Mom still has a trick or two up her sleeve PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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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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I so enjoy reading everyone’s trip reports and pre-trip reports that I wanted to try one of my own. Won’t promise a full TR after we get back, but am determined to finish a PTR as a test. Characters:
Me (37): mom, wife, Med Tech no longer in the lab but now in management, lover of Disney although I always said I wouldn’t be one of “those people” that go every year
DH (46): dad, husband, attorney who isn’t afraid to wear shorts to the office, FastPass “runner” and generally there to help us enjoy WDW (although he keeps saying yes, so he must enjoy it!)
DS (10): sports fanatic, decides at the moment what mood to be in, my roller coaster buddy
DD (8): swimmer, wannabe singer, lover of Disney, and now that she’s tall enough – my other roller coaster buddy
When: October 6 – 13 (single digits!!! )
Where: Wilderness Lodge – this will be our third stay at this resort; it's where we stayed on our first trip back in 2008 and we’ve returned every other year, adventuring to CBR and FW in the alternate years How: Southwest – can’t beat getting 4 round trip tickets with Frequent Flyer miles!
So, what’s behind the title? Well, twice, we have surprised the kids telling them that we were going to Disney on the day we left or the night before. They’ve caught on and know that when we check into the hotel in Nashville, it’s a pretty good bet we are getting on a plane the next morning. So, I have to come up with some other surprises to keep them guessing!
UP next: Mom, are we gonna eat at _______________???
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.
I hope that you and your family 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
I have made it a tradition to eat breakfast at Crystal Palace each trip. I love getting into the park before opening and walking through the empty streets. Pooh, Tigger and the gang are also some of my favorites. I also try to make it to at least one new restaurant each trip while still hitting those we really like. We aren’t DDP people, so pick a few Table Services places to eat and otherwise eat when and where the mood strikes.
So, the kids know we are eating at Crystal Palace and then start asking “Are we gonna eat at ______________?” This year, the first time was “Are we gonna eat at that place that plays Tom and Jerry and we sit in those car things?” Well, we ate at Sci-Fi the last couple of years, so this year, I changed it up and we are going back to 50’s Prime Time Café. I ate there on one of the 2 trips to WDW that my family went on when I was young, so this has a special place in my heart. We ate there in 2009, so my response to the kids’ question was “No, but remember when the waiter brought out my peas with the whipped cream and sprinkles on top?” They were sold on going back. (I hadn’t been able to finish my chicken pot pie, so when dessert time came, that’s what I got back as my dessert.) What DD doesn’t remember is that my peas were from chicken pot pie. She is so into this dish right now and will be thrilled that she can get it in WDW.
We arrive Saturday afternoon, 10/6. That evening, we will go to Grand Floridian Café to have dinner with one of my best friends from my high school days who now lives in the Orlando area. We try to do this every year, but missed last year, so I am very excited about this meal.
One of DD’s biggest requests was that we go to tea. So, on Sunday, 10/7 we have a reservation at the Garden Tea Room. We did this last year and she loved it! (This was going to be one of the surprises for the trip as we were going to have some friends from home meet us for tea, but they have changed the dates of their trip.)
Our other reservation for the week is at Garden Grill on Thursday, 10/11. This meal is special because, in part, it is in memory or our buddy Stefanie. Each summer, Stefanie would tell us about her trip to the World (sometimes I even got to see her scrapbook), and each fall, we would tell her about ours. And throughout the year, she would help me with my Disney shopping. DD knows that this is a character meal, but apparently keeps forgetting, so asks to go to Chef Mickey’s so she can eat with Mickey.
Otherwise, we will eat as the mood hits. We will be hitting up Food and Wine festival booths and have a few favs that we hit every year. The kids got more adventurous last year and helped us eat some of our “snacks”. (We did keep them out of the wine, though! ) I think I got one spoonful of the cheddar cheese soup – only because M ary Poppins made an appearance!
Up next: Where are we headed today? (and what may be the biggest surprise of the trip)
your dining choices! We'll be eating around the World Showcase for the F&WF one day, too. I can't wait. The minute I read that you all were eating at Garden Grill, I figured Stefanie had something to do with that. I didn't it include it once and learned my lesson good.
all. We have such inconsistent dining habits while in the World, we miss out on a lot of places people rave about. We had to add in Garden Grill as our new place this year as I knew how much Stefanie loved to eat with her chipmunks.
