Me, Laura and Our Adventures with no boys!!!!! PTR - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
This sounds like a great trip! I'm so excited for you to get some sister time.
Thanks, Lisa!! Me too!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
I can't wait to hear all about your plans and the changes that will inevitably come about. I have scheduled our days to include being in Epcot on the 9th. We will not, as of now, be at the CP that night as we have an ADR at Homecoming in DS. It is the only night of the trip that I can find an ADR there! Hopefully, we can get together sometime during that day to say hi to each other.
I think once this trip is set, it will remain the way it's planned. After all, Muffin is not involved in this one! I would love to meet up with you at Epcot!! I will PM you when it gets closer!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Sounds like a great trip and the two of you will have an amazing time together! Great idea after the loss of your dad!
Thanks, Dave!! I think so too!! There is no therapy like Disney!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gremlinkid73
The big question how many changes will there be in the plans?
I swear you guys will see very little change to this trip! Mufffin is the change culprit! Honest!!
At first, Muffin and I looked at our DVC points but since we have already pretty much decided how to allocate them for next year, we decided to just leave them alone and wherever Laura and I wound up, we would just pay for in cash.
This trip is about Christmas and seeing my niece sing. We were thinking we could suck it up and either stay at PoP, where Angela’s group will be, or maybe a moderate resort this time around. We talked about a deluxe resort briefly but decided we would much rather spend money on some nice meals and maybe a few margaritas.
We looked at the value resorts first. Two years ago, Laura stayed at PoP Century and since this is once again where Angela will be, we thought it would be a good place to start. We took a look at the pricing for that and for the five nights that we will be there, it was unavailable! Next we went to Art of Animation. We looked at a Little Mermaid standard suite which was 973.15 total. The room looked nice and we decided this would certainly be an option.
Still, my sister wanted to check out the moderate resorts as well to see what the price difference was and compare amenities. Being the resort snob that I am, this was the hardest part of the planning for me. I tried really hard though not to persuade Laura one way or another and I think I did a good job of it! . I just had to secretly keep telling my self that I was there to spend time with my sister and see my niece in the CP. Anyway!!
We next took a look at POFQ. The total price for a garden view room was 1383.77. I showed Laura lots of photos and we watched a few you tube videos. When my sister looked at the grounds at POFQ, she immediately decided that it was worth it and remember, we are also splitting that difference of 400 dollars. . Laura also loved the idea of taking a boat to Disney Springs. We didn't even need to look further as we decided this would be the perfect choice!
So! We wound up making quick work of deciding where to stay.
Best of all, the resort cost is my only concrete expense making this trip around 700 bucks as a base. The airfare was paid in mileage and I have an Annual Pass!! And believe it or not, I still have some Disney rewards dollars and 400 bucks worth of gift cards to use!!
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.
How great to have everything else already paid for, except the accommodation - that sounds like a great deal you got there... now are you going to stick with it, that's the big question in my mind...
Very exciting to have the resort plans in place! I lovePOFQ as well!
I haven't been there in many years, Donna but I remember thinking that the grounds were so beautiful!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
OK, then! We definitely should be able to arrange meeting up as we are also staying at POFQ from 12/4-12/11.
That is AWESOME!!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NanaTink
Awesome!! Love POFQ!!! One of the prettiest resorts imho!!
Thanks, Stephanie!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by purplegal
I think POFQ is my favourite resort, I love the option of the boat ride to DS and the size of the resort.
That is so awesome to hear, Julia!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Good choice on resort!
Thanks, Colleen!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
How great to have everything else already paid for, except the accommodation - that sounds like a great deal you got there... now are you going to stick with it, that's the big question in my mind...
Well, we shall see but remember, crazy Muffin is not involved this time and honestly the price difference for a deluxe is just too great right now. the only way I would switch things is if a great deal came out and I am not holding my breath!
With our resort settled, Laura now had to decide on a one park a day ticket or a park hopper ticket. She asked me if I cared if we park hopped and I again, had no opinion and let her decide. On this, I was being totally honest with her. I can go to a park and spend all day or I can hop around with the best of them. As long as I am in WDW, I am happy!
