Are we crazy? - A spur of the moment Disney getaway TR - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
PassPorter.com
Award-winning travel guidebooks

   guidebooks   |   news   |   podcasts   |   boards   |   blog   |   worksheets   |   photos   |   articles   |   updates   |   register   |   follow us on


Forums Closed
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

Go Back   PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums > PassPorter's Walt Disney World Resort (Florida) > Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Register


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.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-03-2013, 06:14 PM   #1
Coop
Community Rank: Scout
 
Coop's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Michigan
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 4,792

Post Thanks / Like
Are we crazy? - A spur of the moment Disney getaway TR

Hi there! Yes this is a new TR. We did a spur of the moment trip Thurs 4/25, Fri 4/26, and Sat 4/27. I'm still working on resizing pics on Photobucket but I can get the basics going now.

How did this all come to pass? Well, this year has already started out busy, busy,busy. Chuck had 2 plays back to back (well, kind of overlapping) so along with work, he was pretty much gone from 6 am until midnight about 6 days a week. On the 7th day - he collapsed only to do it all over again. I was busy keeping up with the house, bills, cooking, cleaning (you know - all the normals stuff) plus working and missing Chuck. I was also taking care of Meg, our golden retriever. She was slowing down, I thought due to old age. She developed a runny nose only on the right side that had blood tinged drainage. She also developed a droop to her right eye with drainage as well. I took her in to the vet hoping for a diagnosis of "sinus infection". We got a diagnosis of sinus tumor. . She went down hill pretty rapidly. She developed massive nosebleeds and one day she couldn't walk well on her left side (the tumor on the right was putting pressure on her brain that controlled the left side). She wasn't eating anymore and losing 1-2 lbs a week. She had stopped playing with her toys and would only go from room to room and lay down. Well, I couldn't prolong the inevitable. I couldn't see her suffer. So on April 18, we put down our dear,sweet Meg. She was a wonderful girl and a big part of our lives for the last 14 years. Her death left quite a hole. We put her down and Chuck still had 3 performances to get through. I have no idea how he did that! I was trying to avoid doing it while he was tied up with a play but it was time.

So, since Chuck was tied up with plays for the past 3 months, he took off of work the first day he could - Thurs 4/25 and that gave us 3 days off together! That would also be our first weekend without Meg and I really didn't want to stay home crying. I started pricing trips. I figured the cats would be fine for a few days. I priced the train to Chicago or DC. I priced NYC. And naturally Disney - Disney was comparable. I found a flight/hotel combo on Travelocity. We could either go to Wyndam at DTD or the Dolphin was just $300 more.

So Wednesday, Chuck and I were texting back and forth about where to go and what to do. I told him, we have the money already saved for our December trip. We could just use that and start saving again, after all we have 7 months before that trip. At about 5:00, I asked him "should I go to the bank"? His response was "yep". I was out like a flash! I wasn't sure if the bank would still be open. I hightailed it there and withdrew some cash. Then I came home to start packing! Oh my! This was really happening. We booked the trip at about 6 pm and our flight out was at 8:50 am! We just kept saying "I can't believe we are doing this" and "are we crazy?".

So, I made pizza for dinner while Chuck did a load of wash and we both packed our carry ons. We got to bed somewhere after midnight.

Up next: "we should've read the fine print" or "hope that was the only glitch"
__________________
Tracy (aka Coop)

My Countdown Counting down to: Sept 24, 2016- 20th Anniversary at Disney AND June 2, 2017 - B2B Double Dips on the Dream!
Happy Anniversary!
My Previous TripsWDW April 2010 CSR (1st trip ever) - WDW Nov 2010 AKL (honeymoon after 14 years of marriage) - WDW Nov 2011 (1st DVC trip) BLT - WDW Sept 2012 OKW - WDW Dec 2013 Christmas time split stay SS/OKW - WDW Oct/Nov 2014 Land and Sea -Halloween/ Kidani/4 nights on the Dream - Nov 2015 OKW/7 nights on the Fantasy. WDW Sept 2016 OKW.
Coop is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-03-2013, 07:13 PM   #2
lauriep
Community Rank: Legend
 
lauriep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 15,377

Post Thanks / Like
How great! I'm so glad you did this after the exhaustion, both emotional and physical, over the past month for you both. Can't wait to hear how it all worked out, but I don't like the sound of your teaser!
__________________
lauriep is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-03-2013, 08:34 PM   #3
disneymom57
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Coastal New Jersey
Posts: 539

Post Thanks / Like
Hope that Disney was the perfect place to heal.
Can't wait for the next installment.
__________________
Nancy
My Countdown Counting down to: Five and Wine! 5 Friends Going to Food and Wine Festival
Having the happiest time of our lives!!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsPoly 90, POR 98 & 2000, ASMo 01, ASMu, AKL, WL 02, POR, CB, WL 03, ASMu 04, ASMu, WL 05, PoP 08, Pop, BC 09, POFQ, WL-CL 10, POFQ 11, Pop 12, WL 13, YC 16
disneymom57 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-03-2013, 08:41 PM   #4
Cam22
Batman's Gal/Mickey's Pal
PassPorter's Club Passholder


What's this?