It's been a busy weekend. DS is playing both baseball and soccer, so we've had practices and games for both. DD is swimming and had a scrimmage meet today (won 3 of her 4 heats and got 2nd in the other ) Add in a sleepover, a picnic at the new riverfront park, and a Community Spelling Bee, and we are pooped.
One week from now, we'll be in the World! DH mentioned that before we got out of bed this morning. I also had the thought running through my head as I fell asleep last night that in one week, I'd be falling asleep on my first night in WL.
Speaking of WL, I almost forgot to mention one of my "tricks"! I happened to be in the right place at the right time having the right conversation and saved $$ on the room.
As I mentioned, we fly out of Nashville on Saturday, 10/6. We have found a hotel that offers park & fly rates of less than $150, so we drive down Friday night, get up and have a free hot breakfast in the morning and leave our car for the next 8 days. No worrying about traffic on the way to the airport, no worrying about getting bags to the terminal from long term parking, no worrying about breakfast -- just the way for me to start my vacation! (Owensboro offers flights to Orlando, but with baggage fees and the need to rent a car or find an alternative way to the resort, we just haven’t tried it yet – plus – free tickets on Southwest with no baggage fees – can’t beat that! Thank you Southwest Visa!)
We are scheduled to land in Orlando early Saturday afternoon. The plan is to get to the resort, relax a bit and then head to the Grand Floridian for dinner with my friend and her family. Last year on our first night, we rode the monorail all around the resorts and Epcot. It was a fun and relaxing way to prove to ourselves that we were, in fact, in WDW. Depending on when we get done with dinner or how early we head over, we may try this again this year.
Sunday morning, DD has a late morning appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Downtown Disney. SHE HAS NO IDEA!! On our first visit in 2008, she was 4 and I took her to the MK location. She still talks about that day. When we were putting our plans together for this trip, she said over and over that she wanted to do BBB. Her dad and I told her that it was a lot of money and that we probably wouldn’t do it this year. Well, I’m sitting at work one day and get a text from DH. “Book BBB and tell her it’s from me.” I booked it, but didn’t tell her. I plan to tell her we are going shopping in DTD while her dad and brother hang out at the hotel and then make our way back to the boutique at the appointed time. She has a Merida dress that we bought a couple of weeks ago at Target. I am debating whether to take it for her to wear that day because I know that she will want to wear the dress when she meets Merida and from what I hear, getting over to MK in the afternoon will make for a VERY, VERY long wait. So, the Merida dress may have to wait until later in the week. Still deciding on that one. Of course, if I can slip into an MK BBB slot, I will jump on it and the Merida dress debate will be over.
Sunday afternoon, DD and I have reservations for the Garden Tea Room. DH and DS will head over to MK to the Harmony Barber Shop for one of his traditional MK haircuts. I felt bad that DD was getting a visit to BBB and usually dresses up as a character sometime during the trip, so his tradition has been to get hair coloring and pixie dust from the Barber Shop sometime during our trip. After Tea and the haircut, we will all meet up somewhere in MK to enjoy EMH. I expect it to be crowded, but hope it doesn’t become unbearable.
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.
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) I think I got one spoonful of the cheddar cheese soup – only because M ary Poppins made an appearance!
your dining choices! We'll be eating around the World Showcase for the F&WF one day, too. I can't wait. The minute I read that you all were eating at Garden Grill, I figured Stefanie had something to do with that. I didn't it include it once and learned my lesson good.
all. We have such inconsistent dining habits while in the World, we miss out on a lot of places people rave about. We had to add in Garden Grill as our new place this year as I knew how much Stefanie loved to eat with her chipmunks.
On our first visit in 2008, she was 4 and I took her to the MK location. She still talks about that day. When we were putting our plans together for this trip, she said over and over that she wanted to do BBB. Her dad and I told her that it was a lot of money and that we probably wouldn’t do it this year. Well, I’m sitting at work one day and get a text from DH. “Book BBB and tell her it’s from me.” I booked it, but didn’t tell her. I plan to tell her we are going shopping in DTD while her dad and brother hang out at the hotel and then make our way back to the boutique at the appointed time. She has a Merida dress that we bought a couple of weeks ago at Target. I am debating whether to take it for her to wear that day because I know that she will want to wear the dress when she meets Merida and from what I hear, getting over to MK in the afternoon will make for a VERY, VERY long wait. So, the Merida dress may have to wait until later in the week. Still deciding on that one. Of course, if I can slip into an MK BBB slot, I will jump on it and the Merida dress debate will be over.
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