Sarilas' O-fficial Pre-Trip Report -1/2009 (a.k.a. Vacation, Take TWO!) - Page 17 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Today, dear readers is day 56 till Disney! And while it's not an otherwise momentous occasion, it is for the purpose of this PTR for the fact that we're exactly 8 weeks from our first trip to the World!
For that reason, I present to you a new DAILY feature of this thread...
The daily countdown has begun!
I've worked for months (truly) gathering trivia and tidbits matching the number of days we have left until our big day. Today is day 56 (as aforementioned) and so I give you... our first trivia tidbit!
On this day, December 5, 1956 Walt wrote his sister Ruth her annual birthday letter, describing his strenuous work schedule, his daughter Sharon and her modeling career, and his other daughter Diane and her growing family. Enclosed was a check for Ruth to spend on "some feminine luxury."
At United Kingdom's Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room in World Showcase, a specially designed ale warmer can heat your Guinness to 55 degrees, the temperature favored by Brits.
I just saw that my ticker says 1 month and 22 days.... FREAKED ME OUT! What is it about the culmination of all this planning and organizing that scares me?! I'M NOT READY!
great finds shopping on-line!!!! I did a little bit of retail therapy myself on Disneyshopping.com on Fri...saved $45 & finished the kids Christmas shopping!!! I the bits of triva to count day til vaca!!!
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.
great finds shopping on-line!!!! I did a little bit of retail therapy myself on Disneyshopping.com on Fri...saved $45 & finished the kids Christmas shopping!!! I the bits of triva to count day til vaca!!!
That's awesome shopping! I have a handful of things left to get, just something 'big' as we call it for the oldest two. (They get lots of little things and then one 'big' item each year.)
Splash Mountain’s final plunge is a whopping 52 foot drop (about 5 stories). Woohoo!
So yes, I'm up to my eyeballs in trip planning AND Christmas organizing. Talk about a nutty time of year to plan a trip such as this! But finally I have some updates (and time to type them!).
First of all, this past weekend was our annual gingerbread house decorating time!
It's something my Mom started when I was little, and I do it every year for my own kids. We bake the gingerbread on Saturday, let it sit out overnight to harden and build the house (this year it was houses) on Sunday. I built two this time in case my brother ends up coming to visit- he'll have one to take home with him (if he's got room!).
Tatiana, the royal icing queen:
Adding candy
My roofing tile hidden Mickey!
Tatiana and the girls' finished product:
And mine:
See the candy stained glass windows? We LOVE making our gingerbread houses.
I got my Disneyshopping.com order a while back, with the engraved Mickey head charms to start off mine and Tatiana's charm collection. I tried to take pics of them but wouldn't you know it's harder than it seemed it would be! Nonetheless, our "T" and "L" charms are awesome:
Lexi's embroidered Mickey blanket is too cool, too. Everything was great in that order!
And now for some purchases from a couple of weekends ago (boy am I slacking on my updates!)
I finally found some mini M&M tubes! They're the extra long ones as well- perfect stocking stuffers which will then become pressed penny money holders! (One for Kyle and Tanya and one for the little girls to share.)
I found these bracelets at Michael's for Tatiana - she's always afraid of losing her favorite Jibbitz while she's walking around (she actually did lose her Cheshire Cat!) and so these little guys will be her Jibbitz charm bracelets!
These are stocking stuffers for the little ones: Mickey and Minnie marshmallow pops!
And the final two pez needed! A Mickey for Kyle and a Sulley for Alexandra.
Check out Mickey's face! Kyle's going to LOVE it.
This Princess magnetic scene is perfect for Anastasia:
And these Tink coloring pages will be great for Tatiana and Stasia:
We found this cute Tink tin at Michael's as well (most of this came from t here this time); Stasia loves having little lunch box containers to put her 'stuff' in, and this one is really small and Tink sized!
And last but not least, some Tink crayons (we bought Princess crayons for Tink gifts, but these will be for a stocking stuffer):
And here are the things I picked up in between gingerbread houses this weekend:
MORE twisty glow sticks! (I've now found them at both dollar stores)
Check these out: Glow WANDS! I got two yellows and a purple.. and may have to go back for more...
These are the gift bags I'm using for Tink gifts- they look like they fit in with the 'what will you celebrate' theme well!
I got some Mickey head letters to put the girls' names on the back of a couple of shirts (WHY did I give them such long names, WHY?!)
A pirate lollipop and wrist thingy for Kyle- the girls all have princess pops and such- he needs pirate 'stuff'!
Then at our local Disney Store, I didn't see much I 'had' to have- most of it is available online on sale! Go figure. But DH did spy this shirt which he actually ASKED for (he's converting, he's converting!):
And we got some new pals to surprise the kids with:
WHEW! That's a lot of update! Note to self: Update more often!
Hopefully I'll get around to starting the Tink gifts today too; then I can better visualize what I have and what I still need... or DON'T need!
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