The First Thanksgiving (some 400 years later) TR - COMPLETE!! 3/7 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
The First Thanksgiving (some 400 years later) TR - COMPLETE!! 3/7
Okay, so I wasn't planning on doing a TR since I seem to be unable to finish them. That's why I didn't do one for the summer birthday trip. I just did live updates and a blog post here and there. I have to say, I missed doing a TR! It's fun to look back at them and "revisit" the trip. I mean, what else am I going to do at work when it's "I don't care Friday"? Actually work? Please. And I do enjoy writing from time to time. Perhaps that's the librarian in me. And I guess I just like to hear myself talk. I guess that's the annoying in me. I kid kid.. Either way, if you're on board for another Bakelin adventure, them so am I!
I woke up this morning with a vivid DDD in my head. What's a DDD you ask? It's what I have ordained the "Disney Disaster Dream". They start occuring sometime in the 3 - 4 week period before an upcoming trip. And for me, they started last night. It's almost a reoccuring dream for me. The "main idea" is always the same. We're in the bubble, all is well and good, but for some reason we're only there for a couple of days and it's already our last day, and we've spent like zilch time in the parks. WTF? How could I possibly have wasted so much time in the bubble? Last night's DDD included the in-laws T&K who traveled with us back in Dec. 2007. While we didn't waste time with them with us then, for some reason they crept into my subconsciousness and ruined my trip.
Well once the DDD's start I figure it must be time to think about the PTR. I like to put it off as long as possible b/c it means I start thinking about the trip about a bajillion gazillion times a day as opposed to simply the gazillion times before.
So we begin with the details. Once we figure out the details, we can decide on the main idea. Oh wait...that was what I said fifty times yesterday to second and third graders. Sorry.
WHO: Me and DH Andy. I'm a ripe old 29 and he's a spring chicken at 28. We'll be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary (by seeing flippin' Roger Daltrey from The Who in a little club in Charlotte! ) the Sunday before we leave on Wedneday so we've planned a night at the Cali Grill to celebrate (a week late, but as Mike I. said on Top Chef "it's like, you know, whatevah whatevah"). Joining us as always will be the infamous Bakers. Brandi and Tom (aka Pom). We are of course uber excited to see our best friends again. It's been 4 months since we saw them last and we're having serious withdrawals. Pom wrote on my FB page a few weeks ago that he doesn't even know Loflins anymore. Sadness (Then again, Pom exaggerates). WHERE: We'll be staying at our beloved moderate - POFQ. We scored an AP rate which surprised the socks off of me. I didn't think we would actually be able to get one over the holiday but we were. WHEN: We'll be leaving Tuesday night after my 50 hour long professional development meeting here at school. We'll stop over at our home away from home, the Microtel in Brunswick, GA. Then Wed. morning the plan is to arrive at Epcot in time for opening. We'll see how that goes since I'm NOT a morning person. But then again, when Disney is involved, it's a whole 'nother Melissa. So our dates are Nov. 25-29. WHY: This will be our first time actually being in the bubble on actual Thaknsgiving day. We've been the Sunday through Wed. before (honeymoon) and the weekend before (and then cruise) last year. SO we are uber excited about eating turkey and breaking bread with the Bakers and the mouse for Thanksgiving. And like I said while ago, we'll also be celebrating our 6th anniversary.
Coming up: I smell a photoshop in my future. One that explains the title to this TR. And more details. It's all in the details.
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.
Great start...we have yet to stay at the POFQ maybe next trip...especially since i just found out they have Abita on tap there. I ran into Brandi a couple of weeks ago for the first time...she was watching the BI hollering at them to stop playing hermans hermit ...just kidding ...she was very nice.
I ran into Brandi a couple of weeks ago for the first time...she was watching the BI hollering at them to stop playing hermans hermit ...just kidding ...she was very nice.
I know you're not kidding I'm not surprised in the slightest that she would be doing such rebellious things. I might have to join her when we're there.
WOOHOO! A PTR means a TRIP! And soon! You have no idea how bad our Loflin withdrawals have been lately. And yes, Pom has been known to exaggerate on occasion. He's just got his panties in a twist because he doesn't talk to Melissa on the phone as much as he wants to. Let's face it, who really has an extra 4 hours in their day to talk to Pom?
__________________
Brandi
Bakelins chillin' at the pool after a fun week at Disney!
Details! I need details! LOL You said you will be there on Thanksgiving. We will too and I would to have at least a "Hi/Bye" meet with one of my favorite TR writers. Seriously, I love reading your TRs. They are so entertaining. Plus DD will be taking her wheelchair for the first time, and if we run into the Bakelins then maybe she can get some pointers from Pom on how to enjoy WDW from a rolling chair. (Although, I don't think she will really have a hard time enjoying herself while we are there.)
We have been having Loflin withdrawls something awful. We just love our little Loflin friends even if Andy Loflin wants to slap me. Turkey day at the World is nice and we can't wait until you make the big move this way so we can do all the holidays in the bubble. If everyone behaves themselves I'll buy the cokes for everyone in Epcot but you have to be nice which means grab the reigns of the wheelchair occasionally. But the goodbyes are getting worse so I'm not sure how to handle those. No more DDD's, happy thoughts, I mean it's D-World for goodness sakes. And I don't exaggerate (sp?) I just get bad withdrawls when I call and hang up and no one calls me back. Can we watch the Frenchy Movie?
__________________
Tom
Bakelins at RiRa Irish Pub in Uptown Charlotte, June 2010
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.
About This Page: 
Please. And I do enjoy writing from time to time. Perhaps that's the librarian in me. And I guess I just like to hear myself talk. I guess that's the annoying in me. 
I kid kid.. 
Either way, if you're on board for another Bakelin adventure, them so am I!
) the Sunday before we leave on Wedneday so we've planned a night at the Cali Grill to celebrate (a week late, but as Mike I. said on Top Chef "it's like, you know, whatevah whatevah"). Joining us as always will be the infamous Bakers. Brandi and Tom (aka Pom). We are of course uber excited to see our best friends again. It's been 4 months since we saw them last and we're having serious withdrawals. Pom wrote on my FB page a few weeks ago that he doesn't even know Loflins anymore. Sadness 
(Then again, Pom exaggerates).
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
. 
I'm not surprised in the slightest that she would be doing such rebellious things. I might have to join her when we're there.
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Deb
to have at least a "Hi/Bye" meet with one of my favorite TR writers. Seriously, I love reading your TRs. They are so entertaining. Plus DD will be taking her wheelchair for the first time, and if we run into the Bakelins then maybe she can get some pointers from Pom on how to enjoy WDW from a rolling chair. (Although, I don't think she will really have a hard time enjoying herself while we are there.)
Linear Mode
