Our "No time for relaxation on this Disneymoon" pre-trip report - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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.
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.
Booked our Hotel, Finally! But there were a few surprises that I wish I knew. We got a lot of Disney gift cards for our wedding and bridal shower, so most of our hotel was able to be paid for with them. Today I went to Giant Eagle (a grocery store that gives us money off per gallon of gas for every $50 spent) and bought the rest of the gift cards that I needed to pay for our room. I put in my info and went to pay and realized that I only had to pay a deposit of $92. I was a bit puzzled; I was ready to pay it all! Well I guess you pay only a deposit and the rest when you check in. I really wish I knew this, I would have booked the room a few weeks ago when they had the $30 off promotion going on L I was really disappointed that I wasn’t aware of this. As bummed as I am, I have to be happy to know that we have 26 days until our trip! On a side note, we celebrated Christmas with my grandmother last night and she got us travel toiletries in a cute case, ponchos, umbrellas and a Disney gift card for our trip!
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So getting close to the trip, 24 days away! Yay !!!! I love to measure things in terms of weekends, so only 3 weekends until I go! I have a few questions to ask, maybe you guys can help me out.
1. Where do I buy the refillable mugs? I don't have a dining plan.
2. If I buy Disney park tickets from a 3rd party, is it possible to get them transferred to my key to the world?
3. I can still get pics taken by a cast member and buy a photo-pass CD later right?
4. If my flight gets in at 8:20 pm, how late will it be when we get our bags?
5. Do people still swim in the pool in January?
As to your questions, I can answer a couple of them.
1. Where do I buy the refillable mugs? I don't have a dining plan. We've never done the dining plan, but get our mugs at the quick service restaurant at our resort or the gift shop (as at BC's Marketplace).
3. I can still get pics taken by a cast member and buy a photo-pass CD later right? Absolutely!
1. Where do I buy the refillable mugs? I don't have a dining plan.
At the QS restaurant at the resort.
2. If I buy Disney park tickets from a 3rd party, is it possible to get them transferred to my key to the world?
I'm pretty sure we did this when we went in 2009. You just have to ask at your resort and give them your tickets. At least that's what I'm remembering.
3. I can still get pics taken by a cast member and buy a photo-pass CD later right?
Yes, but if you think you are going to purchase the CD you should pre-order it to save some $$. I'm pretty sure that you can get a refund of the pre-order if you aren't happy with the pictures. We were so happy we did this on our honeymoon. Our "self" shots just looked funny and it was so nice to have pictures of the two of us on our honeymoon. The photographers will do fun poses with you if you tell them you are on your honeymoon. We LOVED our pictures.
4. If my flight gets in at 8:20 pm, how late will it be when we get our bags?
I'm assuming you mean with DME. They say 3 hours, but I've heard people complain that it sometimes takes longer. We had ours within 2 hours, but we arrived earlier. Also note that if your flight gets delayed past a certain time (I think maybe 10PM) you have to go get your own bags. Check on that fact though as I'm not positive.
5. Do people still swim in the pool in January?
I've been wondering the same thing. We're going to bring our suits and play it by ear. If it's warm enough we'll go. If not we won't.
We're leaving not long after you and it's getting exciting. Only a few more weeks!
Flight is booked and we will be in Orlando at 8:20pm on January 26th. I until now to see if the airfare rates went down after the New Year and got a great deal with Airtran! I got my Magical Express confirmation e-mail and I’m just waiting for my packet ( or should I say anxiously waiting) I went to my local thrift store this week on a day where they mark everything half off and found 3 Disney shirts, 2 for me and 1 for DS marked down to .50 cents! I also bought a few tank tops for when (and I hope) the weather gets warm! Lastly, I bought a new pair of flip flips off eBay since mine from last summer are just not “cool” enough! Well the countdown is at 20 days! Wooooo Whoooooooooooooo!
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