What will it be for trip #3? (August 5-14, 2012) - Page 19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Thanks for the info. I will start looking far in advance from now on. I think we got a ddecent deal on the car...but I would prefer a minivan to an intermediate SUV...
We just may!
If memory serves we used enterprise in 2011 and National in 2006
Most resorts allow you to park there for a 2 hour window of time (usually) if you are using something at the resort (shops, food, kids club etc) However if it is really crowded or you get a stickler for rules at the gate you may be turned away.
If you have a car it is in general quicker than the buses. You basically eliminate the wait time for the busses and any multiple stops they make.
o with the end of the school year and the garage sale! I hope your school year ends as smoothly as ours did last week!
I love that you have been able to carve out so much "downtime" and flexibility. Hope you enjoy your anniversary dinner!
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Hi there! Just chiming in to say "hello". We will be at WDW at the same time, but we are staying "off campus" this go round. Your plans all look terrific. My only thought was on your day you were thinking about hopping to DHS for EMH one night. We have found that PM EMH at DHS is not alot of fun. Maybe it's because we want to ride the biggies (RnRC, ToT, TSMM) and the lines for those rides never seem to get any shorter. This park just feels so crowded for us that we don't do EMH there anymore. We prefer to hit it at opening, have a break at the resort and go back for Fantasmic(if we are doing it), or just staying through an earlier TS dinner (we find CS at DHS to be a little "eh"), then just heading back for an early night in. Our last trip, we ate at 5:30 at 50's Prime Time, then went back and relaxed and did a load of laundry. Of course, we had AM EMH at MK the next day and were at the park by 7am, so that worked out well.
Anyway, just wanted to share that experience with you. Hope you have a great trip. If I ever figure out what exactly we are doing on our trip, maybe we can say "hi" in person.
Hi there! Just chiming in to say "hello". We will be at WDW at the same time, but we are staying "off campus" this go round. Your plans all look terrific. My only thought was on your day you were thinking about hopping to DHS for EMH one night. We have found that PM EMH at DHS is not alot of fun. Maybe it's because we want to ride the biggies (RnRC, ToT, TSMM) and the lines for those rides never seem to get any shorter. This park just feels so crowded for us that we don't do EMH there anymore. We prefer to hit it at opening, have a break at the resort and go back for Fantasmic(if we are doing it), or just staying through an earlier TS dinner (we find CS at DHS to be a little "eh"), then just heading back for an early night in. Our last trip, we ate at 5:30 at 50's Prime Time, then went back and relaxed and did a load of laundry. Of course, we had AM EMH at MK the next day and were at the park by 7am, so that worked out well.
Anyway, just wanted to share that experience with you. Hope you have a great trip. If I ever figure out what exactly we are doing on our trip, maybe we can say "hi" in person.
That's a great point about the EMH at DHS...it was our first park day and we were completely overwhelemd with the crowd there. Toy Story Mania had over a 2 1/2 standby wait by 4:00 and it stayed that way through the evening. We got very little accomplished and the boys were really overwhelemed with the crowds. The day we toured DHS it was supposed to be a 7, yet it felt more like a 10+. It felt more crowded than the MK did the following day - and that park was a 9 using (Touring Plans.com for the post analysis of the dates). There were NO fastpassess available for anything either.
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
I have been away from the boards for A WHILE now. We went over Thanksgiving last year and had a fabulous time. Today, I decided to just jump on and I saw a post by you and noticed you had PTR! I LOVE your PTR, and your TR! So, I have been spending about an hour reading up and getting caught up!LOL
Your PTR has been interesting for me. We did the free dining in November, and it just seemed like so much food that time around that we wondered if getting the room discount and paying OOP for food would be better. However, we enjoy the buffets too and the prices are CRAZY, so I thought maybe we just need to wait for a free dining deal again. BUT, your post on the YES program and using the PIN code got me to thinking again! I'm loving that idea, and wondering if something like that would work out for us too. You also got me thinking about the survey stuff (I'm a stay at home mom, who occasionally subs...and I'm always looking for new ways to save $ or make it. ). If you don't mind me asking, did you just do a google search for survey's that pay? How did you get started? I'm really interested as maybe that could be a way to help us get back to Disney quicker.
I hope your yard sale is a HUGE success! I've so enjoyed reading your PTR, and can't wait to read about your experience. Your reports are ALWAYS one of my favorites to read b/c you are so honest about everything and I LEARN so much from your post! Thanks!
If you don't mind me asking, did you just do a google search for survey's that pay? How did you get started? I'm really interested as maybe that could be a way to help us get back to Disney quicker. !
