Back to Back Double Dip Dream June 2017 PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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for your DMIL. I agree that she sounds like a very strong person and I hope all goes well for her. Your trip will be here before you know it and it sounds like heaven. We did the chocolate and liquor tasting on our 1st cruise and it was wonderful. I hope you get to enjoy one as well.
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. Jenn
Lots of for your DMIL. She does sound like a strong character, after everything she's been through.
Wow, your trip is coming up really fast - it'll be here before you know it. Your plans sound wonderful, lots of time to relax.
It really is coming up - I still have a ton to do! (that post is next). Thanks for the pixies, Cheryl!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
for your MIL
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeL
Checking in here and will keep your DMIL in discussions with GUS as well.
Thanks Mike!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Wishing your MIL the best and considering what she's been through, she'll need it!
Plans look good for your Disney stay and cruise. Hope you enjoy Frontera Cocina and Morimoto's as those are the two DS eateries I dined at last year.
Thanks. We've been to both places and loved them! So they were on the "must do" short list for this trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
for your MIL!
I would love to celebrate my birthday at Castaway Cay and Palo!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
We were going to go to Palo ON my actual birthday but we moved it be a day because we don't really care for the Pirate Night menu.
Quote:
Originally Posted by manticorjenn
for your DMIL. I agree that she sounds like a very strong person and I hope all goes well for her. Your trip will be here before you know it and it sounds like heaven. We did the chocolate and liquor tasting on our 1st cruise and it was wonderful. I hope you get to enjoy one as well.
Thanks! The trip is coming up fast! I hope we can do it at least ONCE in either cruise!
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Thanks for all of the pixies for my MIL. We went out to see her yesterday (Mother's Day) and she's in good spirits. She is going forward with scans and surgical consult. She and Chuck are getting together Tuesday afternoon and going over Wills and Trusts and Banking, etc. She insisted. It's a smart thing to do yet no one wants to. We had a good visit and I made a late lunch/early dinner. She sent us home with lilacs - my favorite! I feel better after seeing her. She has no problem talking about the situation and I'm relieved that she is comfortable.
Plans for the next few weeks -
Oye! I can't believe that we are almost 2 weeks out - this is down to the wire panic time!
Today 5/15 - off, sort clothes, do housework (and obviously procrastinating by typing this up ).
Tues 5/16 - work (I work 12 hours until 3 in the am so that's pretty much all I can do).
Wed 5/17 - off - I need to go shopping for bras/undies/any clothes that I may need
Thurs 5/18 - Work
Fri 5/19 - Work
Sat 5/20 - off. Another day to go shopping if I don't manage to on Wednesday. Chuck has his final weekend of the play and tonight (after the play) he has a Marine reunion that he wants to take me to. I just don't think we are going to be able to do it all.
Sun 5/21 - Work
Mon 5/22 - Go shopping for trial sizes, Khols with Chuck (he needs new shorts) after his work. Maybe get a pedicure? Pay bills. Make sure bill pay is set for the next few weeks.
Tues 5/23 - Pedicure if I can't on Monday. Grocery shop (I cook for the kids so they can eat well while watching the house).
Wed 5/24 - Work
Thurs 5/25 - Work
Fri 5/26 & Sat 5/27 - Cook, Clean and Pack
Sun 5/28 Work
Mon 5/29 - Work
Tues 5/30 - VACATION!!!! Final pack, clean, organize - etc.
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
So we have 11 days until vacation - 5 of which I have to work. Working for me usually takes up half of the following day off because I work until 3:30 am. So I can't really plan anything before 2 pm the following day. But I have this (I think) all worked out.
I work Sunday (until 3:30 am Monday)
Monday - I have an appt for my pedicure at 3 pm. I'm going to try to get some banking done too. I have to withdraw money from one bank and then go to a separate bank (service center) to put money on our travel cards.
Tuesday - I'm off so I need to go get bras and undergarments (two different stores) I may also look for some new water shoes (the $12 ones I got from Amazon fit weird. They are ok but if I can find some that are better . . .) and I want to look for a tankini top.
Wed/Thurs - work
Friday/Sat - Grocery shop/banking (if I don't get it done earlier)/cooking and start packing. Get everything set and ready to wash to pack. I always cook for the kids - this year it's meat pies, cookies and chili.
Sunday/Monday - work (Holiday time on Monday!!!!).
Tuesday - final packing and kids coming over to "move in" so they can stay the night and then take us to the airport in the am.
We've got some shorts for Chuck (but they seem to be a bit too long - which is weird because he is 6'4") so we've ordered some new ones (hopefully, they will be here in time). We did some travel size shopping but still have some left over from our last trips that we have to go through. (who doesn't have a travel size bin that they go through at home?).
