My Best Trip Ever! A Disney Trip 10 Years in the Making - Page 12 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Sounds like you had a nice relaxing morning while bonding. And even though I have a little girl, there is no way I'd be spending that much money on a tea party...unless I won the lottery.
Oye. Thank goodness the key ordeal did not happen the last night. Now that it's behind you... a definite memorable moment of the trip.
Cute, cute pictures of Evan with the princesses. He is a little doll.
Sounds like you are following your instincts and going your own way when you need to. I find that sometimes when we travel with our parents that's exactly what we need to do - can't please everyone all the time so sometimes you have to break off and go separate ways and try to hook up later.
I agree. As much as I love my family have time alone is wonderful as well.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Glad the boys had a great time on the pirate adventure!
They said they did and they were all smiles.
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Originally Posted by lauriep
The Pirate Adventure sounds like a success! Evan looked great all geared-up for his treat. Good to get some private time to chat with Chris about family matters. Definitely a good thing that Evan may be helping to get rid of some prejudice, but what a shame that it's still a big subject to be dealt with.
You said it. I don't even think about it but every once in a while I'll get a funny look from someone or a rude comment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sounds like your little pirates really enjoyed their adventure!
I think they did.
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Originally Posted by JKnott17
That sounded like a wonderful morning, just you and your friend and some peace and quiet. I'm glad all of the boys liked the pirate cruise! And I agree about the Princess tea. I thought it sounded cute, until I saw the price tag
It is outrageous!!!!
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Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
What a wonderful morning! The pirate cruise sounds like it was a hit!
It was a big hit. they had a nice time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sounds like a great morning!
lots of fun
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
Sounds like you had a nice relaxing morning while bonding. And even though I have a little girl, there is no way I'd be spending that much money on a tea party...unless I won the lottery.
It's just crazy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
What a fiasco with the rental van! I'm glad it all worked out in the end.
Sounds like a nice morning you had.
Thanks. glad the car thing was all done early.
I've gotten bogged down again for a spell. Hopefully I'll be back this week with an update. Thanks everyone for hangin in with me.
“Hey I’m on vacation, who says you can’t have ice cream for lunch”
We went over to DTD. This was the day I was going to let Evan buy some souvenirs and we planned on lunch at Ghirardelli. Hey, I’m on vacation, who says you can’t have ice cream for lunch? And that is exactly what we did. Evan and Eric got a huge milkshake and I got The Gold Rush (a peanut butter sundae). It wasn’t as good as the No Way Jose I had later in the week but it was still yummy.
Then it was onto World of Disney. The boys poked around and so did I. I gathered items for me and Evan and family back home. Evan so wanted that huge monorail set. The boxed set with the train and track, it is in a huge box and is around $80.00.
He was trying his darndest to weasel it out of me. I had considered asking Santa for it but logistically if wasn’t going to happen. He did settle for just the monorail. (Word to the wise, this is screwed into the box. We had to borrow a screw driver from the gift shop at the hotel so he could play with it). When packing I had even thought about bringing a small screw driver but didn’t – I won’t ever go without one again.
After spending considerable time in WOD and dropping a good chunk of change it was time to head back to the resort.
We were wandering back to the car and there was a couple behind us that Evan was talking too. They were pushing a stroller but no one was in it. They looked like the Grandparents who were taking the stroller while the parents and kids did something else.
Evan is going on and on with them about their stroller. They rented from Orlando Stroller and we happen to have the same stroller that they rent. The man noticed Evan’s birthday button and wished him “happy birthday”. They chit-chatted about where Evan was from and how old he was and if he was having a good time and what his favorite thing was so for, how long are we staying…You get the idea – trust me Evan is not shy and he was gabbering away. We say our goodbyes to the couple and they leave the walkway to head toward their car. About 15 seconds later I hear “Evan!” “Evan!” The gentleman comes running up to Evan, wishes him happy birthday and counts out 5 one dollar bills.
“One for each year you are”……WHAT! I was dumb struck. I just couldn’t believe it.
I tried to tell the couple that it wasn’t necessary and to have Evan give the money back but they wouldn’t hear of it. I made Evan thank them. Now remember it is Bryson and Eric’s birthdays as well but they just don’t want to wear their buttons. Let me tell you we had 2 little boys as quick as lightning saying “It’s my birthday too”. I think Christine’s mouth dropped to the ground. We kept telling them it “pays” to wear your birthday button. Honestly to this day I’m still shocked by the whole thing. Of course Evan wanted to immediately go back to the store to get the monorail set.
On a side note, in December we went out to dinner. It was my sister and her family and me and Evan. He was wearing these really cute set of flashing reindeer antlers. It was actually Uncle Steve’s birthday. I was talking to Evan about after dinner we’ll go back to the house to sing happy birthday and have some cake. The guy at the next table must have heard me because as he got up to leave he gave Evan $5.00 and said Happy Birthday. Unbelievable, it sure does pay to have this little boy around. I tried to give the money back the man but he was out the door and gone. That time we gave each of the kids one dollar each and the birthday boy got a buck too. Of course my 6 year old nephew dropped his in the parking lot – luckily I was only a few step behind him and recovered it.
After DTD it was back to the hotel for some resting time.
Diner that night was again in the hotel. As we enjoyed our meal we discussed what we wanted to do that night..
I was slowly having this sinking feeling that we were just wasting the vacation. I’m a commando type tourer and this slow going was just killing me. I knew I wasn’t going to get it all done and see everything I wanted to see for the trip I just felt like I hadn’t done anything yet and it was now day 3. My tour companions were slow as the molasses in winter. Of course they probably thought I was running. In all honesty I would walk and wait and walk and wait. I really for the life of me could not walk any slower than I did.
Sometime you push it a little to keep everyone moving but I thought if I walked any slower – I’d be standing. Chris had a boot on her foot and I knew she had trouble walking so I deliberately walked s-l-o-w. Her boys on the other hand were the most out of shape children I had ever seen. It wasn’t just that they were tired, we all were, but Gunnar actually threw himself across a bench (on more than one occasion) and collapsed into exhaustion. He would say he could not move or get up (he was physically unable). I said well you can’t sleep here all night so you’re gonna have to move at some point.
ANYWAY – at dinner we were trying to decide what to do. It was determined we would all head into the MK and altogether do Tommorrowland.
You can see the castle and on the left side - the blue bar with the green stick and the black blocks and wheels is the Tower of Terror
here you can see Dumbo and Magic Carpets they are the blue and red X's in the center - and they really spin.
I had made a video of him telling what it all is but I turned the camera so the entire video is sideways so I didn't post it. I've been meanng for him to tell me again so I can re-record it but I think the moment has passed.
The moral of your TR is: Wear Your Birthday Button! Evan really did well, although it's probably just as much due to his being so cute and charmingly friendly. Even with the button, that couple never would have given him the $5 if he hadn't been chatting away with them! Hope you can get the family moving a bit faster!
He really did have some magic on this trip, what a sweet birthday surprise he got from that couple at DTD. I hope you get the rest of your group to pick up the pace before the trip is over.
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