Hi! I don't think Shelly will mind me hyjacking for a moment. I am the one who got Shelly into the survey scene.
If you check out the link to my newest PTR in the second or third entry of mine, I have a listing of the survey sites I use and how they pay and what not. You might find it interesting anyway, as it's a survey to savings challenge. I am seeing if I can survey my way to Disney World in November. Going good so far!
Shelly will have some too, as her and I belong to the same sites and also some different ones. Just remember, some may work for you and others not, you have to give them a try and them whittle down, using the ones that work for you.
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.
I have been away from the boards for A WHILE now. We went over Thanksgiving last year and had a fabulous time. Today, I decided to just jump on and I saw a post by you and noticed you had PTR! I LOVE your PTR, and your TR! So, I have been spending about an hour reading up and getting caught up!LOL
Your PTR has been interesting for me. We did the free dining in November, and it just seemed like so much food that time around that we wondered if getting the room discount and paying OOP for food would be better. However, we enjoy the buffets too and the prices are CRAZY, so I thought maybe we just need to wait for a free dining deal again. BUT, your post on the YES program and using the PIN code got me to thinking again! I'm loving that idea, and wondering if something like that would work out for us too. You also got me thinking about the survey stuff (I'm a stay at home mom, who occasionally subs...and I'm always looking for new ways to save $ or make it. ). If you don't mind me asking, did you just do a google search for survey's that pay? How did you get started? I'm really interested as maybe that could be a way to help us get back to Disney quicker.
I hope your yard sale is a HUGE success! I've so enjoyed reading your PTR, and can't wait to read about your experience. Your reports are ALWAYS one of my favorites to read b/c you are so honest about everything and I LEARN so much from your post! Thanks!
WOW!!! That is some high praise! I am so touched that you have specifically followed my trip reports!!! Wow!!!
I was getting ready to give you all kinds of information about how Sparky got me started with surveys....funny how she beat me to it
I have 5-6 sites that I actively use. I can barely keep up with those so I have ot sought out any more.
My favorite used to be Toluna, but they have disappointed me lately.
My new favorite is Opinion Outpost (where I got the online ad discussion). I am close to $250 sitting in that account.
Panel Polls has very few surveys (so it is not tioe consuming) but they always pay well and it adds up quicker than I would imagine. I see SurveyScout as the same way.
I was ready to be done with MyView....and then they got better for me! I received a hairdryer to test and keep as a result of one of their surveys. A month or so ago I did a 2-week online focus group/message board and got $75 in MyView points. I cashed them in for virtual visas which I used to purchase $75 in Disney giftcards. I just mailed back some furniture polish that I tested for 2 weeks. I will get $15 in MyView Points.
I have not spent as much time here detailing my survey earnings as I do not want to step on Sparky's toes as that is her theme. However, since January, I have earned almost $1,500 and counting.
One thing I have been doing a lot of, which is not available to Sparky because of her location, is in person market research firms in my area. I live near the Minneapolis area.
A company called "Food Perspectives" does taste testing and other food-related market research. I recently got chosen for an ongoing discussion group that pays $50 for each 90-minute discussion session. It will be a total of $400 and it is fascinating!
Last week I did a discussion group on the state lottery through Ascendency Research that paid $60 for 90 minutes of chatting.
Today I dropped off hygiene products and the surveys associated with their use. I was paid $195 for this 2-week study.
2 weeks ago I did an online discussion group where I was on an active message board evaluting advertsining. I was chosen for that through one of the online survey sites. I was paid $50 for 90 minutes of my time and opinions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark
Hi! I don't think Shelly will mind me hyjacking for a moment. I am the one who got Shelly into the survey scene.
If you check out the link to my newest PTR in the second or third entry of mine, I have a listing of the survey sites I use and how they pay and what not. You might find it interesting anyway, as it's a survey to savings challenge. I am seeing if I can survey my way to Disney World in November. Going good so far!
Shelly will have some too, as her and I belong to the same sites and also some different ones. Just remember, some may work for you and others not, you have to give them a try and them whittle down, using the ones that work for you.
Good luck in your ventures!
Hijack any time! I am so thankful that you got me my "part time" job!
Great plans for your anniversary! Good luck with the end of the year stuff and the garage sale!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark
Sounds like a nice anniversary evening! Good luck with your garage sale!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OCEANGRLLG
Good luck with the garage sale, hope you make lots!!!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
Good luck with the garage sale.
Most resorts allow you to park there for a 2 hour window of time (usually) if you are using something at the resort (shops, food, kids club etc) However if it is really crowded or you get a stickler for rules at the gate you may be turned away.
