Our First Christmas in the World - COMPLETED 3/26 - Page 19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
Great pics from TOW but I love the one of the Castle (Coop's House) lit up.
Had to go back and check outsort of what date this was as our trip later this year mirrors you dates and based on crowds we may try to do evening EMH same nights you did
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Great ending to your evening with Wishes from the Top of he World lounge and then EMH at MK!
Taking advantage of the late night fun is one way to make every minute count at WDW! But it's so funny because when we're home, I'm falling asleep on the couch by 9:00! Can't believe we stayed up so late so many nights in a row!
Great pics from TOW but I love the one of the Castle (Coop's House) lit up.
Had to go back and check outsort of what date this was as our trip later this year mirrors you dates and based on crowds we may try to do evening EMH same nights you did
Yeah, I realized part way through that I didn't put dates on top of each entry. Sorry.
Our trip was November 28 - December 5, and it really was a great time to be there.
Yeah, I realized part way through that I didn't put dates on top of each entry. Sorry.
Our trip was November 28 - December 5, and it really was a great time to be there.
Ours is from 18Nov x 7Dec and After years of watching Christmas parade and seeing for myself what happens on special times ie Halloween and around Thanksgiving on past trips I can't wait to see Christmas themeing Thats what made Lucille want to go then plus hope for a bit cooler weather than we had in Sep
I just found this TR. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures and details. I learned so much so far that I will remember for our upcoming trip (the line outside Via Napoli, for example. I'll be sure to check in inside for our ADR!). The lounge at the Top of BLT~ do you have to be 21 to get in? DH and I have teenagers and younger ones as well. We are DVC members but usually have minors with us! Wondering if we can check out wishes from there or is it adults only? Loving this report!
Ours is from 18Nov x 7Dec and After years of watching Christmas parade and seeing for myself what happens on special times ie Halloween and around Thanksgiving on past trips I can't wait to see Christmas themeing Thats what made Lucille want to go then plus hope for a bit cooler weather than we had in Sep
So glad you are able to plan a "Christmas" trip! It REALLY puts you in the Christmas spirit! As for the weather, yes it will be cooler. And you have to really plan for anything. We dressed in layers because mornings and evenings are on the cool side. But during the day, it can get nice and warm.
I just found this TR. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures and details. I learned so much so far that I will remember for our upcoming trip (the line outside Via Napoli, for example. I'll be sure to check in inside for our ADR!). The lounge at the Top of BLT~ do you have to be 21 to get in? DH and I have teenagers and younger ones as well. We are DVC members but usually have minors with us! Wondering if we can check out wishes from there or is it adults only? Loving this report!
Thanks for reading along! So glad you are enjoying it! As for Top of the World, there were definitely families up there, but I would imagine that anyone underage has to have a parent with them. The elevator takes you up to the 16th floor (you actually have to be escorted up there because it's DVC only, so they look at your card and then take you into the elevator and use a key to get up to the 16th floor). Once you get up there you can just go out on the observation deck and not even go into the lounge.
We woke up around 8:00, showered and ate breakfast in the room, and were on our way downstairs by 8:40. I stopped at the desk to pay our room charges, but the computers were down. We made our way over to MK and just as we arrived two resort buses and the monorail were all unloading, unfortunately all in front of us! If I hadn’t stopped at the desk, we’d have been in the security line before the crowds. Oh well. Once we were in the park, we grabbed FPs for the princesses and then walked down Main Street and toward Liberty Square.
There was a 15 minute wait for Hall of Presidents, so we browsed around by the Liberty Bell taking some pictures. Then we noticed there was a PP photographer taking our picture.
He walked up to us, and we gave him our PP card, and then we chatted for a while. He and his wife live in an RV, 6 months of the year in Orlando, 6 months up North on their daughter and son-in-law’s property. When they’re in Florida, they both work at Disney – how fun! Pretty soon it was time for HoP to start so we excused ourselves and went in to the show. There were only about 3 other families in the theater, so it felt like our own private showing!
Then we went back to use our FPs for the princesses.
After that we headed for Adventureland. Along the way we stopped for a Dole Whip. A first for us! It was very refreshing and really hit the spot!
We saw Jasmine, but didn’t stand in line for a picture.
About This Page: 
PassPorter Guide Author
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
the walk to MK is most definitely one of the pluses at BLT! 
Sorry.
Love the pictures! 
Linear Mode
