Three, it’s a magic number - 11/29-12/6/11 - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Itinerary:
I should first mention that we’re all early-to-bed, early-to-rise. So a park opening at 9:00 a.m. is a piece of cake (mmm… cupcakes for breakfast…) . We almost always go back for a mid-day break/swim/shower/re-charge, and then up in bed at a reasonable hour at night. We’ll see how we do, but the days are all broken into two parts assuming we’ll take a rest. We have 8-day Park Hopper passes. We may only be there for a couple hours on our arrival and departure days, but adding days at that point is peanuts.
Day 1: arrive, MK for a while (closes at 7:00 for MVMCP), return to explore the resort, swim, unpack.
Day 2: Epcot morning, a nice rest, then MVMCP - a surprise for the kids. We had done MNSSHP when they were too young, so I think their heads are going to burst with excitement about this.
Day 3: AK morning, HS evening – will see Osborne Lights, Fantasmic, or both. The pressure’s off, now that Fantasmic is showing every night. We loved it the first trip, but skipped it the second trip because of the crowds.
Day 4: Islands of Adventure (did I mention that my kids are Harry Potter freaks? Well, guess where they got it). DH was actually at a conference in Orlando in January where they closed WWoHP at 6:00 p.m. for their group – about 600 people. He walked on to the Dragon coaster several times, did all the shops, and FJ (which turned out to be too much for him – but he made it to the bathroom in time. He swears it’s because they did the Dragon coaster about 5 times in 25 minutes). He’s not too eager to return, but he really wants to see the looks on the kids’ faces. We’ll see how long we stay – we’ll wander through Seussland and Jurassic Park, but the kids don’t know any of the other characters and aren’t real thrill-junkies (BTMR is perfect, not Rip Ride Rocket). I’d love to see Hogwarts at night, but we’ll get there at opening and I don’t see us staying all day. We’ll play that evening by ear (DTD for shopping?).
Day 5: Epcot morning, DHS evening
Day 6: MK morning?, AK afternoon?
Day 7: HS morning?, Epcot evening?
Day 8: pack, probably hit MK for a couple hours before our flight at 3:00.
Overall: Lots of Epcot and MK time, but still a full day at AK & DHS. During about the 170-day mark, I made the color-coded spreadsheet (and I say I’m spontaneous), and it’s pretty well spread out. Lots of optional down-time, especially toward the end of the trip, if we think we’ve “done” a park.
This all being said, I'm absolutely fine throwing (almost) all the plans out the window. You'll see why soon...
I love the secret trips, they are so fun to surprise the kids with!
Can't beat the price to stay with more room. Sometimes it is worth it.
We can't wait to got to WWOHP, my oldest DD and I are HP junkies too!
Thanks, all! I didn't know if I'd get flak for all the question marks. I realized that my fancy color-coded spreadsheet makes it look like it's all in stone - but our real goal this trip is to go with the flow! So after I typed the itinerary into my PTR, I went back and added the question marks.
I love the secret trips, they are so fun to surprise the kids with!
Can't beat the price to stay with more room. Sometimes it is worth it.
We can't wait to got to WWOHP, my oldest DD and I are HP junkies too!
So much fun! Every now and then I'll have a quiet moment and start thinking about the reveal - no lightbulbs over my head yet, but I'll keep you updated.
Yeah, though I was an onsite-snob. We'll see how I feel afterwards! I think DH is going to looooove the extra space and privacy. He's one of those no-speck-of-light-and-no-noise-in-the-world-or-I-can't-sleep kind of people. We all have our quirks!
I'm busting to see WWOHP. Even if we only spend 2 hours in the park, I'll be so happy!
WWoHP was IMHO the only thing worth going to IoA for The whole feel of the area was great If you get a Butterbeer I recommend getting a straw of having some handiwipes to clean up with afterwards
Woohoo! It's our one-month countdown! One month from right now, we'll be at the airport waiting to board!
Food:
A large part of deciding about on- or off-property was the Dining Plan. Yes, I know we’re crazy, but we are staying off-property during free dining.
But we did free dining for the last two trips, and it’s really too much food for us. I know, I know, I’m staring right down the throat of that gift horse, but we were tired of planning our trip around restaurants. And if we’re not doing the DDP, the motivation to pay on-site prices goes down.
So, without further ado, our not-to-be-tied-down ADRs:
One Crystal Palace breakfast (loooove walking down an empty Main Street) One Boma dinner (DD’s birthday, her favorite restaurant in the world – real or Disney) One Tutto Italia dinner (DH’s one request)
Everything else will be CS or big snacks (turkey legs, fish & chips, etc.). Being close to DTD, we might end up there for lunches or early dinners (we’ve never eaten at WPE! ), and there are several eating options at the resort.
Or maybe we’ll have Mickey Bars for all our other meals. I'm fine with that!
Must-do snacks: Dole Whip, ice cream cookie sandwich at MSB, Mickey pretzels, caramel from Germany, Kringri La (sp?), and did I mention the Mickey bars?
I am the same way now that we have been with and without the dining plan. This last trip we only did the QSDP and it worked well for us and planned two sit down meals, but only ended up doing one of them. I think the next trip I am going without the DP and will have the girls split meals. They are 10 & 11 now and would have to pay adult price and they don't eat like adults, so it is definitely going to be cheaper to go without it. Plus I am like you and don't want to have to plan around meals, we just want to go with the flow and eat when we feel like it. I can't wait to see how you guys like it without it.
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. We almost always go back for a mid-day break/swim/shower/re-charge, and then up in bed at a reasonable hour at night. We’ll see how we do, but the days are all broken into two parts assuming we’ll take a rest. We have 8-day Park Hopper passes. We may only be there for a couple hours on our arrival and departure days, but adding days at that point is peanuts.
He swears it’s because they did the Dragon coaster about 5 times in 25 minutes). He’s not too eager to return, but he really wants to see the looks on the kids’ faces. We’ll see how long we stay – we’ll wander through Seussland and Jurassic Park, but the kids don’t know any of the other characters and aren’t real thrill-junkies (BTMR is perfect, not Rip Ride Rocket). I’d love to see Hogwarts at night, but we’ll get there at opening and I don’t see us staying all day. We’ll play that evening by ear (DTD for shopping?).
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