Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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05-05-2004, 04:48 PM
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#16
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Posts: 7,478
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Oh Tina! I got tired just reading about your flight and the long ride to your hotel. Sounds like the boys were very well behaved. That's amazing consideriding how exhausted you all must have been. I can't wait to read about your first day at Disneyland, and see your pictures. But for now I think I'm going to have to take a nap. 
P.S. Does this mean Kylor and Jalen will have a new photo album for me to look through this summer?  |
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05-05-2004, 10:00 PM
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#17
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Posts: 10,721
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
I'm exhausted just reading this. Nite everyone!
Great start! |
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05-06-2004, 05:19 AM
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#18
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Wow, Tina!!  That was a looooooooooong day! It sounds like the boys and your Mom held up pretty well! I can't wait to find out how you liked The Candy Cane Inn!! That is my absolute favorite non-Disney hotel! I hope it's still clean and pretty with great shuttle service!! |
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05-06-2004, 07:13 AM
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#19
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Great start Tina  Glad it was an uneventful flight, but geez, took forever to get to the hotel. I'm sure everyone must have slept good that night  Looking forward to more, and can't wait to see the pictures. |
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05-06-2004, 12:25 PM
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#20
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 2,734
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Hey Tina, did you ever get paid for the extra work you put in? I'm loving your report, and can't wait to read more! |
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05-06-2004, 01:41 PM
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#21
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 27,691
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
[ QUOTE ]
P.S. Does this mean Kylor and Jalen will have a new photo album for me to look through this summer?
[/ QUOTE ]
LOL. You know it. Get ready for their narrations |
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05-06-2004, 07:57 PM
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#22
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Guide since 2003
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: West Mifflin, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 11,546
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Re: ~Marquette-LAX travel day up~ Looby & family take on Disneyland!
Great start!! Looking forward to more!!
I would love to visit Disneyland one day it's just the long flight that makes me antsy
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05-06-2004, 11:48 PM
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#23
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Orlando, Fl
Posts: 5,517
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Re: ~Marquette-LAX travel day up~ Looby & family take on Disneyland!
Great installment Tina!! Can't wait for the next one!
Kelly
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05-07-2004, 04:06 PM
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#24
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 27,691
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Sunday April 25th
I woke up around 6:45. I tried to quietly search around for my clothes and hopped in the shower. Once I turned the shower water off, though, I could hear the kids were up. I went out of the bathroom and they were laying in the bed laughing with each other. What a great sight. The were so happy to be back at Disneyland! My mom finally got up and showered and the boys and I got ready. I finally had some time to appreciate the room. This is a very nice family-run hotel right next to California Adventure. The beds in the room came with comforters and throw pillows. It looked like a bed I would love to have at home. The window coverings were wooden shutters, which actually kept the light out quite well. There was also a table and 2 chairs, which were pink and white striped (like a candy cane) and a very big entertainment center. I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel to anyone. We were very happy with it - and the location was great. There is also TONS of hanging flowers and blooming plants all over the grounds. Every morning you would find the maintenance guys sweeping up flower petals. The hotel was obviously very well kept up - and it showed. There was nothing like coming home from a long day at the parks and smelling all those gorgeous flowers. The smell really filled almost all of the parking lot - it was so nice
After my mom was ready, we headed across the parking lot to the pool area. The hotel has a continental breakfast from 7-9 daily. It was pretty average as far as breakfasts go, but it was free - and for my mom this was a great perk. Had she not been with us, we would have partaken in one or two of the character breakfasts. The boys had cereal, muffins and hot chocolate almost every morning. I had a banana, coffee, and toast or a muffin almost every morning. The muffins were nice and moist and there was always 4-5 varieties, and the bananas were always at that perfect ripe stage
After breakfast we headed back to our room to grab the stroller and tickets, etc. It is already getting hot out, but we decided against the shuttle this morning and walked the probably 1/2 mile to the Disneyland gates. I love the first time of the trip walking down this area. Once you walk in the gates, there are the trams on your left that bring the guests from the parking lot and on your right are all the buses.
The first thing I notice after we walk down this area is the security screening is now set up in a different spot. It had been that Disneyland and DCA both had their own respective bag screening. Now it is set up in front of both so once you've passed it, even if you park-hop, you don't have to go through it again. I found this a very welcome change.
