It's Five O'Clock Somewhere--Mother/Daughter Trip #3--UPDATED 5/14/09 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere--Mother/Daughter Trip #3--UPDATED 5/14/09
It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere: Mother/Daughter Extravaganza #3
Welcome one and all to the latest trip report featuring me and my FANTABULOUS mom. We’ve begun a tradition to go somewhere at least once a year and so far it’s been to Walt Disney World every time. Not that I am complaining at all. : The planning for this trip began one the DME bus back to the airport on February 15, 2008. We had just spent five days and four nights at the Wilderness Lodge, and we knew that we were coming back. On what would have been a depressing bus ride to the airport, we were giggling and planning our future escapade. The only thing we knew for sure was that we would be staying at the Polynesian or the Beach Club. The next twelve months would be filled with planning and decisions.
Sometime in May, I had a dream. It was a dream from the way back machine with my grandma when I was 6. In 1976, my grandma took all my cousins, my sister, my mom, and me to Walt Disney World and we stayed at the Poly. I took this as a sign and called my mom the next day. She agreed that we were meant to stay at the Poly and booked the trip. She wanted to go with the Deluxe Dining Plan as she wanted to eat at the signature restaurants. As it is with my mom, whatever she wants, she gets. I paid the deposit and the in depth planning began.
While we were waiting for park hours and the ADR window to open up, mom told me in one of our many conversations, that we needed a theme. I had been telling her about all the adult beverages that I had been introduced to and she could not wait to partake in some of these wonderful concoctions. As I was browsing the scrapbooking sites for ideas, I came across a scrapbook that seems to fit into the tropical aspect of the Poly and the drinking aspect. I shot an email to my mom with the link and I got a resounding YES! Two scrapbooks purchased within 30 minutes.
Now as the weeks went on, mom decided that our theme was going to be “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”. She loves Jimmy Buffett and when she heard the song with him and Alan Jackson, she knew it was our song for the trip. I couldn’t help but agree and the theme was born. This also let my mom began to plan and scheme with ideas for clothing apparel for us. She told me I had to let her make us matching shirts for our arrival day to wear. Yes, there was a little grimace from yours truly because I’m not into glitter and jewels on my clothing but I agreed nonetheless. I bought the shirt she told me to buy and sent it off to her so she could work her magic. When I went to visit in August, she showed me her shirt and said mine would be similar but not as flashy. In truth, it wasn’t all that bad and I actually liked it. (Shhhh…don’t tell my mom!) But you will have to wait until the trip to see the shirts.
Now in October I got a very nice bonus from work that was completely unexpected. It was large enough for me to pay the trip in full and still have more than enough to put into savings. The thing was that I had to somehow figure out a way to pay the trip off without my mom knowing but still giving her credit. I called one of her co-workers while she was gone on a mini-trip to Gatlinburg and figured it out. Unfortunately, my mom found out because she found the paid in full fax from Disney. Darn it! So, I had to tell my mom what happened. She was beyond excited. I told her Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, and Happy Mother’s Day.
The park hours and ADR window opened up so I called all of our meal choices in. We’ll be eating at Nine Dragons, Le Cellier (traditional first night for us), Chef Mickey’s (my mom has never been), Narcoossees, Cape May Café, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Donald’s Safari Breakfast, Artist Point (I am going this trip darn it!), Grand Floridian Café, California Grill, and Crystal Palace. The only places that mom has eaten at previously are Le Cellier, Cape May Café, and Crystal Palace, so she has a lot of new places to try. In November, the 4 for 3 deal came out and we were able to save about $100 plus get the $200 gift card.
Christmas day came around and I hated that I didn’t have anything to give to my mom besides a couple of little things I had picked up throughout the year. So Print Shop and I became friends and I made a certificate for her. Here’s a picture of the certificate and my mom with it after she opened it.
So now it’s a matter of waiting and luckily we don’t have that much time left. Mom is headed over tomorrow and we will drive up to Indy for our flights. Mom booked the park and fly option at the Courtyard by Marriott near the airport. Early Sunday morning, we’ll be headed to our happy place. I’ll try and send some updates but won’t make any promises. We’ll be meeting up with Amy (iamgrumpy) and her mom at Jellyrolls one night. We also have spa reservations on Thursday morning courtesy of my mom. So, I leave you for now and will see you again on our return. Cheers!
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.
Love the theme, love the scrapbooks, love the resort & how cute is your mom! Have a great trip Dawn and I cannot wait to read all about your adventures!
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.
You can probably imagine that I'm all over that theme! I've been known to say it myself on a number of occasions! As ELC President, I am tasking you with remembering every single drink (at least as long as you can remember).
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.
About This Page: 
: The planning for this trip began one the DME bus back to the airport on February 15, 2008. We had just spent five days and four nights at the Wilderness Lodge, and we knew that we were coming back. On what would have been a depressing bus ride to the airport, we were giggling and planning our future escapade. The only thing we knew for sure was that we would be staying at the Polynesian or the Beach Club. The next twelve months would be filled with planning and decisions.
I paid the deposit and the in depth planning began. 
In truth, it wasn’t all that bad and I actually liked it. (Shhhh…don’t tell my mom!) But you will have to wait until the trip to see the shirts. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
the scrapbooks and the theme! Now I can't wait to read how it all turns out.
Linear Mode
