Eight is Enough - A July 2014 TR with cousins, club level and more Updated 3/29 DHS and Frozen Fun - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Nice start! The food at The Mara looks good! I'm sure the kids were happy to get some pool time. I hope you got the tables in Wonderland card. Since our youngest are now Disney Adults, the dining plan isn't a value for us anymore.
That was really nice of the hotel to have breakfast baggies waiting for you in the morning. REALLY nice! Other than the incident with your phone, sounds like your travel day and arrival went pretty smoothly. Ready to hear more!
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We recently stayed at Kidani and also felt like we made sooo many stops before DME finally got us there! But glad you were able to make the shuttle no problem after that phone scare and the rest of the trip in was uneventful!
Did you like Kidani?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMadonna3
I totally feel your pain about the phone. I'd be in the parking lot in a ball crying or running after strangers asking to use their phone so I could call someone to run keys over to me. I would DIE if that happened to me, so I'm glad you got through it!!
I would not have survived the trip without my phone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I would have been in such a panic about my cell phone. So glad you were able to retrieve it. So nice to have a fairly uneventful trip to WDW and to arrive safe and sound. Can't wait for more.
Thanks Cam!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
How nice that they left you some breakfast snacks at the hotel. I would have been in a total panic about the cell phone, glad that you were able to retrieve it.
Sounds like a un eventful flight which is always good, glad your sister was ok on the flight.
I love that sight of the gates
Let the trip begin.
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Oh man! I would have lost it about my phone too! I don't think I could have been quiet when the rolling eyes started from the other family. Glad the flight was uneventful. Sorry you didn't have your Magicbands for ME.
Well, I tried to ignore them, but I may have rolled my eyes right back at them, lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Glad everything worked out with the shuttle, the not-lost phone, and the plane ride. Now serious vacation mode begins.
Aside from the scare with your cell phone, it sounds like a pretty uneventful trip down to Florida. Nothing is better than passing under the WDW arch!!
I love that sight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Ah love the arch....
Me too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Sounds like great travel.....except for the phone.... I would have been freaking too, man how did we survive before cell phones !
I love the sight of the arch!!!
I don't know how we survived. I wonder that all the time. Can't wait to read about your trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Close call on the phone! I tell you what I love about all the photos is all the happy, smiling faces - you can tell how excited everyone was to be going to Disney!
Thank you. Everyone was so happy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
other than the phone - sounds like you are off to a great start. YAY you are in the bubble.
Thanks for reading Holly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by travismom
What a great start!!! (Except for the phone.....!))
I love all the pics with the smiling, happy faces!!
Can't wait to read more!! :-)
Thank you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Oh gosh, I would have been in a panic about my phone too, definitely not a great way to start vacation. Glad you were able to get it back in time to get on the shuttle. Weird about the family behind you rolling their eyes as you waited for the shuttle, I probably would have made some comments loud enough for them to hear if I saw that.
I tried to control myself, lol. Thanks for reding.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackid2
Signing in. Sounds like a great start so far. I love how you all have matching shirts on. I'm trying to get my family to do something like that for our next trip, but I've been told no so far.
We only pulled off the matching shirts the first day. After that, it was too much work. I may try to do it next time with just the four of us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoJayMom
Joining in! I love all the matching tees and tanks! Looks like a happy bunch going to WDW!
Thank you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluejn
You guys are all so cute together, can't wait to read more
The walk from Jambo to Kidani was not as bad as I thought, but I still wouldn’t want to do it every day.
When I was planning our trip, we had debated whether or not we’d go to a park on July 4. We’ve done it before and though I didn’t think the parks were that bad (compared to every other summer day/night), I wasn’t keen on being stuck on a bus for a couple of hours (which has happened to us before on July 4). In the end, we decided to just hang out at the resort the whole day.
I liked being able to relax, but would probably go to a park for at least a few hours if we ever arrive that early again.
We hung out at the pool for the next few hours. We swam and watched the kids play some games.
pool games
We even indulged in some FAB's.
Here's my BIL pretending to drink mine
my revenge is posting this picture
When the kids finally got tired of the pool, we headed upstairs to get changed for dinner. We changed and hung out at Community Hall for a bit, before it was time to leave for Boma. DSis and her family did not care for Boma last time and didn’t make an ADR. To be honest, we didn’t care for the dinner there before either, but decided to give it another try.
having fun at community hall
You wouldn't know DH and I were even there.
I think my sis and her family ended up taking naps and then had dinner at The Mara. My nieces were a lot more open to down time than my boys, lol. Boys have so much energy.
So sorry about the cell phone fiasco! What a scare... I would have been out of my mind! Glad it all worked out and you made it to the airport on time. How awesome that you rolled into the bubble so early... and your rooms were ready! Looks like your trip is off to a great start. (And I have to admit that pina colada is making my mouth water... yum!!!) I will have to get me one of those when we arrive at Kidani... two weeks from today!
Yes, those are my kids. It only took me about 8 years to update my signature pic!!! Can't believe how quickly the time goes and how fast they grow.
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Sounds like a great day! Funny - Scott took the shuttle over to Jambo several times! I never once visited Jambo during this trip! But he said that he was pleased with the shuttle service - oh and wait a minute - I did take the shuttle - once - very very early in the am for the sunrise safari - we had to meet there!
And I bet our paths crossed many times and we didn't even realize it
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
This was our first time without the dining plan, and I’m not going to lie, I was nervous about how it would all work out in the end. I found myself not wanting to eat in order to save money and that’s exactly what I told myself I wouldn’t do.
This exact thing happened to me. We didn't have the DDP this trip and I constantly found myself worrying about how much we were spending on food. And let me tell you, my boys eat a lot and I was nervous I would overspend.
No Kidani wasn't my favorite. But Boma and Sanaa are two of my most favorite places to eat so I'm sure I'll give it another chance someday. It's one of our home resorts too. You guys were able to get more use out of the resort amenities in one day than we were our whole trip though so maybe if we had that chance we would have liked it more!
Sounds like a fun first day. We have taken the shuttle I think once from Kidani to Jambo once after a meal at Sanaa but we usually do the walk if we head over there for a meal.
Kids look like they had a great time at the pool. Hoping you enjoyed Boma more this time around.
I think hanging in the resort on July 4th is a good idea, but I can also imagine having a nagging thought, "we have lots of time to visit a park." Curious how your Boma dinner goes. I'm in the minority here, but it's not my favorite.
You hit on one big advantage of the dining plan. It takes away the worry about what you are spending at each meal. Even if it's not logical to think like that, many of us do.
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So nice to have a fairly uneventful trip to WDW and to arrive safe and sound. 
Can't wait for more.
![[SIGPIC]](signaturepics/sigpic27594_7.gif)
I would have been freaking too, man how did we survive before cell phones 
! 
I tell you what I love about all the photos is all the happy, smiling faces - you can tell how excited everyone was to be going to Disney! 
Aimee
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