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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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Hi all! I finally got our photos uploaded and figured I would start on our TR. I thought about making the title "1 of us had fun" For those who weren't in on PTR - here's where you can find the low down. http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...kkerb-ptr.html
But a basic recap -
Cast: Chuck (ChukkerB) age 57 Ortho tech and thespian. He is a member of two local community theaters and his hobby is either acting or working stage crew. He either loves Disney or just loves me enough to humor me.
Me - Tracy (Coop) age 47, RN in the Emergency Room (near Detroit - ) Although I would love to share Chuck's hobby, my hours prevent me from it. (I work until 3 am) So my hobby is Disney.
We have been waiting for this trip for what seems like forever (only about 11 months). We (rather I) have been planning and researching and getting excited because we added on a sea component. This cruise was a first for me. Chuck cruised once before and on a different line a long, long time ago.
Plan - drive to WDW/Kidani Village from Michigan (over 2 days) and then drive over to Port Canaveral for our 4 night Cruise on the Dream before taking 2 days to drive home. Wanna come along for the ride? Hmmm?
Let's go!
Wednesday 10/22
I was off of work and finishing up last minute details at home. Chuck had to work until 5-ish and then would come home and finish his packing and whatnot. Our son, Michael, and his GF were coming over after they got off work too as they were going to housesit and watch the fur babies. I always cook for them and make "freezer meals". I had already done this the previous weekend and our freezer was stocked with meat pies, chicken and dumplings and meatloaf. There were homemade cookie bars in the cupboard along with fresh milk and cereal, bread and the like. Once everyone was situated, we ordered a pizza for dinner and just talked and watched tv. We TRIED to make an early night of it. I was sort of unsuccessful - nervous, excited or maybe my circadian rhythms were still on midnights. Finally got to sleep around 11:30 and got up around 2:00am.
I always start my pictures/HD card with one of each of my fur babies.
Tilley
Mac
Abby
Thursday Oct 23
We wanted to leave around 3 am in order to try to avoid rush hour in Atlanta. Chuck slept until about 2:30 am while I showered and put together my last odds and ends. Chuck got up, dressed and showered pretty quickly and we ended up leaving the house around 3:20 am. I started driving first and Chuck dozed. Ohio being mostly flat farmland, was rather boring and difficult for me to stay awake. There was a lot of construction going on so I had to pay attention. We stopped at Waffle House for breakfast around Findlay and then we had a potty stop once more in Ohio before hitting our favorite spot for gas - Jellico, KY. Kentucky and TN went by without incident - we talked and listened to music. We stopped for potty breaks and to fill up the gas tank and switch drivers every few hours. We hit up Zaxby's for lunch - YUM! We made it to Atlanta and since we had 2 people in the car - we could use the HOV lanes! It was relatively easy but it just seems that there's ALWAYS traffic! Once past Atlanta, we knew we were getting close to our hotel for the night. Although Valdosta was still a few hours away. We made it to Drury Inn, Valdosta Georgia around 8 pm after 17 hours of driving! We checked in and took our overnight bags up to the room and then went out in search of food. We found a Sonny's BBQ place and decided that we'd give it a try. Frankly, I've had better BBQ here in the D! After filling our bellies, we went back to the room and just collapsed. They had a great indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub that was very inviting - but we were too tired!
Duffy had to go with us!
Traffic around Atlanta - ALMOST rush hour
Someday we will stop in for a hot dog.
