Me, Muffin and WDW for Xmas stuff!! PTR - Page 11 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
View Poll Results: Notice that I have been quiet for two whole days! Why do you think this is?!
You have been very busy delivering babies!
10
19.23%
You have once again completely changed things around!
I was going to agree that the DP was probably not worth it this time - especially if you have the TiW card and the AP - we find we save more this way.
Really?!?! I am very nervous about not having the DP on this trip! It will be our first trip in ages we haven't done it!! I have a question. Does the 18% gratuity apply to just beverages?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Sounds like things are shaping up! Dropping the DDP looks like the best thing!
I hope so !
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
I think that's a smart decision on your part to just go with TIW card as I've used that in the past and find it well worth it with an AP! I've never used a dining plan on my many trips and never felt I missed it! With the TIW card you can also get drink discounts in the lounges for certain and I think the pool bars (not certain, but I think I have). I did have the Magical Wishes package back around 2002-3, when it was offered as those two Magical Wishes per day (credits) could be used for a number of things in WDW! This included dining, various sporting activities, Cirque du Soleil and Golf! It was so worth it and sorry it was discontinued! But this was the post 9/11 period, when business was down in WDW, so good marketing on their part!
Really?!?! I am very nervous about not having the DP on this trip! It will be our first trip in ages we haven't done it!! I have a question. Does the 18% gratuity apply to just beverages?
Not to hijack but thought I'd answer. With TiW, the discount is applied to the bill and then the 18% gratuity is added. Most other discounts (Dvc, AP,etc) alcohol isn't included.
Not to hijack but thought I'd answer. With TiW, the discount is applied to the bill and then the 18% gratuity is added. Most other discounts (Dvc, AP,etc) alcohol isn't included.
Perhaps, I missed something.... but the TIW discounts for alcohol are included on the bill. Just need to make sure you give your TIW card when doing so to get the 20% discount! This takes more time than your regular bill as authorization from a manager is required to approve the TIW discounts. I've found this in the lounges as they have to contact a manager to approve these. So, when in a lounge, give yourself extra time!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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.
Perhaps, I missed something.... but the TIW discounts for alcohol are included on the bill. Just need to make sure you give your TIW card when doing so to get the 20% discount! This takes more time than your regular bill as authorization from a manager is required to approve the TIW discounts. I've found this in the lounges as they have to contact a manager to approve these. So, when in a lounge, give yourself extra time!
You're right Dave and that's what I meant. TiW alcohol is included, other discounts, it's not.
You're right Dave and that's what I meant. TiW alcohol is included, other discounts, it's not.
That's what I thought with my previous experience with the card!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I am seriously considering canceling the dining package for this trip as we will be at MVMCP one night and I was so impressed with Maci's dinner at the Flying Fish for the wine tasting that I am thinking I will book that instead. We will keep the CP package, so that only leaves us three nights to fill. If we keep it, we use two credits right away for CP. The Flying Fish wine tasting is a nice chunk of change and does not accept the DP, so I am thinking it will not be worth it this time. We will possibly plan one more nice meal at Yachtsman Steakhouse and the other two nights, we honestly don't care where we eat. Am I crazy?
So! When I last left off, this is where I was at with planning!! A LOT has happened since then!! When we got back from WDW, we sat down and really talked about what we wanted to accomplish with this trip.
We decided our main goal was to see WDW at Christmas time and go on a cruise with our good friends afterwards! The only requirement for a resort was that it be deluxe. Muffin said that if we wound up somewhere more remote, he would rent a car which would allow us more access to stuff we want to do.
So I went back to the drawing board and started fresh. We were not opposed to staying at the Beach Club by any means, but we wanted to check out the rest of the fall pricing for deluxe resorts. I particularly looked at the Wilderness Lodge, because I knew that where Muffin really wanted to stay, and actually booked it briefly. However! When I went to the WL page on the website I saw that little red exclamation point telling us that it would be undergoing construction while we were there. It just doesn't pay for me to be the bigger person!!
Muffin immediately said that while he appreciated what I was doing, we really didn't want to stay anywhere undergoing construction. So we once again reverted back to the Beach Club.
Still, I kept checking to see if AP fall rates were out and finally on Sunday, I noticed that they were!! There were only a few resorts listed so I called to make sure that is all that would be available for this offer. The CM said to continue checking, but that they were at this point limiting their AP discounts for fall.
That left me with three options:
1. Stay where we were but at the current rate as no AP discounts were available for the Beach Club.
2. Stay at the Grand Floridian again for a slightly higher rate.
3. Stay at AKL with a Savanna View room for 79 bucks cheaper a night.
I presented them all to Muffin and we discussed them at length. We definitely liked the idea of staying somewhere different and being close to Epcot. We the Grand Floridian and it is beautiful at Christmas.
In the end, though, Muffin said that he knew how much I loved AKL at Christmas time and that we hadn't stayed there for a while and it was significantly cheaper which would give us more spending cash for the rest of our trip. So we decided on AKL!!!
I know that I have confused the heck out of everyone at this point, but if you remember way back when, this was our original plan!! It seems as though both of my trips this year have wound up coming full circle!!
We also decided to stay one less night as we would have to leave early on the morning of December 6th to get to Port Canaveral anyway. So we are now staying the night of December 5th at the Orlando airport Hyatt and getting transfers through Royal Caribbean for the ride to Port Canaveral. We are still planning to spend the entire day on the 5th at WDW and dropping the car we are now renting off at the airport that evening.
As with our last trip, these changes really feel settled this time but I guess we shall see! We are obviously not afraid to tweak things again if need be!!
I am going to finish up my other trip report first and then I will tell you guys all about our new plans for this one!! I just wanted to update it while I remembered everything that happened!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
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.
Some nice changes and seems to be coming together! Good choice in AKL. You will love the Orlando Airport Hyatt as I did prior to my cruise (check out my cruise TR). Some great tarmac views from my room, which I just posted yesterday. Go for the tarmac view as it's amazing!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Just joining in, and trying to keep up with your plans! Reading your PTR from beginning to end really has my head spinning! Funny that you've come full circle, but AKL sounds like a good plan. Looking forward to hearing more.
About This Page: 
With the TIW card you can also get drink discounts in the lounges for certain and I think the pool bars (not certain, but I think I have). 
I did have the Magical Wishes package back around 2002-3, when it was offered as those two Magical Wishes per day (credits) could be used for a number of things in WDW! 
But this was the post 9/11 period, when business was down in WDW, so good marketing on their part! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
but the TIW discounts for alcohol are included on the bill. Just need to make sure you give your TIW card when doing so to get the 20% discount! 
There were only a few resorts listed so I called to make sure that is all that would be available for this offer. The CM said to continue checking, but that they were at this point limiting their AP discounts for fall. 
the Grand Floridian and it is beautiful at Christmas. 
We are obviously not afraid to tweak things again if need be!!
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
