Cheaper by the Dozen – Lukas’ 1st Birthday Extravaganza! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Cheaper by the Dozen – Lukas’ 1st Birthday Extravaganza!
I figured I better start on this or I’ll never get around to it and there’s so much going on with this trip that it might help to write it all down. Dates: Saturday, September 17 – Saturday, September 24, 2011 Accommodations: 2 bedroom club level & value studio at Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House Cast: Me, Kelly (31) – mom, wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, and planner of this trip
DH, Mike (31) – dad, husband to me, son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, FP ticket runner
DS(1), Dylan (3 – almost 4) – son, grandson, nephew, should be tall enough for 40” rides, but might be too scared to ride them J
DS(2), Lukas (1) - son, grandson, nephew, birthday boy
DM, Gail (55) – my mom, mother-in-law, grandma, go with the flow
DF, Jerry (57) – my dad, father-in-law, grandpa, can’t wait for trick or treating again
DB, Kevin (29) – my brother, brother-in-law, son to Jerry & Gail, uncle, going for his nephews & to play golf
DSiL, Becki (27) – sister-in-law, aunt, married to DB-Kevin, goes to Disney when she can with us (she came with Mike, Dylan, & I in 2009 because Kevin used vacation hunting)
DMiL, Vicki (55) – Mike’s mom, my mother-in-law, maw-maw, loves Epcot
DFiL, Terry (55) – Mike’s dad, father-in-law, paw-paw, loves Statler & Waldorf and Disney popcorn
DSiL, Laura (27) – Mike’s sister, my sister-in-law, aunt, daughter to Terry & Vicki, thrill ride junkie
DBiL, Ryan (27) – Laura’s husband, brother-in-law, uncle, taking days off teaching to be with us Celebration: Lukas’ 1st Birthday! Which is September 21, 2011!
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'm exhausted already and I haven't even heard the planning saga! Sounds like a fun group, though, and most of them you've done WDW with before, which always helps. Dylan and Lukas will be in their glory, with all those doting adults!
So excited to see the start of your TR, can't believe that Lukas is going to be 1, or even that Dylan is going to be 4, it is all just going by so fast
Looking forward to hearing all about the planning for the big birthday event
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Southwestern Florida, USA
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 39,153
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 39
Likes (Received): 114
Thanks (Given): 18
Thanks (Received): 46
Pixie Dust (Given): 1
Pixie Dust (Received): 8
Wow! That is some cast of characters!
And really?? Lukas is going to have his first birthday already???
Time does fly!
I can't wait for all of the fun details!
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
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'm exhausted already and I haven't even heard the planning saga! Sounds like a fun group, though, and most of them you've done WDW with before, which always helps. Dylan and Lukas will be in their glory, with all those doting adults!
Tell me about it! I've been putting it out of my mnd lately because I just can't seem to focus on it. I'm a little worried about all the doting adults. I already have a rule - Dylan does not get carried (unless it's at the end of the night and he's sleeping) - He has to walk or ride in the stroller.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great Start Kelly!! That's a lot of people to plan for! Looking forward to seeing what you have planned for Lukas' first birthday and trip!
Thanks! I tried to tone it down from Dylan's 1st birthday/trip, but sometimes I wonder if I really did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nimros
Okay Kelly - I'm going to have to get a spreadsheet out to keep track of everyone!!
You are a brave, brave woman. I'm excited to hear all your details!
Aw Thanks! I did it to myself - inviting everyone, but I'm glad we'll all be together for such a happy celebration. And I am going to need several spreadsheets while we're there to keep everything straight. Maybe I should ask Karen for some advice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
So excited to see the start of your TR, can't believe that Lukas is going to be 1, or even that Dylan is going to be 4, it is all just going by so fast
Looking forward to hearing all about the planning for the big birthday event
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luvsun
Wow! That is some cast of characters!
And really?? Lukas is going to have his first birthday already???
Time does fly!
I can't wait for all of the fun details!
I can't believe he's going to be 1 soon either! And Dylan to be 4!
Quote:
Originally Posted by buzzspal2
One year old already. I hope you all have the beat trip ever.
Thank you so much!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexiemom
Wow! That is quite the crew you have going! Can't wait to hear all of your plans!
OH YAY!! You started your TR. I'm planning for 11 on my trip and did 15 on our last trip. It can be fun to plan for that many but also a bit scary as you have so many people counting on you. But us Disney freaks - we love to share the World with our families so it is more fun than work.
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: 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Holly: 
Great start
MaryBeth, Mark Jr. & Mark Sr.
Linear Mode