PassPorter Guide

Community Rank:
Legend VIP
 
Cam22's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Owensboro, KY USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 95,254

Post Thanks / Like
I am so sorry about Meg! A Disney trip sounds like a good thing at this point.
__________________
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsAKL Jambo April/May 2017--SSR/OKW Sept/Oct 2016 --AKL Kidani May 2016 -- Polynesian Village Resort May 2015 -- OKW/Magic December 2014 -- AKL Jambo House October 2014 -- VWL May 2014--SSR October 2013--AKL/Kidani June 2013--CBR October 2012--BWI June 2012--AKV Jambo House/Kidani Village June 2011 -- November 2010 Beach Club -- June 2010 Beach Club -- October 2009 CBR and Gaylord Palms -- June 2009 AKV/Kidani Village -- June 2008 VWL --June 2007 OKW--June 2006 Disney Wonder/SSR -- June 2005 SSR -- June 2004 VWL -- June 2003 AKL -- August 1997 Off Property -- March 1980 Cocoa Beach
Cam22 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 01:00 AM   #5
Dlandmom2
Community Rank: Globetrotter
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: California
Posts: 3,021

Post Thanks / Like
I've always wanted to do a spur of the moment trip!!! I hope it's what the doctor ordered after all you've been through recently! I'm worried about the teaser though!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!

Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
My Countdown Counting down to: Hopefully My 3rd WDW Trip with the Kids!
My Previous TripsWDW Nov 2013 OKW and POR; Jan 2009 Offsite at HGVC then Beach Club; not listing DLR...I don't think I can count that high!
Dlandmom2 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 01:16 AM   #6
mushu22
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: 5 miles from WDW
Posts: 995

Post Thanks / Like
I am so sorry about Meg! A Disney trip sounds like a good thing at this point.
mushu22 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 02:01 AM   #7
Thomhazel
Community Rank: Globetrotter
 
Thomhazel's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 3,288

Post Thanks / Like
I think a spur of the moment trip is a lovely idea
__________________
Scottish Hogmanay (with a stolen Picture)

My Countdown Counting down to: WDW, Disney Dream and Universal
Chillin at disney
Thomhazel is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 08:10 AM   #8
dutchdisneyfamily
Community Rank: Explorer
 
dutchdisneyfamily's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Illinois
Concierge Level: 8
Posts: 9,092

Post Thanks / Like
I think it was a great idea to take the trip. Can't wait to hear more!
__________________
My Countdown Counting down to: Disney World!
We are here!
My Previous TripsWDW Nov. 1988, DL Dec. 2006, WDW June 2010, WDW June 2013, WDW November 2015, WDW June 2016, August 2016, WDW June 2017
dutchdisneyfamily is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 09:39 AM   #9
JKnott17
Community Rank: Scout
 
JKnott17's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Edison, NJ
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 4,993

Post Thanks / Like
I'm so sorry about Meg. A quick trip to Disney sounds like a great way to mend your hearts. Can't wait to hear more.
__________________
Jenn

My first TR:A Very Merry SurpriseHere we go again: Goin' Down the Bayou Our Anniversary Trip: Happy 10 Years

My Countdown Counting down to: Our Second Cruise
Sailing away on the Dream!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsYearly trips to WDW as a child with my family (1982 - 1989), WDW/Universal 1992, Senior Class Trip to WDW June 1994, WDW 2001, First Family Trip with my girls 2009, First MNSSHP October 2010, First MVMCP November 2011, POR November 2012, POR and our first cruise on the Dream August 2013
JKnott17 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 10:06 AM   #10
BrerMoose
Community Rank: Passenger
 
BrerMoose's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Illinois
Posts: 26

Post Thanks / Like
I would love to surprise dutchdisneyfamily with a spur of the moment trip someday, but so much of what I do on a daily basis is surprising already. I wouldn't want to overdo things. I can't wait to read more of your report. I'm on the edge of my seat.
BrerMoose is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 11:10 AM   #11
KMB733
PassPorter Guide

Community Rank:
Legend Extraordinaire
 
KMB733's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ballston Lake, NY
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 46,162