If you have a car it is in general quicker than the buses. You basically eliminate the wait time for the busses and any multiple stops they make.
Thanks for that info...2 hours does not seem like enough time for any signature restaurant...Are they strict?
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like a nice way to celebrate your anniversary!!
with the garage sale!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
Sounds like wonderful anniversary plans. Good luck with the garage sale.
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mfirst
o with the end of the school year and the garage sale! I hope your school year ends as smoothly as ours did last week!
I love that you have been able to carve out so much "downtime" and flexibility. Hope you enjoy your anniversary dinner!
It is seeming like a lot of downtime when I write it out....I think we originally planned for 8 days at WDW and 3 days with SIL but the flights added extra WDW time...
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosanna
Hi there! Just chiming in to say "hello". We will be at WDW at the same time, but we are staying "off campus" this go round. Your plans all look terrific. My only thought was on your day you were thinking about hopping to DHS for EMH one night. We have found that PM EMH at DHS is not alot of fun. Maybe it's because we want to ride the biggies (RnRC, ToT, TSMM) and the lines for those rides never seem to get any shorter. This park just feels so crowded for us that we don't do EMH there anymore. We prefer to hit it at opening, have a break at the resort and go back for Fantasmic(if we are doing it), or just staying through an earlier TS dinner (we find CS at DHS to be a little "eh"), then just heading back for an early night in. Our last trip, we ate at 5:30 at 50's Prime Time, then went back and relaxed and did a load of laundry. Of course, we had AM EMH at MK the next day and were at the park by 7am, so that worked out well.
Anyway, just wanted to share that experience with you. Hope you have a great trip. If I ever figure out what exactly we are doing on our trip, maybe we can say "hi" in person.
Let me know if you think our plans will overlap. I have never met a PPer!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
If memory serves we used enterprise in 2011 and National in 2006
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mfirst
That's a great point about the EMH at DHS...it was our first park day and we were completely overwhelemd with the crowd there. Toy Story Mania had over a 2 1/2 standby wait by 4:00 and it stayed that way through the evening. We got very little accomplished and the boys were really overwhelemed with the crowds. The day we toured DHS it was supposed to be a 7, yet it felt more like a 10+. It felt more crowded than the MK did the following day - and that park was a 9 using (Touring Plans.com for the post analysis of the dates). There were NO fastpassess available for anything either.
DHS always feels crowded because it is so small. But we liked the EMH evenings because the streets clear out so much and it does not FEEL as crowded.
Shelly - this may be off-topic...and maybe you have a more detailed post on this elsewhere...but I have a couple questions.
I've tried surveying before but really never got as far with it as it's sometimes made out to be. I did win an iPod Shuffle and $25.00 and probably earned another $50 in a year's time. I think most of the surverys/product reveiws I did were a 'sweepstakes' type (i.e. If you complete the survey, you have a chance to win X amount of dollars.)
The biggest problems were that so many of them were long and tedious for the amount paid. And the other was there were so many I didn't qualify for...it just seemed a waste of time.
What are your secrets? (Feel free to point me to another post if you've already explained all this. )
WOW!!! That is some high praise! I am so touched that you have specifically followed my trip reports!!! Wow!!!
I was getting ready to give you all kinds of information about how Sparky got me started with surveys....funny how she beat me to it
I have 5-6 sites that I actively use. I can barely keep up with those so I have ot sought out any more.
My favorite used to be Toluna, but they have disappointed me lately.
My new favorite is Opinion Outpost (where I got the online ad discussion). I am close to $250 sitting in that account.
Panel Polls has very few surveys (so it is not tioe consuming) but they always pay well and it adds up quicker than I would imagine. I see SurveyScout as the same way.
I was ready to be done with MyView....and then they got better for me! I received a hairdryer to test and keep as a result of one of their surveys. A month or so ago I did a 2-week online focus group/message board and got $75 in MyView points. I cashed them in for virtual visas which I used to purchase $75 in Disney giftcards. I just mailed back some furniture polish that I tested for 2 weeks. I will get $15 in MyView Points.
I have not spent as much time here detailing my survey earnings as I do not want to step on Sparky's toes as that is her theme. However, since January, I have earned almost $1,500 and counting.
One thing I have been doing a lot of, which is not available to Sparky because of her location, is in person market research firms in my area. I live near the Minneapolis area.
A company called "Food Perspectives" does taste testing and other food-related market research. I recently got chosen for an ongoing discussion group that pays $50 for each 90-minute discussion session. It will be a total of $400 and it is fascinating!
Last week I did a discussion group on the state lottery through Ascendency Research that paid $60 for 90 minutes of chatting.
