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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
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I woke up bright and early at 2:30AM. We had showered and done all of our last minute running around the night before...really just a couple of hours before. We didn't get to bed until 11:45! We were too excited to sleep. For once, everything ran very smoothly, and we had our luggage loaded into the van and were on our way by 3:00...sort of.
We had to stop at the bank to deposit our roommate's portion of the deposit for our 2013 trip at the ATM (the bank is two minutes from our apartment), and then swing back by the apartment complex to mail the thank you cards from my baby shower. The reason we did it this way, which seems backwards, is that there are two separate parts of our apartments, and the part where the mailbox is was on our way to my dad's house. Since my dad was going to drive us and then keep the van in his driveway for us, this just made more sense than doing it the other way around. (Not that any of you really care, but I felt the need to explain our odd choice...)
By the time those two last minute errands were done, we were still running early (for once). This is a very odd occurrence. Whenever David's mom drives us...we run very late. She is always trying to do last minute stuff for us that is very nice, but sets us back on time. It's sort of frustrating.
Anyway.
Dad hopped in the van when we got to his house, since we had decided that transferring all the luggage to his car didn't really make sense, and that he could just drive our van back from the airport. Dad and I chatted and listened to the radio while David snoozed in the back.
We got to the airport at about 4:30. I had checked us in online and paid our baggage fees, so all we needed to do was print our boarding passes at the Delta kiosk and then hand over our bags. I proceeded to have a minor heart attack when the kiosk printed only one boarding pass for me - for the Seattle to Minneapolis flight, but not for the MSP to MCO flight - but printed both boarding passes for David. My husband, however, suggested I try re-printing them before I gave into panic completely. The second time both of them printed just fine. So, not sure what that was about, but it turned out just fine in the end.
I was really concerned about going through security this year since I was pregnant and really didn't want to go through one of the new scanners, but had heard Seattle now required everyone to go through them or submit to a pat-down. I decided I would rather have a pat-down than go through the new scanners, and it upped my anxiety level considerably. With my PTSD, I don't really do well with strangers touching me, and I had never had a pat-down before, so that added to my fears.
My fears turned out to be unnecessary, however. Everyone ahead of me, including David, went through the full body scanners, but the guard glanced at my belly and waved me through the metal detector instead. I paused after I walked through, expecting a pat-down, but she waved me on with a bored and uninterested look on her face. Okay, then. Not goin' to argue! : I wonder if that's what they do with pregnant ladies as a matter of course.
We decided to get some breakfast at Wendy's. David grabbed a table while I got the food. I couldn't find him after they handed me the food, so I finally plunked the tray down on a random table and called him. "Where the heck are you?" (Except I didn't say heck...I was really tired...I don't normally swear at my husband...) I sort of sounded pretty exasperated and impatient when I said it, and I must have been louder than I realized, because two ladies sitting at a nearby table cracked up laughing and grinned overat me, highly amused.
I felt bad for snapping at him when he told me where he was. He had chosen a table sort of around the corner because it had a spectacular view of the moon and he thought I would enjoy the semi-privacy, as the table was sort of away from the crowds, and he knows I feel ill at ease in crowds. He's such a love.
We meandered our way to the train that took us out to the terminal where our gate was, and only had a short wait before boarding. Once we were on the plane, I was keeping my fingers crossed that we would have our row to ourselves, because the flight attendants were closing all the overhead bins and announcing that people needed to take their seats so we could begin making our way to the runway. I was sitting on the aisle, which I have never done before, because being able to look out the window made me feel less claustrophobic.
Anyway, I saw a woman making her way down the aisle, and I made a face at David because I was sure she was going to sit in our row. But she passed us, slamming into me in the process. I rubbed my shoulder and complained to David about people being careless, seconds before she slammed into me going back the other way down the aisle. What the heck, lady! Watch where you're going!
Right as I had decided that we were going to be lucky and not have anyone in our row, the same lady who slammed into me twice came back and stopped at our row. "This is me!" She said it very brightly and all happy-like. I smiled as best I could in response and moved out of the way so David could get out of her way and we could all get seated.
The woman turned out to be very kind. She closed the window shade, and I leaned over and asked if she could leave it open so I could see out. She cheerfully flipped it back up, and we started talking about how beautiful it was above the clouds, and then we ended up talking for quite a while about nothing in particular. David was fast asleep in between us, so we were talking past him. Midway through the flight, she and I both started watching the movie, so our conversation sort of faded.
Just before we landed, we started chatting again, and I asked her where she was headed. She told me that her father was picking her up at that airport - and that she hadn't seen him in 25 years! I wished her the best of luck. And she pointed at my very pregnant belly and said "Best of luck to you, and congrats!"
When I had checked our gate number for the connecting flight online the day before, it showed it as being right next to our arrival gate, and I was ecstatic about that. But when we got there and checked the gate on the screen, our flight had been moved to a completely different terminal, and it was already boarding.
So, being as pregnant as I was, I couldn't run, but I did hurry along as fast as I could. I felt a slight twinge in my heel as we were hurrying, but it was more annoying than painful. (Remember this - it's important later.)
We made our flight and were seated next to a woman with an adorable four month old baby who kept me entertained most of the flight, as he kept smiling at me and cooing.
My legs were starting to hurt me pretty badly by this point. They were getting really swollen. I did everything the doctor had told me to - flexing my legs, rotating my ankles, walking the aisle, standing occasionally - but they still hurt, and I was very glad when they made the announcement that we were starting our descent.
Once we were off the plane, David and I were both smiling, feeling great. Just being at the airport in FL makes us happy, because it feels like we're coming home again.
