Thanksgiving @ WDW 2009; Crazy and Lovin' it! - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Yay!! I found your TR. I had been wondering if you were going to do one. I almost busted out laughing, because other than the number of kids we seem to be very much alike. I am a college student and substitute teacher also, but I only have 1 kid. Can't wait to mee you and the kids!
Yeah, your crazy! But it's a different kind of crazy, I believe that all of us here at PP understand. LOVE ASMovies! I also cannot wait to see Osborne Lights. Been there 4 times and have yet to see them!
Can't wait to read more!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Great start!
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Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
At least they are not all little. You do have some help with you. I think it is wonderful that you are that crazy.
My youngest DD is Madalyn too and we almost spell it alike as well.
I hope you guys have the greatest trip.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start!
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Originally Posted by dj1028
Can't wait to read more!
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Originally Posted by debrabrown
Good for you to take the kids. I'm sure you'll have an amazing time!!
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Originally Posted by lazanya
Great start! No you're not crazy for taking 5 kids. I'm sure you all will have a wonderful and magical time.
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Originally Posted by bfth
Crazy is good!
Thanks everyone! I know we will have a great time!
You are not crazy! I think it is great that you are going and taking all of your children!
Hey, when my boys were almost 3, 4 and 6, I took them to the MK for the first time with my friend who had four children, ages 10, 11, 8 and 6!
We drove from Indiana!!! Yep - 2 crazy ladies and 7 kids under the age of 10!
We had a blast!!!!
Great start to what I am sure will be a fun and entertaining trip!
Glad I'm not the only one willing to go with a ton of kids!
If I lived that close to Disney I'd be driving down there all the time.
I hope we feel that way after the trip!! I've only made a long drive with the kids one other time and it was a 12 plus hour drive to TX; after that I became a fan of flying; lol. But I really don't think this is going to be a bad drive at all! I actually think taking the drive to the airport, going thru security, DME, ect, ect in to account- we will be there close to the same time as if we flew....
Yay!! I found your TR. I had been wondering if you were going to do one. I almost busted out laughing, because other than the number of kids we seem to be very much alike. I am a college student and substitute teacher also, but I only have 1 kid. Can't wait to mee you and the kids!
I'm excited to meet you guys also! (Were almost there!) Wow, I didn't know we had so much in common either; too funny! See you soon......
Our Plans:
Friday November, 20th: I will pick up the kids from school and head straight to WDW. We are driving this year. I hope to arrive and check in at our resort All Star Movies by 8pm. Hopefully the kids do some sleeping on the drive so they will be well rested for the next day!
Saturday November 21st: We are on the Quick service dining plan. We were able to get the free dining! Even with the QSDP, I made two dining reservations. This morning we will be eating breakfast at O’hana’s. Our ressie is for 7:30 am. I made this so that Winston can meet Mickey Mouse right off the bat. I hope to be at the MK for opening by 9am. We do not park hop, so we will be at the MK all day. I also plan to meet up with Judi (lukeandbrookesmom) and also Pamela (pamelak) today at the park. I plan to take a little snack break with Judi and ride some coasters (hoping Space Mountain makes an early debut) with Pamela.
Sunday November, 22nd: Plan to be at Animal Kingdom for rope drop. They have a lot of great shows here and I hope to see them all!
Monday November 23rd: Back to the Magic Kingdom…. I plan to make rope drop and spend the day here.
Tuesday November, 24th: Hollywood Studios. I plan to make rope drop here also. There are so many rides and shows here that I want to see and do. This is our only day here, so we plan to just fit in as much as we can!
Wednesday November, 25th: This is our Epcot day. I plan to make rope drop. I hope to get in some time at both Future world and World Showcase. Last year, this was our favorite park!
Thursday November, 26th: Thanksgiving Day- I plan to avoid the parks this day. I want to go to Down Town Disney for some shopping and I am considering Disney Quest. I know the older boys really want to go, but I am just going to play it by ear. We have lunch reservations at T-Rex Café for 12 noon. There is a mini passporter meet at Beaches and Cream this evening at 7:30. I hope to attend, but that is late for us, so I’m not officially planning on it.
Friday November, 27th: This is our final Magic Kingdom day. I plan to make this a sleep in day and head to MK late in the afternoon with the hopes of seeing SpectroMagic Parade, we loved this last year!
Saturday November, 28th: This is our final park day and we will spend it at Epcot. I hope to finish up anything we didn’t get too on the first Epcot day.
Sunday November, 29th: Departure day- we have no plans this day. I do not plan to enter a park. The plan is really just to sleep in, leisurely pack, eat one last meal at the food court before heading home and back to reality. I’m sure the drive home will be much longer than the drive there, as it will be dread rather than excitement.
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Your plans look kgreat! We are doing Disney Quest on Wednesday afternoon. But if we get tired of DQ after a couple of hours, then we may go to AK for the EMH. I didn't know Judi would be there at the same time we are. That would be fun to meet up with her too and another mini-meet right there in MK. LOL
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Everything looks great. I am looking forward to hearing how you liked going during Thanksgiving week. I may consider it next year so I don't miss too much work and the girls too much school.
It is almost here.