2 Year Anniversary PTR September 2010 - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I noticed you stayed at All Star Music for your honeymoon...my hubby and I will be staying there for our trip. I had my heart set on Pop Century, but because of a discount, it wasn't available. Any advice for All Star Music? You mentioned you loved it...what was it you loved about it? Is there a certain building we should consider? Thanks!
__________________
"If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus a day so I never have to live without you." --Winnie the Pooh
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I noticed you stayed at All Star Music for your honeymoon...my hubby and I will be staying there for our trip. I had my heart set on Pop Century, but because of a discount, it wasn't available. Any advice for All Star Music? You mentioned you loved it...what was it you loved about it? Is there a certain building we should consider? Thanks!
I am a huge MUSIC person, so just the whole concept of an entire resort themed on Music was a big attention grabber for me. Once we were there, I just loved the atmosphere. Maybe it was just when we were there, but it was never too noisy (although we weren't really there during the day, just early morning and in the evenings), and the resort is really spread out, so it's never super crowded on the walkways. The food court could get a little crazy, but we didn't really mind....the wait was never TOO long for buses, aside from one night...
We stayed in the Jazz Inn section of the hotel, and requested a room on the third floor that faced away from the pool. We LOVED the location of our room, because it wasn't too far from the food court or buses (or pool, or laundry) but it was VERY quiet, we heard absolutely no outside noise whatsoever. And since we were on the top floor, we didn't have to listen to other people walking around. I would definitely consider a similar request while you are there.
The rest of it I think was just the magic of Disney. Super friendly staff, helpful people all around. They had a caricature artist there, like three days out of the week, and I had fun watching them do the drawings.
I love the decor in the lobby, and of course, the kitschy decorations on the buildings.
I guess I'm not being too specific...I loved it, but until you asked me what I loved about it, I hadn't really thought about it.
Trying to be a bit more succinct :
My favorite part of this resort was the decor. It put me in the mood to have fun.
We loved our rooms location, very convenient and quiet.
The food was decent, but I would advise avoiding the pizza. We threw ours away after only a few bites each. NASTY sauce.
The lines for the buses can be intimidating, but you can usually get on one within ten to twenty minutes. We never waited longer than 25 minutes, excepting one night when we were just having the worst luck ever.
Let me know if you have any more questions! I hope this helped at least a little bit...I was rambling, and that annoys me...
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Glad you found towels. Happy Birthday to David. Happy birthday to you next week! I am so sorry to hear about David's Grandmother. Tons of pixies for her and you both. I agree with you on why bad things have to happen to good people. I hope she gets better.
Thank you for the birthday wishes for both of us, and for the Pixies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark
Great update! SS to hear about David's grandmother.
Happy BDay to David!! Hope he has a great bday, and glad you got it off to celebrate.
Pixies to you both
Cant wait for the next installment, and see ya at the POP in Spetember, maybe!
for the birthday wishes, for the pixies, and I think it would be fun to meet you in September!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Pixies for David's grandmother! Glad you found some towels, and congrats on the new computer!
Thanks for the pixies! I LOVE my new computer. My old laptop was bought in November of 2005, so it was getting a little...well...ancient by today's standards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by angel22
So sorry to hear about David's grandmother!!
!
Thank you. We're all rooting for her. She's a tough lady. We keep joking with her (trying to make her laugh) telling her that she's WAY too mean for cancer to finish off. She keeps laughing and saying "I'm surprised it's bothering to try!", so her spirits seem to be up, which is good. We're all just super worried and trying not to worry her by showing her how worried we are. It's a vicious kind of situation...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Congrats on getting your beach towels!
Many for David's grandmother!
Thank you very much for the pixies! I'll have to tell Rosie (David's grandma), that the whole PassPorter Community is pulling for her. That will get her to smile.
