I am curious on how you go about starting your plans for a WDW Vacation! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I am curious on how you go about starting your plans for a WDW Vacation!
Do you have a certain resort in mind first? Or is your trip planned around a special event, holiday season, business or convention?
Most of our trip plannings come from someone saying those famous words "I want to go to WDW!" Which I am sure you all have heard before! Then we hash out a time to go & for how long. Once we decide on a date and lenght of stay I call Shades of Green (can't beat the rate & we enjoy the resort). Have been lucky to get it each time! Then I call for Airline tickets and either set up for a rental car or a Towncar pick-u at the Airport... Finally we try to set up what park(s) that we would like to attend & restaurants!
Now keep in mind, Rome wasn't built in a day..... our plans constantly change!
What do you do differently? Maybe your suggestions can help someone in need of planning ideas!
------------------
Take Care & "Remember the Magic!"
debe-nj
[This message has been edited by debe (edited 03-17-2000).]
Re: I am curious on how you go about starting your plans for a WDW Vacation!
We usually begin by deciding when we want to go - for us that usually means a relatively quiet time at WDW since we want to avoid large crowds so we can RELAX and concentrate on the magic. Next we discuss which resort - a decision that is becoming more difficult every year as WDW adds so many good ones! Then we discuss the attractions and restaurants we most want to experience. That discussion is ongoing for months, with regular family meetings to refine and change our plans. It's all such a wonderful process that we like it ALMOST as much as going!
------------------
Cruella ºoº
"It all started from a Daddy with 2 daughters, wondering where he could take them where he could have a little fun..."
Re: I am curious on how you go about starting your plans for a WDW Vacation!
We just automatically make reservations for Easter break. I've always worked in the school system, but I plan on retiring in a couple of years. So that may change the time of year we go, but that will be up to my daughter because her daughter starts school this September!
DH always says he's not going again, but always changes his mind, so I can't make travel arrangements right away.
The plans are done grandually because we are so spread out and alot of it is done over the phone.
It all does come together in the end and I hate to say the end, but there is always the next trip to start planning for.
Re: I am curious on how you go about starting your plans for a WDW Vacation!
We just know that every time we come back, we'll want to go the next year. I do give myself a couple of weeks after we return to just bask in the glory of having been there, then I start right in with where we want to stay. Next year I'm definitely doing the Beach Club or Boardwalk. I am dying to stay there. Next, transportation. We've done the plane 3 times and the train(our own compartment) twice. then we decide the finer points..parks, food, entertainment etc. Then, of course, I keep calling and adding or changing things. Disney must get so sick of me. Oh well, that's half the fun for me.
Re: I am curious on how you go about starting your plans for a WDW Vacation!
The first thing we have to decide is who's going and when. This trip it's my husband and I, my sister, her husband and their 3 children. This means we have to go during the summer because of school. So we decided on July, then called CRO and booked Disney Institute 2 bedroom villa. We wanted to stay at Old Key West's 2 bedroom places, but they had no discounts available. Now we're working on restaurant and parks decisions. However I definitely think planning is a large part of the fun.
About This Page: 
Then we hash out a time to go & for how long. Once we decide on a date and lenght of stay I call Shades of Green (can't beat the rate & we enjoy the resort). Have been lucky to get it each time! 
Then I call for Airline tickets and either set up for a rental car or a Towncar pick-u at the Airport... Finally we try to set up what park(s) that we would like to attend & restaurants! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