She remembered last time really liking the flexibility that a park hopper offered and decided to go with a 6 day pass since we would be arriving early on the first day and leaving later in the afternoon on the last day. It was 80 bucks more total or 13 bucks a day more and she really felt it was worth the investment.
Finally, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to fly down with me instead of Angela and she said she definitely wanted to. Rather quickly, I might add! I asked her what that was all about and she said that riding on a plane with 50 teenagers was not a fond memory. So we checked on Southwest and sure enough the flights I booked were still available so I grabbed them.
We will take DME both ways to and from the airport and POFQ.
So we now had a basic plan. The total cost for Laura for resort, park tickets and airfare came out to 1,641.05, which she was very happy with! She had me book everything, which was fine with me because I get rewards dollars by doing so, and gave me a check. I was able to book POFQ, Laura’s flights, her Park Hopper ticket and DME exactly as planned and without any trouble whatsoever!
Now that we had our transportation, resort and park admission taken care of, it was time to get down to some serious planning! This my sister left completely up to me because she knows that I know WDW pretty well and has always enjoyed the food, drink and park of the day that I picked. So!
I first and foremost knew that we needed to see each Park. Two years ago, Laura only got to really go to MK and Epcot. She had an amazing time but I need to fully Disneyfy my sis!! Laura also really loves the nighttime shows, so my goal was to try to get to each Park at night as well as DS for the Christmas Tree Trail!
Since Laura went with a Park Hopper pass, I figured we may as well use that and split each day in half. This will enable us to get good FP’s in each Park and see all of the Parks in both the light and the dark.
I checked for EMH hours first (actually to avoid most of them). Using these, I came up with a park draft that looks like this:
12/6- E/ MK
12/7- DHS/AK
12/8- AK/DHS
12/9- MK/E
12/10- E/DS
12/11- MK
Splitting the day up has always worked well for Muffin and I in the past and I am thinking Laura will also enjoy the afternoon breaks. I am thinking we will head to the Parks early, come back to POFQ for a respite in the early afternoon and then head back out for the evenings around 3 PM or so each day. We won’t be doing any tours this time because we just don’t have enough time to enjoy them.
Next I wanted to make sure that Laura had some new dining experiences. The last time she joined us, we ate at Teppen Edo, Le Cellier and La Hacienda de San Angel. These were all wonderful experiences but thankfully, there are plenty more options for Laura to try. Since Laura has no food issues, I also wanted to pick some places that I wouldn’t go with Muffin. Working from planning the CP night first, which is December 9th, I knew where I wanted to eat for that experience.
I also asked Laura if there were any must dos for her or anything she wanted to avoid. She told me that she enjoyed just about everything the last time she was in WDW but she did give me a list of four things she would like to do. Which were:
Ride Soarin’
Ride Frozen Ever After
Eat at Teppen Edo. ( Oh my gosh is this girl on my husbands payroll?!?!!)
See Muppet Vision ( My Dad loved this show!)
Laura also told me that she would go through some of our old photos with my Dad at Disney and come up with some other fun memory lane items!
Next: Our dining plans fit nicely into our itinerary!!
Sounds like great plans and nice cost savings! I love POFQ. Love the boat ride to Disney Springs. This was our favorite resort before we purchased our DVC. It is just so nice to walk by the Sassagoula River and sit on the benches facing the water. The walk from POFQ to POR is so peaceful and scenic. You can cross the bridges over the to the Mansions at POR. All that - and beignets!
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.
Plans look great and love POFQ. Just a beautiful resort, great layout and the boat to DS is always a good selling point! I've stayed here 3 times. Nice going with the park passes. Did you ever consider some of the wholesalers like Undercover Tourist or Park Savers? I've been using the latter for my last few trips and saved me some loot! Park plans and ADRs also seem to be shaping up and hope you can get them to all fit in together.
__________________
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!
Congrats on getting Port Orleans French Quarter for this trip! So cool that this trip is so low cost. Loving how all your plans are falling together so neatly!
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Me too!!! 
I would love to meet up with you at Epcot!! I will PM you when it gets closer!! 
Great idea after the loss of your dad! 
It’s happening!!!!
]
PassPorter Guide Author
I asked her what that was all about and she said that riding on a plane with 50 teenagers was not a fond memory. So we checked on Southwest and sure enough the flights I booked were still available so I grabbed them.
Linear Mode
