Today's Special Moments are Tomorrow's Memories - A September 2014 PTR - Page 8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Pixies that he will get past this soon.
30 days!!!! WooHoo!!!
Thank you! Down to 28 days now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Hope DH is up for everything. I bet the scooter will help and on rest days - he should do that - REST!!
I think it will help too and thankfully if he needs to rest at the resort, we are staying at the one with the best pool! Thank you for your pixies!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Many that your DH feels so much better by the time of the trip.
We've had almost 3 good days in a row where he starts feeling the fatigue right around dinner time...that's actually getting better...keep those pixies coming...I think they might be helping!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great FP plans! Pixies for your DH!
Thanks for the pixies!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
for your DH!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lissybri
All caught up now. Sounds like it's going to be a great trip. Hope your DH feels better. Can't wait to read more.
I'm praying hard and sure that we will still have all the magic we need! Thank you so much!
Get the scooter. It will give you both piece of mind. Don't forget there are official recommend companies the Disney works with now.
Thanks! I'm definitely planning to rent the scooter and yes, I did check Disney's website for the recommended companies. I remembered reading someone else's PTR last year when they revised the policy and knew I would have to check for those.
WELL!...I have quite a few updates to share before I get to the "planned" post. First, for the past two weekends, we held a yard sale! It was great! Our crap became someone else's crap...it was beautiful! We did this last year too, and we use the money earned for the cash needed to cover airport parking, DME driver tipping, bell services tips, mousekeeping, and mousellaneous expenses. I made my mousekeeping envelopes last week and sorted the cash in my plastic coupon sorter from last year.
In between yard sales, I placed an order with The Container Store for a new carryon bag and laundry bag. Last year, I used a smaller suitcase as my carryon and felt it was just too much and half of the stuff I carried was unnecessary. I also wanted the laundry bag to pack our first night's swim suits, pajamas, and clothing for the next day to keep in my carryon just in case there is an issue with our luggage and to keep from sorting through all of the luggage to find everything we need the first night. I would rather not open our main luggage until we reach the Beach Club. I will share pictures later. I also ordered DH's new sandals and DD's Disney birthday train collectible on Amazon. We received the sandals and I expect the train collectible today. The best part...WE RECEIVED OUR MAGIC BANDS! These arrived yesterday and we all shared big smiles and a bit of excitement playing around with them.
There is one additional thing I need to order/reserve...the scooter. I have scoured the internet reading reviews about the various scooter companies and everyone has their good/bad opinions, but I could not really find anything that was current. So I thought I would ask my PassPorter friends; what company would you recommend/not recommend and why? I really like the idea of using one of the Disney authorized companies for ease and convenience, but I am open to the other vendors as well with the understanding I need to make arrangements to meet them to pick up/drop off the scooter. So, what do you think?
Now...back to our regularly scheduled update...
It’s All in the Details!
Friday, September 12, 2014-Arrival Day This will be a busy day for me! Once we wake up and get ready for the day, I need to drop DD off at my in-laws’ so they can take her to before-school care and then drive DH to work (unless he can request to change his telework day from Thursday to Friday). Once I return home, I will clean up, finish any leftover dishes and laundry, change the bed sheets, and finalize the packing. We will pick up DD from school about an hour early and head to the airport. We should get to the airport around 4:30pm, get through security, and grab some dinner and snacks for later before our flight leaves at 6:50pm. We should arrive in Orlando at about 9:05pm and hopefully make it to AS Movies via DME by 10:30pm. After requesting a later checkout, I am sure we will be wiped out so we will probably head to bed right away.
Saturday, September 13, 2014-Transfer Day We will surely sleep in on this day! Once we decide to get ourselves together, we will pack up, check out and call a cab to transfer us to the Beach Club. I know bell services can handle luggage transfer while we use Disney transportation, but I really want to keep our luggage with us so we will not have to wait around for it to arrive. If our room is not ready, we will leave our luggage with bell services at Beach Club. If our room is ready, great! I will pick up our stroller and scooter from bell services and we will drop off everything in our room and head down to see if we can sneak into Beaches and Cream. If that does not pan out, we will head to the Marketplace for lunch. At some point around this time, we will pick up our mugs for the dining plan. After lunch, I will bet that DD and DH will want to go swimming, so while they do that I will work on unpacking and “moving in” and then hopefully have time to walk the resort and take some photos. We have an ADR at 6pm for Flying Fish Café and then plan to enjoy the entertainment on the Boardwalk, something we did not stick around for last year. May be an early bedtime this night to prepare for our first park hopper experience for tomorrow.
Sunday, September 14, 2014-Epcot AM/Hollywood Studios PM This morning we head out bright and early to Epcot for our 8am ADR at Akershus. I’m looking forward to getting photos of World Showcase without the “crowds.” After breakfast, our day will primarily exist in Future World. We would like to check out Test Track, Soarin’, Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo, Mission Space Green (for DH), and Imagination with Figment. If all goes well, I would like to grab lunch at Sunshine Seasons before hopping over to Hollywood Studios. Once at Hollywood Studios, we are interested in Tower of Terror (w/ FP+), The Great Movie Ride, Backlot Tour, TSMM (w/ FP+), Muppet Vision, Voyage of the LM, and RNR. Mixed in there we have a 5:30pm ADR at 50s Prime Time Café and we would like to see Fantasmic. This is also one of the days for the extended Frozen Summer so if we get to catch the Frozen fireworks I will be one happy camper!
