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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
a few years ago, I told all my 3 kids, that when they turned 16, I would take them each on a vacation by themselves, somewhere they wanted to go, within reason. This is because they all deserved some special Mom time as I've been a single parent 24/7 since 2004.
My oldest turns 16 in October. Last year, when discussing his trip I had said we could do it this summer, so he didn't have to wait 9 months until summer.
He's had some problems, with anxiety, anger, etc. not only since I left their Dad in 2004, which was traumatic, we lost my Mom Dec 2005, and my Dad who had lived with us since 2007, in Feb 2011. My kids were really close to my parents.
He's now been diagnosed with Major Depression Disorder, PTSD, with some anxiety that goes along with that, and has been on meds for 6 weeks, current ones 3 weeks. The Psychiatrist also wants him tested for Aspergers.
He is a changed boy. I'm not worried about him snapping and hurting someone, he's talking with me, and wants hugs again. He's actually getting up on his own before 3pm, and is going to school in the afternoon.
So, my issue is this... He wants to go to Iowa to an Anime convention. He has some online friends that are going, including a girl, Erin who he spends most of his time texting, skyping, and chatting online. They play minecraft together online. (she's 13, and going to the convention with her mom and a couple of girlfriends)
I'm worried if he's stable enough to take on a trip like this by myself right now. We'd be travelling across the USA border, We're in Western Canada, and flying from Spokane to Cedar Rapids. My brother would have to take time off to stay home with my 13 & 9 year olds.
We would leave early the morning of the 26th, and drive 6 hours to Spokane. The plane leaves at 1:30, landing in Cedar Rapids at 11pm. Convention starts next day, Friday, and then we would leave and fly home Sunday pm, staying overnight in Spokane. We'd be gone 5 days. I'm estimating my cost at $2600. not too expensive.
But, we are going on a family road trip July 9-20th, and then to WDW Aug 21-Sept 4th. I still have to get together $9000 for WDW, and I'm calculating the road trip at $1500 (we're camping or with relatives).
I'm currently off work, on a medical leave, so my pay is only 60%....
Am I biting off too much? Is he ready to go on the trip???
__________________
Kris
Mom to:
DS Chris age 17; DD Lizzy age 15; DD Ashleigh age 11
His costume is in progress. he is going as a character from a web comic - Homestuck. Character is Sollux. He tells me it's a alien troll..... his GF Erin is going as one too, as are her friends.
I am sort of looking forward to the 2 days relaxing by the pool.....
I've scaled back the camping trip, and saved $200, and should really be able to save another 200, if we stay with relatives instead of at camp grounds.
WDW trip, I've already have $4000 in that's not refundable (AP renewals and airfare) I can cancel the Waynama Safari, that will save almost $1000, and we can cancel some of our ADRs and do CS. I can save another $800 there.
__________________
Kris
Mom to:
DS Chris age 17; DD Lizzy age 15; DD Ashleigh age 11
I think you are on the right track for the savings. I think canceling the Safari is a no-brainer. That's better than a third of your trip with your son right there. Could you pick up breakfast and lunch fixings and eat those meals in the room or on the go (we do that on all our WDW trips and save up for the nice dinners)? That can help too. A couple of hundrend here and a couple of hundred there an you've got your trip paid for.
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 think your son really will benefit from the trip and some mom alone time.
I would try to scale back on the WDW trip as much as possible. When we had APs, that was really all the money I would put into WDW. I have never been one to do a lot of extras because I feel the park entrance fee is more than enough money. We have never not had a great time and my trips were usually under 3K for a family of 5 who needed two rooms for the teens.
Also, I would consider changing resorts if money is tight. I have discovered the joys of moderate resorts and last visit we stayed at the AKL (I got a very discounted rate) and I actually wished we had stayed at the CSR. If you are not going to use the extra amenities at a deluxe, why stay?
I also just got a discount/free dining brochure in the mail yesterday, I think for your dates.
AKL (Aug 28-Sep3) is staying on DVC points, and we are having breakfasts and most lunches those 6 days in the room.
Beach club is OOP Aug 22-28, but I got an awesome rate on Club level - actually cheaper than the room normally, and I priced us out at 2 rooms at POR or POP or the Suite at AoA, and with the fact we don't eat big breakfasts, and CL with the drinks, etc.... Also we can only get Free Dining for 3 days, and it actually costs me more as I have to buy park tickets and we already have APs from our trip in October.
With the food savings, moving down from BC doesn't save me money, and my kids will be spending a lot of time at Stormalong Bay...
so changing accommodations doesn't save me $$ in this case
__________________
Kris
Mom to:
DS Chris age 17; DD Lizzy age 15; DD Ashleigh age 11
I think you are on the right track with your budget. The biggest thing I look at with all of this is the amount of travelling over the summer. I think you should take your son on his birthday trip. Kids remember when you break promises, and this is a big one. It is more than just going on the trip. It is emotionally very important! I would, however, talk to him and your other kids about what will be expected with the amount of travel and them helping out. They should know what is expected of them up front. I think as long as they know what the plan is and what the expectations are everything should be fine.
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 agree, as long as his Dr is confident in his ability to handle the trip, canceling it would only cost you more in personal ways than saving. He's looking forward to it, it is something you promised, I would figure out other ways to save money and make it a go!
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: 
16th Birthday trip quandry... Help!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
]
Linear Mode