I am a huge MUSIC person, so just the whole concept of an entire resort themed on Music was a big attention grabber for me. Once we were there, I just loved the atmosphere. Maybe it was just when we were there, but it was never too noisy (although we weren't really there during the day, just early morning and in the evenings), and the resort is really spread out, so it's never super crowded on the walkways. The food court could get a little crazy, but we didn't really mind....the wait was never TOO long for buses, aside from one night...
We stayed in the Jazz Inn section of the hotel, and requested a room on the third floor that faced away from the pool. We LOVED the location of our room, because it wasn't too far from the food court or buses (or pool, or laundry) but it was VERY quiet, we heard absolutely no outside noise whatsoever. And since we were on the top floor, we didn't have to listen to other people walking around. I would definitely consider a similar request while you are there.
I love the decor in the lobby, and of course, the kitschy decorations on the buildings.
The lines for the buses can be intimidating, but you can usually get on one within ten to twenty minutes. We never waited longer than 25 minutes, excepting one night when we were just having the worst luck ever.
Let me know if you have any more questions! I hope this helped at least a little bit...I was rambling, and that annoys me...
Thank you so much for the advice!! The hubs and I are huge music fans too!! We will consider the Jazz section, but he has his heart set on Rock. I am making a note for top floor, thanks for the tip. A few other people on here have mentioned the bus situation, but since we are going after thanksgiving...I am hoping it's not too bad. Again, thank you for great details!!
__________________
"If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus a day so I never have to live without you." --Winnie the Pooh
I am currently standing in line to see the midnight showing of TS3...realized i haven't updated in a while! I will do that tomorrow! Lots of stuff going on! Talk to y'all soon.
I had no idea there were midnight showings of Toy Story 3. How was it? I am normally not one who likes sequels, in fact when it comes to Disney I am actually against it! I have read numerous places about Walt's feelings on sequels, I feel it goes against what he stood for.
With that said, I think Ken sounds and looks HIL-A-RIOUS!!!! I am actually wanting to see this, just because of Ken...and Barbie! LOL
Cant wait for you update!
I had no idea there were midnight showings of Toy Story 3. How was it? I am normally not one who likes sequels, in fact when it comes to Disney I am actually against it! I have read numerous places about Walt's feelings on sequels, I feel it goes against what he stood for.
With that said, I think Ken sounds and looks HIL-A-RIOUS!!!! I am actually wanting to see this, just because of Ken...and Barbie! LOL
Cant wait for you update!
In my opinion, the third was the best. It was the pefect ending to the story of Andys toys. Well worth seeing in theater. Sorry I haven't updated yet! I've just been so busy. :P
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
In my opinion, the third was the best. It was the pefect ending to the story of Andys toys. Well worth seeing in theater. Sorry I haven't updated yet! I've just been so busy. :P
Okay, dare I admit...I haven't seen the second TS!! I guess I will have to see it now to "catch up", LOL.
I do think it's neat the way they stayed with the same story, like Andy going to college, instead of a brand new one starring "Mandy". So that is an interesting twist to a sequel that I do look forward to.
Don't worry about it, life gets in the way sometimes of our PP, PTR, TR, and actual trips to WDW!!!
Just wanted to let you know, I am patiently looking forward to it.
Okay, so it's been a while since I really updated, because I have been working a lot, and took a mini "Staycation" (from the 10th to the 15th) which was actually quite a busy couple of days.
David's birthday had been on the 1st, and then mine was on the 10th. For my birthday, I had decided that I wanted to go to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, so my best friend and her boyfriend came with David and I, and we spent a couple hours up there. I got some really great pictures!
Anyway...The reason we had actually taken the time off of work was so that we could go to Oregon to see David's grandmother, the one who has cancer...Unfortunately, she started her chemotherapy and radiation on the 8th, and David's mother (who was down in Oregon with her mom), said that it would be better if we didn't come down, because Rosie just wasn't up to it. Rosie is the kind of person who will say she's fine and try to be the perfect hostess even if she is exhausted and should really be in bed.