Of course we hop in line for Disneyland. The park opened at 8 and it is now about 8:45 or so. We get through the gates and I admire the flowers in the shape of Mickey's head. We saunter under the railway station and voila! Main Street U.S.A.!!!! First thing the boys see is Mary Poppins out for photos. We had never actually gotten a picture of the boys with Mary, so we joined the "line". Actually, this is one of the better times we've waited for a character at Disneyland. They don't usually have handlers around, and the "lines" get pretty out of control. People come out of nowhere and just start pushing their kids towards the characters. It is very frustrating when you have been standing there patiently awaiting your turn. The boys get their turn and she was practically perfect in every way 
I'm not sure what ride should be the first every Disney ride I take my mom on. We wandered over to Adventureland and through it, then happen upon a 0 minute waiting time for PoTC. And since Marcie had asked me to ride it for her, anyway, I had to indulge. Keep in mind, this is the first time we have been on this ride. After winding our way up the ramp, we pass a mother and father with their screaming child. They tell us to go ahead of them. As we pass I can hear the dad saying he's just going to go on by himself and the mom practically dragging the poor little girl out of line while chastising her for being such a whiner. Ugh. Made me sick to my stomach. We are put in row 3 right away and here comes our ship!! It is so cool how in the beginning of this ride you pass right by the Blue Bayou restaurant. Of course there was no one eating this time of the morning, but it sure did make me want to go eat there somtime! The inside of this ride is so neat. I was trying to take it all in, but it ended up Jalen got scared about 1/4 of the way in and started shaking and crying how he wanted to get out I tried to explain to him how it's all pretend. I ended up missing a lot of the ride, but after what I had just witnessed with that other family, it was fresh in my mind how there are MUCH more important things to be worried about (like our kids!). So he hid his head in my arms for the rest of the ride. When we exited he declared how we will never go on that ride again! The parts of it I saw, I really enjoyed. I remembered the dog holding the key from several pictures. And the "fire" at the end was very neat. A great ride, indeed. I can see why so many people love it.
The kids decide they must climb Tarzan's Treehouse. I don't know what I was thinking (except how I didn't want to climb all those stairs) so I let Kylor take Jalen up with him. They were gone about 10 minutes, exploring all the cool things up in the treehouse, when Kylor suddenly appears on the exit stairs by himself. I went up the exit stairs looking for Jalen. I knew he was up there, as he hadn't come down the exit or entrance stairs which are close together and where my mom and I were standing. I yelled for him a few times, then I saw him on the bridge going back down towards the entrance steps. After searching around for my voice for a while, he finally found me. After a few ensuing minutes of 'where is he? where is she?' we finally reunited and went back down to find Grandma and Kylor. Kylor apologized for losing Jalen, and I had to reassure him it was my fault, not his. I shouldn't have put a 7 year old in charge of a 5 year old. Lesson learned.
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05-07-2004, 04:12 PM
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#25
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Great installment, Tina! HEY! Do you think you can finish this whole report by Sunday night?!?!  I am so glad to hear that the Candy Cane is still adorable!  that place!! |
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05-07-2004, 04:21 PM
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#26
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 27,691
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
[ QUOTE ]
HEY! Do you think you can finish this whole report by Sunday night?!?!
[/ QUOTE ]
 I'm thinking not!!  |
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05-07-2004, 04:30 PM
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#27
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Community Rank: Trailblazer
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Orlando, Fl
Posts: 5,517
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Great installment Tina!!!! The Candy Cane sounds wonderful!!!
Kelly
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05-07-2004, 09:22 PM
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#28
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Great update Tina Alexa didn't like PotC at WDW either. I guess it is kinda scary to a little kid when you think about it. The Candy Cane Inn sounds wonderful, what a great choice. Looking forward to more |
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05-08-2004, 09:20 AM
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#29
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Posts: 10,721
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Hi Tina!
Do you have any pics of the Candy Cane Inn you can share? You seemed like you kept your cool in some difficult Mom situations- hats off!
Great stuff!
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05-08-2004, 09:52 AM
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#30
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: WI
Posts: 17,126
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Re: Looby & family take on Disneyland! ~pre-trip
Great start Tina! Looking forward to more! |
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