Today I dropped off hygiene products and the surveys associated with their use. I was paid $195 for this 2-week study.
2 weeks ago I did an online discussion group where I was on an active message board evaluting advertsining. I was chosen for that through one of the online survey sites. I was paid $50 for 90 minutes of my time and opinions.
Hijack any time! I am so thankful that you got me my "part time" job!
Aww...yw Shelly! You are doing fabulous! Much better than I am. It's okay though, I will take what I can get!
Hi! I don't think Shelly will mind me hyjacking for a moment. I am the one who got Shelly into the survey scene.
If you check out the link to my newest PTR in the second or third entry of mine, I have a listing of the survey sites I use and how they pay and what not. You might find it interesting anyway, as it's a survey to savings challenge. I am seeing if I can survey my way to Disney World in November. Going good so far!
Shelly will have some too, as her and I belong to the same sites and also some different ones. Just remember, some may work for you and others not, you have to give them a try and them whittle down, using the ones that work for you.
Good luck in your ventures!
Sparky! Thank you so much! I love reading your PTR and TR too! I have been away from the boards since our last trip, b/c it makes me sad not to be planning a trip, but I couldn't stay away. lol I'm gonna jump over to yours and read up on everything including the survey stuff! I love the idea of surveying your way to Disney! Can't wait to read your newest PTR! Maybe this will help us to get to Disney sooner than I thought.
Quote:
WOW!!! That is some high praise! I am so touched that you have specifically followed my trip reports!!! Wow!!!
I was getting ready to give you all kinds of information about how Sparky got me started with surveys....funny how she beat me to it
I have 5-6 sites that I actively use. I can barely keep up with those so I have ot sought out any more.
My favorite used to be Toluna, but they have disappointed me lately.
My new favorite is Opinion Outpost (where I got the online ad discussion). I am close to $250 sitting in that account.
Panel Polls has very few surveys (so it is not tioe consuming) but they always pay well and it adds up quicker than I would imagine. I see SurveyScout as the same way.
I was ready to be done with MyView....and then they got better for me! I received a hairdryer to test and keep as a result of one of their surveys. A month or so ago I did a 2-week online focus group/message board and got $75 in MyView points. I cashed them in for virtual visas which I used to purchase $75 in Disney giftcards. I just mailed back some furniture polish that I tested for 2 weeks. I will get $15 in MyView Points.
I have not spent as much time here detailing my survey earnings as I do not want to step on Sparky's toes as that is her theme. However, since January, I have earned almost $1,500 and counting.
One thing I have been doing a lot of, which is not available to Sparky because of her location, is in person market research firms in my area. I live near the Minneapolis area.
A company called "Food Perspectives" does taste testing and other food-related market research. I recently got chosen for an ongoing discussion group that pays $50 for each 90-minute discussion session. It will be a total of $400 and it is fascinating!
Last week I did a discussion group on the state lottery through Ascendency Research that paid $60 for 90 minutes of chatting.
Today I dropped off hygiene products and the surveys associated with their use. I was paid $195 for this 2-week study.
2 weeks ago I did an online discussion group where I was on an active message board evaluting advertsining. I was chosen for that through one of the online survey sites. I was paid $50 for 90 minutes of my time and opinions.
Thank you sooo much, especially for naming the specific sites you joined! I'm always scared about scams, so it's nice to know that you have had success with these companies! That is AMAZING that you have been able to make as much money as you have. I know I may not have that kind of success (I live in lower Alabama, and there are not any big marketing research firms close to us), but every little bit helps, especially now that I have a daughter in marching band...those fees are taking up our Disney trip money!
I can't wait to read more of your PTR...and I'm super excited to read your actual TR!
Last edited by saibot0001; 06-06-2012 at 08:19 PM..
Sparky! Thank you so much! I love reading your PTR and TR too! I have been away from the boards since our last trip, b/c it makes me sad not to be planning a trip, but I couldn't stay away. lol I'm gonna jump over to yours and read up on everything including the survey stuff! I love the idea of surveying your way to Disney! Can't wait to read your newest PTR! Maybe this will help us to get to Disney sooner than I thought.
Yw and thank you!! Good luck with your surveys, let us know how you fare.
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.
About This Page: 
Holly: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
with the garage sale!!
.
. We got very little accomplished and the boys were really overwhelemed with the crowds. The day we toured DHS it was supposed to be a 7, yet it felt more like a 10+. It felt more crowded than the MK did the following day - and that park was a 9 using (Touring Plans.com for the post analysis of the dates). There were NO fastpassess available for anything either
.
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
Good luck with the end of the year stuff and the garage sale! 
Linear Mode