Duffy was hanging out
Chuck's Fantasy Football team name is the Jasperdoodles
Friday Oct 24
We got up around 7 am. Either right before the alarm or with the alarm - I'm not sure which. We were showered and out the door and on the road by 8 am. We stopped at the Starbucks next door to the Drury Inn for our to go coffee and got some egg sandwiches to go as well since we didn't stay for the "free breakfast" that was included at the Drury. It was quite a short trip from Valdosta as we had stopped for gas once and were on WDW property by 11:30 am. We got to Kidani and found our room was ready. My magic band didn't work right away. We had to make a second trip to the check in desk to straighten it out. We also asked Bell Services for our Owner's Locker and they delivered that at the same time we came up from the garage with our luggage. We unpacked a little. I found that I was mostly living out of my suitcase anyhow. After settling in a bit, we were off to MK. It was kind of a free day as we didn't know we would get in so early. We went up to the deck of the train station, even though the train was closed, to get a view of Main St and my castle. Then we went over to Tortuga Tavern for lunch and then rode POC, Haunted Mansion and BTMRR. There was a Halloween party that night so MK was closing early and we had dinner ADR at Boma so we started to head back to the resort. We were noticing all of the costumes that people were wearing and got kind of excited about ours for later in the week! Boma was busy but we got right in. The food was awesome as usual and Chuck tried to make up for his Zebra Dome deficiency. He had 2 on every single plate he got. Salad plus Zebra domes, carved meats plus zebra domes, curry pasta salad plus zebra domes, zebra domes with a side of zebra domes. You get the idea. I had my prerequisite 2. That's all I can afford before the caffeine starts bothering me. After dinner and looking around in the gift shop, we walked back to Kidani. It wasn't a long walk and it was well lit. Once back, Chuck was out like a light by 9:30! I stayed up until 11 pm, writing notes, on fb and IM'ing with my step mom.
Passing those gates!
Kidani
Proverbs around the resort
Studio savannah view
Our door shield
From our balcony
Boma
Up Next: Our first full day and we are already tweaking plans. PLUS our first PP meet!
Sounds like you had an uneventful drive down which is always a good thing and it's always so great to hear when you check into Disney that your room is ready!!! Glad you got a few rides in at the MK before having to head back to AKL for Boma! I've never had the zebra domes but I've heard so many rave reviews about them!
A great start! I'm always amazed that you can drive for such long stretches, but it's wonderful to get to WDW before noon on arrival day! You even got to do a few rides at MK and just get into the spirit by walking down Main Street. Boma looks wonderful and I love Chuck's method of zebra domes between each course as a palate cleanser!
Great start! Love the pictures of your furbabies! It seems lately no matter what interstate you are on there is construction, construction and more construction. You are correct in that the traffic in Atlanta is always a pain, no matter what time you go through. Glad you made it in early and your room was ready!
The Boma pictures made me hungry. I want a little bit of everything with a side of Zebra Domes please! I can't wait to read more! Keep it coming!
You two have road trips down pat! So neat that you arrived early enough to get some time in at MK before dinner. I love Chuck's Zebra Domes with every plate/course. Like you, I only ever manage two.
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A great start indeed. Next trip we might leave at Midnight! The Town and Country was so nice to cruise in. We followed the "Along I-75" book by Dave Hunter. That book is so FREAKIN' FANTASTIC!!! You cannot go wrong following that book. It's funny when he shows a cop car on the page and you look up, AND THERE'S ONE THERE! His recommendation of The Drury Inn in Valdosta is "SPOT ON" Clean rooms, friendly staff, Clean bathroom, lot's of places to eat nearby, and did I mention CLEAN?!? We seemed to zoom thru the pages of the book, and satellite radio kept us entertained. Maybe the biggest thing is how nice the roads were (South of Dayton) and The HOV lane thru Atlanta was pretty sweet.
I promise not to steal any of Coop's thunder this TR. Thanks for following her/us, It really means a lot to us.
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"Life can be as easy as a fall,it's all so easy once you just let go."
I am so glad you've started your TR!!! I can't wait to read all about your adventures. Love the pics of your furbabies and Duffy.
I especially can't wait for the Sea portion of your report as I have booked our 20th anniversary cruise on the Dream. I even booked the same cabin you had. It looks like a perfect place to relax and watch the sunset.
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. Jenn
Great start. Love the pictures of your fur babies. We have always stayed at Kidani, when staying at AKL and actually like the walk between the two locations.
Great start and so happy you had a great time and drive down, But 17 hours first day does make for a long long haul. No wonder Duffy was bouncing arround the car. That little wild child needs to be in a child seat with his seatbelts on some of those states have very expensive summonses for not having your child secured. And Being an ED NURSE you should know what sort of things can happen
About This Page: 
For those who weren't in on PTR - here's where you can find the low down. 
) Although I would love to share Chuck's hobby, my hours prevent me from it. (I work until 3 am) So my hobby is Disney. 
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Pixie Dust
I want a little bit of everything with a side of Zebra Domes please! 
I can't wait to read more! Keep it coming! 
,
So neat that you arrived early enough to get some time in at MK before dinner. I love Chuck's Zebra Domes with every plate/course. 
Like you, I only ever manage two.
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
Jenn
PassPorter Guide Author
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