Trip Report for "Our Summer Surprise Trip", August 15-22, 2011 - COMPLETED!! 12/4 - Page 45 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Awesome trip report! It took me 2 days to read it all, but I got it done. Haha! I loved all of your pictures. Over all it looks and sounds like you had a wonderful time. You are brave to take another child with you. I wouldn't even consider it because I'm to selfish to give that time up with just my own kids and husband. haha. Kwim?
It'd be great to stay at AKL one day. We've eaten at Boma's and really enjoyed it. The resort is amazing.
I'm with you - I will never again go in the summer time! It is miserable. Thankfully we homeschool too and we are going in February this year! My oldest is in high school and we wouldn't be able to go if we didn't homeschool!
Have a wonderful holiday!
Oh China sounds like a great trip! I want to come along! Thanks for sharing your vacation with us! Good luck with your fantasy trip as well--solo touring is wonderful!
Location: A little over 1000 miles from my happy place!
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Just read your entire TR! I know I'm a little late on this one (don't know how I missed it before!) but what an awesome report you did! Love the pics, the details, and everything. I think my fav though was reading about viewing Wishes from the Poly beach. I've thought about this before, but really think we'll try it next trip. You've convinced me that it can be magical from a distance too! Your boys are tooo cute. As a mom to 3 boys, I can relate with all the silly things boys do. You just gotta love em though right? Congrats on becoming a DVC owner. DH and I have discussed it, but for now it's on the back burner. Anyway, again great TR! Thanks for sharing!
I really enjoyed reading tour TR this AM. I can relate on so many levels!!! I'm a home-school mom of 2 boys (but one is out of the nest, almost 30 & the other is 11.) We went our first year in Aug. 2010; NEVER again. Last year we went in Sept & just missed you guys; Still TOO hot. This year we'll be there the Sat. after Thanksgiving to experience all the "Holiday Splendor" ; I think we'll miss you guys again. (When will you be going home?) I'm hoping to schedule one of those nice DVC appts. in this trip.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this!
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Last year we went in Sept & just missed you guys; Still TOO hot. 
This year we'll be there the Sat. after Thanksgiving to experience all the "Holiday Splendor" 
; I think we'll miss you guys again. (When will you be going home?) I'm hoping to schedule one of those nice DVC appts. in this trip. 
MaryBeth, Mark Jr. & Mark Sr.
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