the Sable....though we've put 300,000 miles on her, she did safely deliver each of our boys home from the hospital. She holds a special place in our hearts, but when she began leaking oil (cracked oil pan), and was diagnosed with a "faulty ball joint" and "bad ball bearings" she just can't be repaired without spending a lot of money for a 2000 year model with that many miles.
So, we've decided to stop in Valdosta, drive from there to Winterhaven where my friend will meet us for dinner, and the next day we'll tour Legoland and arrive at the Poly in the evening. Legoland is only open until 7 pm that night, and is a short drive from Orlando. I doubt we'll close the park down as the boys will be excited to get to WDW.
Back to Disney
July 19th is our Epcot day. I love this park, and could easily spend 2 full days here.
Originally, I had us visiting later in our trip to break up our string of days at MK, but with staying at the Poly, the monorail makes it really convenient to get here, and it gives the boys another ride on the coveted "wonder transportation" (per Patrick). Among other things, his list of "when I'm old and all grown up" jobs is monorail operator - specifically the Epcot line because it's the longest trip.
I had an irrationally tough time figuring out FP+ for this part, and our times started a bit earlier than I liked (I really dislike the tiers). We ended up with Test Track @ 10:35; Spaceship Earth @11:35 and Turtle Talk @1:15. *I'm trying to move Turtle talk up a bit - hoping to be able to schedule a 4th FP for Soarin' for later in the day/evening. I made sure Test Track was our priority #1 because it was closed for renovation on our last trip...though I'm tempted to schedule it a bit later just to have a reason to try out the Gourmet Grilled Cheese sandwiches near there. I read Cam's review and loved her picture of the menu. It's been added to my notes, so thanks Cam!
We will take a mid day break today because this park seems to require a bit more walking than the others - maybe because there aren't many rides in the WS countries? I'm not sure, but it's the park the tires out the boys the quickest.
We have an evening ADR at 6:25 for the Biergarten. It's new to my family, and really new to me since my only visit was back in 1989. My Dad was pulled up on stage by the band ...my mom swears it's because my Dad looked like Clark W. Griswold - even down to similar tortoise rimmed glasses
I WILL make it to illuminations this night....we have yet to see this evening show, even though we saw glimpses from our balcony at the BC, I don't really count that as seeing the show.
This is also our final night at the Poly before we move to the AoA. We plan on getting up on our own time the next morning, so staying for 9 pm fireworks shouldn't be a huge issue.
Up Next: 'Ohana means Family
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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I am so excited for you getting Biergarten. Even though we aren't doing it I this trip, it sure is a family favorite. Your plans sound fabulous!!! It is really coming close now.
Your plans sound wonderful!! I also think the tier system at Epcot stinks! We have never really needed a FP for any of the 2nd tier attractions. I'm sorry your Legoland trip is getting snipped a bit, but it still sounds really fun and you are getting a neeeeew car!! I hope you do get to Illuminations! It's wonderful and makes me cry!
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Glad that you are already feeling a more relaxed schedule with the end of school. Great Epcot plans! Hope you all get a chance to try Taste Track. We both truly enjoyed it. Good luck seeing Illuminations, too. ixie;
I have to say I hate the tiered system of Fastpasses at Epcot - like others, we've never really needed Fastpasses for those second tier attractions. I hope you get to see IllumiNations - it's my favourite show at Disney!
so glad your school year is over. I remember with great fondness wonderful afternoons at the pool when my kids were young. I would leave work early and we would spend the afternoon in a near empty pool (there were family hours where you needed an adult). No rush, no stress.
Enjoy your time and good luck with your new car. I am a lover of old cars and still am sad that my Camry station wagon never made the 300K mark. It has been a goal of mine. Congrats on making it.
I am so excited for you getting Biergarten. Even though we aren't doing it I this trip, it sure is a family favorite. Your plans sound fabulous!!! It is really coming close now.
You're getting to eat at several restaurants we considered but just couldn't fit in I can't believe we're under 45 days to go!!!!!!
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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Great plans! See you at the Poly, we arrive on your bday!
We'll be at the pool that afternoon! If you see us, you should stop by and say hi I can't wait to get there!
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
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Sorry for the "mass" reply, but my computer is being a pain and won't let me reply to all at once - it just gives me the last post I add to the list Today isn't looking good for technology, which could be a problem at work.
We're now under 45 days for our trip My oldest said to me yesterday, "the trip is sooo close Momma that I can actually taste a Mickey Bar in my future" He was eating vanilla ice cream with home made chocolate sauce at the time.
We've had a few more "tweaks" to the plan.
The middle boy has decided that EE is a MUST, MUST ride for him but his brother's weren't too sure, so I figured out how to "split" FP's so Patrick and I now have a FP+ while Brian takes his brothers to meet Minnie and Mickey. I feel incredibly accomplished that I figured it out!
Next? After a lot of Disney math, complete with a spreadsheet for our TS and possible QS meals, we called Sunday and added the basic Dining Plan to the reservation at the Poly. IF I did the math correctly, we'll come out almost $150 a head this way. What was the "tipping point?" I realized every.single.ADR was either a buffet or a Family Style "all you care to eat", The other tipping point? The summer surcharge the TS have (they're priced higher - like Christmas). The surcharge doesn't affect the cost of the DP, so I hope my math is correct. Either way, I'm going to be able to relax a bit because we've paid for 1/2 our food up front.
I didn't have to "tweak" much in that the 2nd half of our trip has only one lone ADR, Brunch at Chef Mickey's. I did this purposefully knowing we'll have an in room microwave, and a small area where we can prep the boys' favorite foods.
Finally, because we're now on the DP, Brian said it made sense to book Cape May because it's a great way to maximize our $. It was closed for refurbishment when we stayed at the BC, so I'm excited to say we've moved my birthday dinner from 1900 Park Faire to Cape May. I love crab legs, Patrick loves shrimp and fish...and Brian and Nolan love meat, so this seems to be a great fit for us
Oh, and yesterday? I got an email saying our Magic Bands are ready to ship!
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Of course, I still have 7 more work days before I can begin my summer, but I'm no longer running around like a headless chicken...which leaves more time for changes 
I hope you do get to Illuminations! It's wonderful and makes me cry!
Great Epcot plans! 
ixie;
Good luck with the new car purchase! 
Dana
Today isn't looking good for technology, which could be a problem at work.
My oldest said to me yesterday, "the trip is sooo close Momma that I can actually taste a Mickey Bar in my future" He was eating vanilla ice cream with home made chocolate sauce at the time.
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