Thanksgiving @ WDW 2009; Crazy and Lovin' it! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Crazy and Loving It; Thanksgiving at Walt Disney World 2009
Cast of Characters:
Brandy- 2nd WDW trip, author of this trip report, mother to 5 great kids, college student, and substitute teacher.
Wesley(12)- 2nd WDW trip, aspiring chef, responsible older brother, and 6th grade student.
Dillon(10)- 2nd WDW trip, aspiring film maker, and 5th grade student.
Madilyn(8)- 2nd WDW trip, aspiring book store owner, only girl surrounded by 4 brothers, and 3rd grade student.
CAST OF CHARACTERS CONTINUED::
Austin(7)- 1st WDW trip, avid video game player, and 1st grade student.
Winston(3)- 1st WDW trip, baby of 5, and can’t wait to go to Mickey Mouse’s house.
CONTINUED ::
The name of the Trip Report is obviously Thanksgiving at Disney World 2009. The other part is that most people think I am crazy to take 5 kids to WDW by myself. My response is yes, I am crazy; but I love that I am crazy enough to go and I know we will have a blast!
Background info: None of us, including me had ever been to WDW until June 2008. I was not sure what to expect, so I only took the three oldest. We had a wonderful time and I am so excited to go back with the little ones in tow. We had a great time, but it was very hot, so I decided to avoid the heat by going in November. I am also excited to see all the Christmas decorations, especially the Osborne Lights!
Celebrations: We are all 5 celebrating Thanksgiving! Austin and Winston are celebrating their first visit! Madilyn is celebrating her 9th birthday. Her actual b-day is the day after we leave, so we will not be able to get her gift card, but we are celebrating all the same!
Summary: We are staying at All Star Movies from November 20th- 29th. We have two adjoining/connecting rooms. I plan to fax a request for ground floor. We are on the (free) quick service dining plan. I did book a few dining reservations that I will pay out of pocket for. We are driving this time, not flying. I was torn on this, but it’s a reasonable drive from Georgia and it’s so much cheaper than paying Holiday airfare costs for six people. According to map quest; it is approximately a 6 hour drive and should cost less than $200.00 round trip for gas. Ithink the drive down will be exciting, but I am already dreading the drive home…..
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Yeah, your crazy! But it's a different kind of crazy, I believe that all of us here at PP understand. LOVE ASMovies! I also cannot wait to see Osborne Lights. Been there 4 times and have yet to see them!
Can't wait to read more!
At least they are not all little. You do have some help with you. I think it is wonderful that you are that crazy.
My youngest DD is Madalyn too and we almost spell it alike as well.
I hope you guys have the greatest trip.
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You are not crazy! I think it is great that you are going and taking all of your children!
Hey, when my boys were almost 3, 4 and 6, I took them to the MK for the first time with my friend who had four children, ages 10, 11, 8 and 6!
We drove from Indiana!!! Yep - 2 crazy ladies and 7 kids under the age of 10!
We had a blast!!!!
Great start to what I am sure will be a fun and entertaining trip!
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