PTR: The Dunning Family's Triumphant Return to the World - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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That time between when you initial plan and before you can make ADRs can seem to move so slowly. Checking out Disney websites definitely helps with the wait.
We are at that stage as well. I have all our TS restaurants chosen and tentative park days selected, so now I'm just waiting for the September crowd calendar on easywdw.com to be posted. That may mean some switching of days depending on what parks are most recommended. I'm also waiting for Southwest to open up their September dates and that happens on Thursday, so looking forward to that.
First Jess I feel your anticipation to do more for your up coming trip. Our trip last year had to get cancelled as our RV needed to be repaired but it took till last week for the parts to finally come in. So instead I look over what we had planned and and consider what we might want to do different.
Second It is great that Uncle AJ is willing to be so helpful and you have involved him in the planning Hopefully it will help lead to a great trip him as well
Oh man...we've never had to cancel a trip that we had actually already booked before. We canceled our 2015 plans when I got pregnant with Chelsea, but we hadn't actually booked. That had to have been super disappointing. I'm really hoping this is a great trip for AJ.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
That time between when you initial plan and before you can make ADRs can seem to move so slowly. Checking out Disney websites definitely helps with the wait.
It's so strange, because on the one hand, with the girls, time is flying by so quickly, and then on the other hand, with Disney...it's glacially slow. I feel like I'm stuck in a time warp or something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMA
We are at that stage as well. I have all our TS restaurants chosen and tentative park days selected, so now I'm just waiting for the September crowd calendar on easywdw.com to be posted. That may mean some switching of days depending on what parks are most recommended. I'm also waiting for Southwest to open up their September dates and that happens on Thursday, so looking forward to that.
How do you like flying Southwest? We've looked into it, but the tickets out of Seattle to Orlando always seem to be more expensive than other airlines. In 2013, tickets were a good 100 or 200 more than flying with Alaska. So we've never used them. It makes me nervous that you can't choose your seats beforehand.
Random note...this is my 2000th post on PassPorter.
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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!
How do you like flying Southwest? We've looked into it, but the tickets out of Seattle to Orlando always seem to be more expensive than other airlines. In 2013, tickets were a good 100 or 200 more than flying with Alaska. So we've never used them. It makes me nervous that you can't choose your seats beforehand.
Random note...this is my 2000th post on PassPorter.
Congrats on your 2000th post!
We like flying Southwest. From Buffalo the airlines with the lowest fares to Orlando are Southwest and Jet Blue. They both have at least one early morning non-stop flight each day. And no charge for checked bags is a big plus! Last year was the first time we paid the additional fee for Early Bird Check-in. It got us an "A" boarding pass for both flights.
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I hate this inbetween time when planning a trip. This is usually when I start to make lists upon lists of things to do, rides I want to ride, characters to meet, even packing lists!
We like flying Southwest. From Buffalo the airlines with the lowest fares to Orlando are Southwest and Jet Blue. They both have at least one early morning non-stop flight each day. And no charge for checked bags is a big plus! Last year was the first time we paid the additional fee for Early Bird Check-in. It got us an "A" boarding pass for both flights.
Maybe if we ever fly somewhere other than Orlando it will be cheaper for us and we can check it out. I'll look into it for our possible Disneyland vacation next year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeL
Congrats on posting level
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
I hate this inbetween time when planning a trip. This is usually when I start to make lists upon lists of things to do, rides I want to ride, characters to meet, even packing lists!
Um...I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this. Last night, I kid you not, I figured out packing lists for our carry on luggage, and figured out who would carry what bag and which bags the quart sized Ziploc should go in. I was desperate for something to plan, haha!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Good luck with the waiting game! Time for bookings will come soon enough!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
AJ sounds like a great guy! I'm glad you're able to have him tag along on your trip. He's going to love Disney so much!
We lucked out when David and a friend decided to sit down next to AJ on a band trip to tease him (in a nice way, I swear ). Turned out to be a lifelong friend kind of guy. My girls both love him, too. Even Chelsea, who is really standoffish with pretty much anyone who isn't me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Are you using a back pack as either the diaper bag or the girls entertainment bag? It helps to have the hands free.