So sounds like I'm all "put together" right? Well - here's my sources of anxiety.
1 - I work in the ER. I can't afford to "catch" anything right now.
2 - I've been having weird pains lately. I've had some stomach bloat and gallbladder pain lately (over the past couple weeks). So much so that I had a friend of mine do a quick Ultrasound to check for stones. (I have no stones and no thickening - no signs of disease). Yay! But these weird pains move. Gallbladder/liver to stomach to lower abdomen to kidneys to back. I think it's just my body trying to tell me "hey - you're getting old!"
3 - Always worried about Chuck. Worried about him and the heat. We've never been in FL this early in the summer. I'm concerned about traveling with his CPAP. Worried about him and his heart condition and being out in the middle of nowhere. I know that the ship has a very qualified infirmary. I just always worry about him. I know he will be fine and he is having his pacemaker check the day after we get back. This "Chuck worry" is standard. It's an ongoing thing. I just deal.
4 - I'm worried about Abby. For the past few days, she has been acting funny. Not just because we have everything out and she knows we are leaving. I think she hurt herself. She hasn't been jumping up to greet us (like she normally does) and every time she jumps onto the bed - she whines. I think she hurt her back. We have a runner on the back stairs (because it's Pergo and she needs carpet) but the carpet tape has lost it's "sticky" and I think she skidded. She also got underfoot the other night and I accidentally stepped on her. So I don't know which one (or maybe both) hurt her but I think she's feeling it. Good news is that she had this last December and we still have muscle relaxant and NSAID medication for her. We'll see how that works. I just don't like leaving a sick/broken animal for the kids to watch. Our vet is very good though and if there were a problem - they would take care of her and we could square up the bill when we get back. So the kids don't have to worry about that!
5 - Worry about my DMiL. She is still going forth with her CT scans and Surgical consults. She got mad when I suggested that we cancel. Her words were "There's really nothing you can do anyway". I (being a nurse, in control of everything) have a hard time with that. But I get it. She also is in no pain and in really good spirits. If it were any different - we would not be going.
So - Chuck says I worry too much. I think these are substantiated concerns - I'm just working around them.
Next time I post will probably be in SINGLE DIGITS!!! It's just freaky how this is flying by!
I have one thing to perhaps look into/concern yourself with. My Gram had a Oxygen machine on board when we cruised with Carnival back in 2007 and it was a nightmare. The ships electrical current ran in circuits and every so many minutes it would set off the alarms similar to a power surge. So my question for you is does Chucks CPAP have an alarm? How does it handle power surges etc? You might want to consider packing a surge protector just in case.
Winding down now and looks like you have all of the shopping well planned out. Hope you are feeling better and you are right about the pains you suffer from time to time and just age!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I have one thing to perhaps look into/concern yourself with. My Gram had a Oxygen machine on board when we cruised with Carnival back in 2007 and it was a nightmare. The ships electrical current ran in circuits and every so many minutes it would set off the alarms similar to a power surge. So my question for you is does Chucks CPAP have an alarm? How does it handle power surges etc? You might want to consider packing a surge protector just in case.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
It does have an alarm. I've asked for a surge protector as well as some distilled water for our room. Hopefully that will be all we need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Winding down now and looks like you have all of the shopping well planned out. Hope you are feeling better and you are right about the pains you suffer from time to time and just age!
Thanks - I'm sure that's the case. It sucks getting old! lol!
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It does have an alarm. I've asked for a surge protector as well as some distilled water for our room. Hopefully that will be all we need.
I hope so. I did not anticipate being awoken once an hour to reset my Gram's. Even though the power was instantly restored it still triggered the alarm which had to be manually reset each time. You may want to see if you can override Chuck's so you are not awoken constantly through the night. I appreciate how sensitive those machines are, I just had no warning about the electrical current. So just a heads up to you all.
Coop just my 2 cents worth. Ninety Pct. of what we worry about NEVER comes to pass. Not to say some of your concerns aren't real and to down play them but if you want to hear God laugh, Tell him YOUR plans.
As to DMIL and Abby post phone numbers for her docs and LOCAL EMS services on the fridge so kids have those numbers handy if needed. With Abby I would try Baby Aspirin( Our Harmony was a pain in this so I dissolved it in her water) and maybe some CoSequin (Tell it is candy) and it will most likely help.
Yo have surge protector for the CPAP advice re alarm sounds good too. As for Chuck tell him to SUCK IT UP MARINE I am the Gunny and you will do what I say if you see things are getting too much for him nothing says you can't call a halt and redirect where the day is taking you. ( BTW I think he would look cute in Hot Pants Just saying)