After a quick stop at the restrooms, we made our way to the DME, where we were quickly let on a bus. I commented to David twice about how gorgeous the weather was - sunny with hardly any clouds. We had left rainy and cold weather behind at home, so we were glad to see the sun.
I was bummed that the light messed this picture up, because it would be super cute otherwise!
When they played the "Making Memories" video on the bus, I cried. David was like "I would blame this on you being pregnant, but didn't you cry during the video last year, too?" I punched his shoulder, and he laughed at me.
The first stop was Art of Animation, and David and I "oohed" and "ahhed" over it. We thought it looked pretty awesome, and we decided to walk over to take a look at it at some point during our trip.
The second stop was Pop Century! ("Yay! We're here, we're here, we're here!" I am such a child...) When we walked into the lobby, I started to cry again. David asked me what was wrong, and I said "Absolutely nothing is wrong! We're home!" I think my hormones were on overdrive...I don't usually cry when we get to the hotel! (Although, walking into the lobby of the hotel for the first time on any Disney trip is one of my absolute favorite parts of the vacation!)
We went to the online check-in desk, where a CM named Brittany helped us. She was very sweet. I asked if they had a "First Visit" pin that I could put on my belly (it was Briana's first visit after all ), but she said she was out. She offered to give me an "I'm Celebrating" pin to wear until I could get one from the parks, but I said I would just wait.
We were in room 4322. We were in the 60's section, but this year we were facing away from the pool, thank goodness. Last year we kind of got Justin Bieber overload, and it was difficult to take naps during the day because of the loud music! And we were also only a couple rooms away from the elevators, which was a huge blessing!
We walked into our room and the first thing I said was "Our room is backwards!" Every other year we have stayed at Disney World, we've had a room where we walked in and the beds were on our right. This year, the beds were on our left, and it just felt...weird! David, who really hates change, pretended to be traumatized. He pretend-wailed "I don't like change!"
I don't mean to make a big deal out of it, but I actually felt out of sorts for a day or two until I got used to it. I think part of the reason I didn't like it is that the phone and clock were on David's side of the bed. And since he never wakes up to the wake up call or the alarm going off, I had to either get up and walk around the bed or crawl over him to hit the snooze button or answer the phone. Do you think the people at the desk would think I was crazy if I asked specifically for a room with the bed on the right next year?
Anyway, we dumped off our stuff in the room and then headed down to get dinner at the food court. Since our gate had been changed, we hadn't had the time to get lunch like we planned during the layover, so we hadn't eaten (other than snack crackers on the plane) since we had breakfast at Wendy's. My pregnant belly was starving!
We both had Angus Bacon BBQ Cheeseburgers. David had chocolate cake for dessert, and I tried the cheesecake. It was not the best, and I only ate a bite or two before I decided I was done with my dessert and stole some of David's cake. The CM who rung up our dinner was quite grumpy. We were tying to engage him in a little small talk, and he was flat out ignoring us. He barely said "hello" or "goodbye." I was not impressed. :
After dinner we headed back up to the room, where we fell asleep waiting for our luggage to arrive. We woke up when they knocked, tipped bell services, put all our clothes away in the dresser, set our wake up call for 6:45, I took notes, and we both crawled into bed and were fast asleep by 10:30.
Coming up next: Day 2 - Watch out for spitting camels!
Shew! You made it! I totally understand your feeling about the room being "backwards". If the bed is on the opposite side of a room than I am use to, I feel discombobulated.
Wonderful start! Briana is just so adorable! Can't wait to read about your trip.
Thank you! I'm hoping to get another post up soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Glad you've start, Jess! Love the new sig pic, too!
Thanks! I like that picture, too. I wish I had taken it about two seconds earlier. She had a big smile on her face. Of course by the time I snapped it, she wasn't smiling anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
I'm glad you started! I'm looking forward to hearing all about your trip
I'll try not to keep you waiting very long!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Great start! Briana is precious!
Thanks! We think she is pretty adorable and loveable!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bsblady01
great start more please
Coming up soon!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
What a beautiful baby! I'm so glad you decided to write this!
Thank you! I'm excited to write it. And then I'll start my PTR for next year's trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MomOnTheGo
I'm looking forward to reading more. Your daughter is precious.
Thank you so much!
Quote:
Originally Posted by xrosario
Yay! Great start.
Thanks! Hoping to get more up soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexiemom
Shew! You made it! I totally understand your feeling about the room being "backwards". If the bed is on the opposite side of a room than I am use to, I feel discombobulated.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. It was actually something that bothered me periodically throughout the trip. I hope next year the bed is on the "correct" side of the room!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by sc507
Joining in! Your DD is gorgeous
Thanks so much! We think she's the most beautiful baby in the world...but then again, she's ours, so we're kind of biased.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sc507
Now I'm caught up - glad you made it safe and sound!
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This is a very odd occurrence. Whenever David's mom drives us...we run very late. She is always trying to do last minute stuff for us that is very nice, but sets us back on time. It's sort of frustrating. 
: I wonder if that's what they do with pregnant ladies as a matter of course.
What the heck, lady! Watch where you're going!
), but she said she was out. She offered to give me an "I'm Celebrating" pin to wear until I could get one from the parks, but I said I would just wait. 
The CM who rung up our dinner was quite grumpy. We were tying to engage him in a little small talk, and he was flat out ignoring us. He barely said "hello" or "goodbye." I was not impressed. 
PassPorter Guide Author
I was worried about the woman on the first flight, but I'm so glad she turned out to be great company. 
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