Santa Claus is Coming to Town... AND SO ARE WE! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! During the Christmas season
Yes, folks. It's true. I'm headed back to Disney World.
Some of you may know who I am, while most of you probably don't. Ohhh, but don't fret. YOU SOON WILL!
The last time I went to WDW was back at the enddddd of August. In 2006. Holy Moly, that's a long time ago! I was 18 at the time and took my little brother & sister. We had an absolute BLAST! As soon as I got back, I had the Disney Blues bad. Yall know what I'm talking about. I had started a Pre-Trippie, but never got around to finishing it.
WOOPS! I promise that will not happen again. Cross my fingers!
Well, alot of things have changed since then AND I'm heading back to my happy place. So, let's get started, shall we?
THE CAST:
ME - Lauren, 21 years old. (Okay, so I'm not quite 21 just yet. Give me until this Monday, the 29th. Only 5 more days! But who's counting?)
I'm finishing up school in Elementary Education. Still deciding on exactly what grade I want to teach. Any advice?
DS - Jake, age 1. (Just turned 1 yesterday & will be 14 months old in Disney)
Enjoys riding in his Cozy Coupe, a nice cold sippy cup of milk & watching his favorite show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!
BFF - Corrina, 21 years old. My Best Friend Forever since 3rd grade!
This will be her 1st EVER trip to the World! I am so excited to experience this with her. (And our kiddos, too of course!)
(This was taken on my 19th birthday, but unfortunately I don't have many recent pictures of us on this computer. Sorry!)
BFF's DD - Hailey, age 2. (Will be turning 3 a few days after we get back!)
Jake & Hailey on a hot date at the pool earlier this summer. Oh, young love.
DATES:
November 29, 2008 - December 4, 2008.
Staying at Pop Century! LOVE Pop Century!
So, we'll be driving down instead of flying. It's a long drive, but definately do-able. Jake and I have driven to and from New Orleans and did GREAT! With having 2 young kiddos, being able to jump in the car and go when we need to will definately come in handy!
Well, there you have it. You've met my crazy family and know where we're staying and when!
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 hope that you guys have a magical time at the world
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
Great start!! Looks like you have a great cast of characters!!
Congratulations on finishing school!! As for a grade level....they are all so different, but when you are first starting out, you probably won't be able to choose the grade level. Depending on the school system, you may be able to change grades as positions become available (we have a 'job fair' every year, where we have the opportunity to 'bid' on available jobs in the school system - while not losing our own - if more than one person bids on the job, the person with the most seniority gets the position. It's kind of like an auction, where we hold up cards with our date of hire, when bidding.) Not all systems are like that....just wanted to throw an example at ya. and
you will have a fantastic time! How wonderful you will be able to share this with your BFF and ya'lls kids!
Thanks! We're so excited It can't get here fast enough!
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Originally Posted by griffin
Hope you have a great time! We'll be there the day you leave...
Thank you! Aw, too bad we won't be there at the same time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start
Thanks!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by carters_mom
Great start!!!
Can't wait to hear all about it!
Thanks so much
Quote:
Originally Posted by bsblady01
I hope that you guys have a magical time at the world
Gracias I'm so excited to see their faces when they see it all for the first time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DyanKJ130
Great start!! Looks like you have a great cast of characters!!
Congratulations on finishing school!! As for a grade level....they are all so different, but when you are first starting out, you probably won't be able to choose the grade level. Depending on the school system, you may be able to change grades as positions become available (we have a 'job fair' every year, where we have the opportunity to 'bid' on available jobs in the school system - while not losing our own - if more than one person bids on the job, the person with the most seniority gets the position. It's kind of like an auction, where we hold up cards with our date of hire, when bidding.) Not all systems are like that....just wanted to throw an example at ya. and
Ohhh, that's pretty neat! I'll definately have to look into all that and see what they do around here!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great start! There's no better time of the year to visit Disney than at Christmas.
Oh my goodness, that's what I hear! I love Christmas and I love Disney! The 2 together? Perfect!
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Are there any table service restaurants where 2 people can share ONE entree? I was looking at Allears.net, but that wasn't helping all too much since I couldn't see actual pictures of the meals.
We were thinking about going to Kona and getting a Lapu-Lapu!
I've been hearing so many good things about it lately, that I just had to.
I was going to make it for our 1st night there, but I figured it was best if I just left that night open without any plans. We'll be arriving around noon on Saturday, give or take a few, and I know that we'll end up being tired that night. (Whether we think so or not! Especially since we're driving down!)
So, I went ahead with Sunday at 12:00pm... as soon as they open! We'll be spending Sunday morning at Magic Kingdom and then we can just take the Monorail over to the Poly!
What do yall think?
Help me pick some more restaurants to try out! I was surprised at how many places were open! I just didn't know what to pick and when, so I told the CM that I would have to call back.
I believe most restaurants will allow you to spilt an entree at no extra charge.
Congratulations on getting an ADR at Kona. We haven't tried it yet, but have heard very good thing about it.
Not sure what you are looking for in a restaurant. Some of our favorites are LeCellier, Garden Grill (best character interaction around), 'Ohana dinner, Boma, 50's PTC, The Plaza (a nice surprise)....the list goes on.....I really can't think of any meals we've been so disappointed with that we would never go back...
Great start Lauren, your son and your BFF's daughter are adorable. Good luck on finishing your degree, I am also pursuing an Elementary Education degree, I am half way there. My ideal grade to teach would be 3rd, however right now I am student teaching in a 1st grade class and they are so cute. I forgot how fun they can be at that age.
About This Page: 
During the Christmas season 
Holy Moly, that's a long time ago! I was 18 at the time and took my little brother & sister. We had an absolute BLAST! As soon as I got back, I had the Disney Blues bad. Yall know what I'm talking about. I had started a Pre-Trippie, but never got around to finishing it. 
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Thank
Pixie Dust
As for a grade level....they are all so different, but when you are first starting out, you probably won't be able to choose the grade level. Depending on the school system, you may be able to change grades as positions become available (we have a 'job fair' every year, where we have the opportunity to 'bid' on available jobs in the school system - while not losing our own - if more than one person bids on the job, the person with the most seniority gets the position. It's kind of like an auction, where we hold up cards with our date of hire, when bidding.) Not all systems are like that....just wanted to throw an example at ya. 
and 
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