Post Thanks / Like
Great start!! Sounds like a little break to Disney is just what you two needed!
__________________
Kathy
PassPorter Co-Guide for: Making More Magic
My Countdown Counting down to: Christmas
Merry Christmas
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDW June 1979, WDW 1985, WDW 1987, WDW Oct 2003, WDW March 2004, WDW Oct 2004, WDW Sept 2005--Pop Century , WDW Nov 2006--Pop Century, WDW Jan 2007--Pop Century, WDW Nov/Dec 2009--Pop Century, DLR Oct 2011, WDW Dec 2014
KMB733 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 11:58 AM   #12
ChukkerB
Community Rank: Trekker
 
ChukkerB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,065

Post Thanks / Like
My 2 cents: Plan A was a picnic in the park. Snow in Detroit on Wednesday morning,plan A is OUT!
Plan B: Possibly a weekend jaunt to Toronto to see a play,or Chicago,or maybe a bed and breakfast up north.
Plan C: ??? There is no plan C.
I thought about a trip to WDW,but good lord,it takes us 9 months to plan any Disney vacation,how the heck are we going to plan,pack,ect. in one evening? My co-workers were supportive of me,being on the phone texting all afternoon,but at one point I gave up. I was trying to do it from my end not knowing what Coop was up to. About 4pm,I resigned myself to a very long,very sad weekend. Then the text came,"Should I go to the bank?"
"Yep" was all I had time to type. We were getting swamped with calls,problems,Thursday was "Bring your kids to work day" So lot's of prep,lot's of visitors to see what we were doing,Lot's of trying to talk me into working since all the kids really love "Uncle Chuck". I was determined to give this day to Tracy no matter what,even if it meant sitting at home crying over our lost baby.
a bit later Coop called and said we were all set. Flying out tomorrow morning,staying at the Dolphin. I don't remember the rest of the work day. I flew home,grabbed our travel bags,and started to look for shorts and shirts that were "Disney wear" AND that would fit!
__________________


"Life can be as easy as a fall,it's all so easy once you just let go."
My Countdown Counting down to: 2013 Vacation
My Previous TripsHoneymoon(after 14years!)2010 at AKL,Nov'11(First as DVC members),November'11 BLT,September '12 Old Key West,April 2013,a last min. Trip at the "Swolfin"
ChukkerB is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 12:58 PM   #13
chezp
PassPorter Message Board Manager
PassPorter Guide Author

Community Rank:
Legend VIP
 
chezp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285

Post Thanks / Like
I'm so sorry about Meg. I hope the Disney trip was the tonic you needed.
__________________

Relaxing on board the Magic. The trip report for our back-to-back cruises on the Disney Magic has started!
My Countdown Counting down to: 2019
Happy New Year!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous Trips21 trips to WDW, 6 to Disneyland in California, 9 to Disneyland Paris, 1 to Hong Kong Disneyland, 1 to Tokyo Disney, 1 to Aulani, 1 to Hilton Head, 2 to Vero Beach and 13 Disney cruises on the Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy
chezp is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 04:05 PM   #14
Colexis Mom
RED SOX NATION!!
PassPorter's Club Passholder


What's this?

PassPorter Guide

Community Rank:
Legend VIP
 
Colexis Mom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854

Post Thanks / Like
What a great spur of the moment trip! I hope it was able to ease your pain!
__________________
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsAUG '16 - POFQ, APR '12 - POFQ, JUL '10 - DL, AUG '09 - DCL Western, AUG '08 - POFQ/BC, AUG '06 - AKL/BC/DisneyWonder/Poly, DEC '05 - AKL, APR '05 - AKL/BC, DEC '04 - AKL, MAY '04 - AKL/BC, MAY '03 - WL/BC, MAY '98 -offsite, MAY '94 - BC, AUG '85 - Poly, AUG '83 - Poly, AUG '81 - Poly, JUL '79 - World Inn, JUL '76 - World Inn
Colexis Mom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-04-2013, 04:37 PM   #15
OhToodles!
PassPorter Guide

Community Rank: Explorer
 
OhToodles!'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: St. Peters, MO
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 12,274

Post Thanks / Like
Can't wait to read about the last minute trip! So glad you decided to take it!
__________________
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Kelly Co-Guide to Owning the Magic: Disney Vacation Club & Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
My Countdown Counting down to: Spring Break @ the Poly!
no parks, but still Disney!!
OhToodles! is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Reply




Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump














Please login or register to hide these ads -- it's free and easy!

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:03 PM.

-->

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like v3.4.0 Patch Level 1 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
(c) 1998-2017 PassPorter Travel Press/MediaMarx, Inc.
Celebrating 19 Years of Making Dreams Come True
Ad Management plugin by RedTyger