The good news is, Grandma seems to be doing okay, all things considered. They have a feeding tube in now, so she isn't so weak all the time from lack of food and water. (The tumor is blocking food that she swallows, so she just ends up getting sick when she tries to eat.)
Now, on to Disney things! Since everything is paid for, and scheduled, I'm kind of just stuck waiting for September to get here! We have the Mousekeeping Envelopes, and I am going to maybe make some envelopes to tip the Express drivers.
I am SOOOOOooOOOOOO excited! Less than three months now! 82 days to be precise!
So, I'm trying to think of stuff I haven't already mentioned...
We got our beach towels. I bought some new carry-on luggage that is a much better size than our old ones...on some of the smaller planes, our old carry-ons had to be checked at the gate because they were too large to fit in the overheads.
I am very excited about eating at new places that we haven't tried yet. I'm trying to figure out if a dress I have is too dressy to wear when we eat at California Grill. I love the dress, it's super cute. It's my "Little Black Dress." How dressy is too dressy for the California Grill?
OH! I forgot! My Aunt Julie and Uncle Tom bought me an AWESOME handbag for my birthday...they've apparently had it since last time they were in Disney World! It's a
Disney Sketch Tassel Tote Bag by Dooney & Bourke
'Tis awesome.
I would post a picture of it, but I don't have one. Yet. Maybe I'll post a picture of that...around the time I get around to posting pictures of our Mousekeeping Envelopes...
It's so awesome. David is being so funny about it though. He doesn't want me to USE it...he keeps saying I should "save it" and "keep it nice." What he's not coming out and saying is that he thinks I should sell it some day. He totally doesn't get that handbags are made to be flaunted...especially since it's probably the nicest handbag I've ever had. I'm a Target/Walmart handbag kind of girl. So this is a big deal for me, you know? I was so touched that Tom and Julie got it for me in Disney World in like, February, and saved it for me all this time. They didn't have to get me anything, it's so sweet of them!
Anyway, David is poking me and saying "Bedtime, bedtime, bedtime, bedtime...." So I guess I'd better go. I'll try to be better about keeping you guys posted about new developments!
Jessie(yes?), I feel your pain, 83 days today here! Everything is set and I am just stuck waiting. I even started planning next years trip with my family. I am now getting excited about that now too, and it's still over a year away, Sept.2011!
Glad to hear David's grandmother is doing well, too bad you didn't get to see her though. for you all again!
How exciting about the purse! I too am a Walmart/Kmart kind of gal. Of course David would not understand about it, he's a guy! A guy could NEVER understand about a purse! LMAO
Glad you enjoyed your "staycation" and yours and David's Bday's! Sounds like a great time. I would love to spend my bday with my bff, but she lives 2 states away yuck!
Btw, everytime I see where you live I think we are from the same place! Alas we are not, I keep reverting the the W, I am from MA! LOL
Well we will be in the same place in 83 days!!
Talk to you during you next update! You should check out my PTR, it's more like a P-PTR right now, as I am explaining why I am going on this next trip, havent gotten to this trip yet. I would like to, but I am leaving it up in the air right now, as it seems noone has read or is interested in my story. Hmmm....maybe I am not a good story teller, LOL!!!
Talk to you soon!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I don't think anything is too dressy for anywhere in Disney, especially Cali Grill. Gary and I showed up at Wolfgang, me in a dressy dress and him practically in a suit, just because we were celebrating his birthday. As long as you feel comfortable in it, wear it!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I would definitely consider a similar request while you are there. 
I hope this helped at least a little bit...I was rambling, and that annoys me...
! I am so sorry to hear about David's Grandmother. Tons of pixies for her and you both. I agree with you on why bad things have to happen to good people. I hope she gets better.
for the birthday wishes, for the pixies, and I think it would be fun to meet you in September!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
A few other people on here have mentioned the bus situation, but since we are going after thanksgiving...I am hoping it's not too bad. Again, thank you for great details!!
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
!!!
*Melissa
Glad your DH's grandmother is doing well! Continued pixies for her! 
Linear Mode