Monday, September 15, 2014-Pool Day After our first day of park hopping, we have a day of rest! We get to sleep in and grab breakfast at 10:25am for our Cape May ADR. After that, we have all day to relax at the pool (or take a nap) and check out more of the resort. At 4pm, we return to a family favorite; Hoop Dee Doo Revue! After dinner, we may head back to the resort for more swimming or to the Boardwalk for more fun!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014-Magic Kingdom/MNSSHP Today, we originally planned to head to MK, but after some genius thinking from DM, we will move that to Friday and head to MNSSHP at 4pm. So we will get to sleep in today (again!) and grab some brunch before more swim time (hey, we paid for the pool!), then later we will begin our costume transformations for the party (which I will not reveal until the next update…womp womp). We plan to get into MK around 4pm and head straight to our 4:15pm ADR at Be Our Guest. Our ride choices this evening will most likely be outdoor related because MK closes early again on Friday for another party and I want to get some evening photos of rides and such. We might check out The Magic Carpets, Haunted Mansion (duh!), Dumbo, The People Mover, Buzz Lightyear, the Boo To You Parade, the Villains Mix and Mingle, and of course, HalloWishes. Maybe we can fit some character meets in there, but I just really want to “take it all in” since we will be back on Friday to focus on more rides.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014-Animal Kingdom AM/Hollywood Studios PM This morning we head to Animal Kingdom! I am excited to see DD’s reactions to the animals and theming of this park. We will grab snacks for breakfast and head over to check out Kilimanjaro Safaris, Pangani Forest, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, and maybe Triceratop Spin and Dinosaur. I am hoping to grab lunch at Flame Tree BBQ before hopping to Hollywood Studios. At Hollywood Studios, we plan to see TSMM (w/ FP+), Honey I Shrunk the Kids (for DD), Beauty and the Beast, Tower of Terror (w/ FP+), Animation Academy, Lights Motors Action, and possibly Fantasmic again. We have at 5:35pm ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In.
Thursday, September 18, 2014-Animal Kingdom AM/Epcot PM If all goes well this morning and DH is not too fatigued, we will return to Animal Kingdom for Expedition Everest (w/ FP+), Maharajah Jungle, Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safaris (w/ FP+), and then break for brunch at 11:15am for our Tusker House ADR. After lunch, we hop to Epcot for a trip around the world! This evening we will just leisurely check out as many countries as we can and I would like to get a ride on Maelstrom before they decide to make any changes over there. We have a 6:10pm ADR at Le Cellier and we hope to catch IllumiNations right after dinner.
Friday, September 19, 2014-Magic Kingdom Today was originally another pool day, but we swapped with Tuesday and will return to MK today. I am looking forward to seeing the Welcome Show again then head to the Barnstormer, Dumbo, JotLM, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, the Mountains, the new parade (well, new for us), Peter Pan (w/ FP+), ETwB (w/ FP+), and meet the main man, Mickey. Whew! I know it sounds like a lot but it pales in comparison to what we accomplished in a day last year, with mid-day breaks! Our final ADR is for 6:55pm at Yachtsman Steakhouse. After the full day, we may head straight to bed.
Saturday, September 20, 2014-Departure Day Boo! Departure day…Hopefully, I will be able to request a late check out the night before. I would like to sleep in just a tad before grabbing a quick breakfast at Marketplace and begin packing. I will probably send DH and DD off to the pool to give me space to pack. Then we can meet up later for quick lunch. DME will probably pick us up around 3pm to head to the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:05pm and will land approximately 8:25pm.
I'm really glad we are planning some days to sleep in considering the fatigue that DH still experiences after his two months with C. Diff. The doctor told him he could miraculously feel better next week or it could take a couple more months to a year! Hopefully, with this and the scooter, it will be a great combination to keep him active with us in the parks.
"Our crap became someone else's crap" Love it! Glad the garage sale went well. We're hoping to have one this fall to make some Disney money too. All of your plans look great!
Sounds like success with the two weekend garage sale!
Plans look great!!!
Yes, it really was! Thanks!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
Sounds like great plans. Continued for your husbands recovery.
Thank you! I appreciate the pixies...DH had a rough afternoon yesterday and this morning. We just hit one of the dips in the roller coaster ride.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Nice work with the yard sales! All your plans look great, too!
Thank you, thank you!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
"Our crap became someone else's crap" Love it! Glad the garage sale went well. We're hoping to have one this fall to make some Disney money too. All of your plans look great!
Like that?! I heard someone else use it over the weekend and thought it was hilarious! Thanks!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheezie
Just signing on. your plans look great!
Lots of prayers and pixies your dh is better for your trip.
Welcome! Thank you! I definitely appreciate all of the prayers and pixies...really needed right now after a rough day yesterday and this morning.
Well, unfortunately we hit a dip in the roller coaster last night. DH had a rough evening and was pretty sick this morning. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. Your support has been awesome and I share all of your messages with him.
In other life-changing news...DD started her first day of kindergarten today! I just wanted to share a pic of my baby girl...I am so proud of her!
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.