We have two diaper bags...One is a backpack, but not as large as I would like. The other is a shoulder bag, is way roomier, and much more flexible, so easier to shove under an airplane seat. The strap is also long enough I can cross it over my chest to keep my hands free, so that's a plus. But I DO plan on using a backpack for my other carry on, so either way, I'll have my hands free. I haven't decided yet if we are actually going to use the stroller at the airport, or if I'm going to wear Chelsea in my Ergo carrier. I know I would either have to take her out to go through security or go through additional screening, but if she slept on our trek through the airport, that would be wonderful...and I am the master at getting her in and out of the Ergo without waking her. And if the girls aren't in the stroller, or even if just Bri is in the stroller, we can pile all our stuff on it after we make it through security.
First of all, David has had a migraine headache for three weeks now. They've had him on four different medications and given him three different injections and nothing has touched it. The next step is a CT scan, so please send pixies. Poor guy can't seem to catch a break in life.
Next, my huge Amazon order is finally on it's way (in five different boxes, go figure), so we should have our new car seats, the CARES harnesses, the backpack "tethers," etc by Saturday. I'm very excited!
David and I both need to renew our licenses in June, and have been going back and forth on whether we should get the Enhanced Driver's License since in 2018 WA State's regular licenses are not going to be acceptable for air travel. (Because of the REAL ID Act.) I was looking up what's required, though, and it seems like, while cheaper than getting a passport, it's also much more of a pain and a hassle. Also seems like, for cheaper than an enhanced ID, I could get a passport card that does everything the enhanced driver license does. I told David, I think we should just spring for passports. Then we won't have any excuse to not go see the rest of the world...except our budget, haha. At the very least, we'll apply for the passport card which is cheaper than the enhanced license.
I started in the middle of a thought there, sorry. I only brought it up because, originally, when the Department of Homeland Security denied an extension to WA, everyone was freaking out and saying that we would need passports or enhanced IDs by MARCH. Which would mean that we wouldn't be able to fly in September for our trip without getting a passport or enhanced ID! I'm relieved they've given us until 2018. I think we will just get our passports next year when we get our tax return.
For those of you with kids: I know it's not required that children under a certain age have IDs to fly domestically, but did you get state IDs for them anyway? We've been considering getting them state IDs before our trip. It's $54 a kid though, so I'm not sure if we should bother. The card would be good for 6 years, but it's not like the photo would stay current and recognizable. What do you think? Worth it or not worth it? I'm not even sure what the point would be, if they won't check it anyway? I don't know. I guess I'm just curious what other parents have done.
I watched a video online that showed how to install the CARES harness on the airplane, and I think it'll be really easy, which I'm glad about. I was a little nervous it would be complicated. I am nervous that the flight attendants won't be familiar with the device, and that I'll have to show them the paperwork that the manufacture recommends bringing showing that it's an FAA approved CRS. It hadn't even occurred to me before I looked at the website, but they had this whole big section on what to do if the flight attendants were telling you that you couldn't use it. Thanks for giving me anxiety about this, guys. Like I don't have enough anxiety problems as it is!
I did learn that I won't be able to sit in between the girls as I had planned. I guess no child restraint systems are allowed on the aisle seat, because it's a "potential obstruction" in case of an emergency. But I think I may actually call Alaska and ask, since the harness isn't like a car seat...it doesn't block anything. The girls would be in the same position they would be in if they weren't using a restraint system at all. I'd feel better if I could sit next to both of my girls, since I'm not sure how they will react to the flight. Bri hasn't been on a plane since she was 10 months old, so it may as well be her first flight, and this will be Chelsea's first time on an airplane in truth. I hope they love it, but if they don't, I want to be close enough to comfort either one of them. If it's a problem, I guess I will just have to get creative.
So now that I've shown you all how anxious I get over silly things, I'm off to hopefully go to bed! I'll update whenever. Not sure when, or what I'll be writing about.
Get the passports for you and DH. Did a quick google on your city and it looks like you are not to far from Canada which can be a nice vacation destination that you would need the passport to enter. And they are a great second form of ID.
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Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
I feel your pain about the licenses. Puerto Rico (although not a state but a US territory) is also on the list of states that don't have licenses accepted for travel. Passports are an expense I wasn't planning on having. I'm planning a trip for next year but I still haven't decided what I'll be doing for IDs. Maybe I'll just suck it up and get the passports, at least for me and my husband. If I ever decide on international travelling or a cruise, I'll deal with the kids' passports. It's quite a chunk of money.
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Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
Thanks for giving me anxiety about this, guys. Like I don't have enough anxiety problems as it is! 
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