A June Joyride...*****COMPLETED!!! 7/9***** - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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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.
So, I was down but not out. I sat down with my trusty calendar and tried to see what we could move and how we could make this trip work. Everywhere I looked, there was some sort of obstacle and I was growing weary. I couldn’t move Andrew’s doctor’s appointment and I definitely couldn’t ask Paul to change his work/travel schedule….especially for a trip we weren’t, as he said, definitely taking. I guess the powers that be took pity on me because, I kid you not, the next day Paul informs me that his Texas meeting was cancelled and that we could make this impromptu trip work….it I still wanted to go. As if….just picture me squealing with delight, jumping up and down, and throwing my arms around him for the biggest squeezy hug! Yup, I was dancing around again.
Of course, I had a few important details to check into but I was convinced it would all work out….I happily called Southwest and moved our flights to the following week. The Dollar coupon code was still in force and actually, the car selections were better. Wendy, my TA who is used to all my flip flopping, was quick to transfer our room ressies...yup, there was still AP availability! After all the drama, this seemed way too easy…but who am I to complain?
Then, of course…it dawned on me that I seriously needed to get cracking on my ADRs and a touring plan. I pulled up the park schedule and tried to come up with some semblance of a plan. Other than Toy Story Mania, we had no real priorities. Since we were not staying on the monorail, I knew our time at the MK would be less than usual. Given the fact that both Izzy and I do not do well in the extreme heat, I wanted to have more of an open-ended touring plan. With that in mind, all I did was figure out where we would eat our evening meal and which park we would hit following the meal. As far as the daytime plan, that is way more up in the air...I do know we will have a mid day swim and rest break back at the hotel, too.
So, without further ado….the details…
June 7th-June 10th….Animal Kingdom Lodge.
This will be our very first stay there. For those who read my last TR, I absolutely promised the kiddos that our next visit would be at the AKL. I was pleased that my TA could find AP rates and I was rather impressed at the savings, too! I definitely want to take some time to explore the resort and enjoy the offerings here as it is our first visit. I have heard so many wonderful things about the lodge and I am trying to compile a list of all the unique experiences.
UP NEXT...Can I manage to secure ADRs less than three weeks out? Do I share the news with the kiddos?
__________________
~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
ooooo! How exciting! I do not think I could keep it a secret. I booked the timeshare for this trip a year ago and I was bursting at the seams every since. LOL. My kids ask me every week at least once this past year, "are we going to Disney world tomorrow?". I'm sure your kids are going to LOOVE you for this and hubby will too.
__________________
Not long now....August 22-August 28, 2011. Fort Wilderness Cabins!
I am so glad this trip is really going to happen for you! It really was meant to be! (And I'm also just a teensy bit happy that we might get to see you next weekend when we're at the University of Maryland!) I am dying to see how you all like staying at the AKL!
And as for my influence in encouraging you to take this trip, let it be known that I only use my powers for good!
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.
oh, another trip! can't wait to hear about it! Hope you don't tell the kids!! I love hearing about surprise trips! Probably because I always wanted one...
I can't believe I didn't see your TR before today! I'm so excited that we'll be over-lapping at AKL for a while. I'll definitely be on the look out for all of you in the lounge! Since I know you guys really enjoy Jiko, I hope to read that you booked the Sunset Safari . . . it's AMAZING (especially, if no one else signs up and you get the whole tour to yourselves! )
Quick question - Does you're husband know of all the Passporters that will be haning around the resort yet?
How awesome. We threw a surprise trip together in April and it was so fun to see the boys' faces when we told them we were going back again so soon. Can't wait to hear more.
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Margaret
I am not a Disney employee. The postings here are my own and do not represent the positions or opinions of the Disney Company
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.
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. I sat down with my trusty calendar and tried to see what we could move and how we could make this trip work. Everywhere I looked, there was some sort of obstacle and I was growing weary.
I couldn’t move Andrew’s doctor’s appointment and I definitely couldn’t ask Paul to change his work/travel schedule….especially for a trip we weren’t, as he said, definitely taking. I guess the powers that be took pity on me because, I kid you not, the next day Paul informs me that his Texas meeting was cancelled and that we could make this impromptu trip work….it I still wanted to go.
As if….just picture me squealing with delight, jumping up and down, and throwing my arms around him for the biggest squeezy hug! Yup, I was dancing around again.
I was pleased that my TA could find AP rates and I was rather impressed at the savings, too! I definitely want to take some time to explore the resort and enjoy the offerings here as it is our first visit. I have heard so many wonderful things about the lodge and I am trying to compile a list of all the unique experiences.
Disney - 9.2012
Margaret
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