Snafus, Stupidities and So Many Firsts TR Dec 11- 19th - COMPLETED 1/25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Sorry for all the snafus at the start! Great pics! I hope that's the end of them!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great TR start! We love SWA, too! Sorry about all your snafus, but so glad the Osborne lights brought back the magic!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Great start. Sorry about the SNAFU's but hope the worst is over!
Thanks everyone for reading! I kept thinking to myself my PPers will not even believe all this was happening in one day! The worst is over...thankfully!
More to come before the weekend is over. I need to upload more photos for part 2. There is one that is just too gosh darn cute to be missed. Talk to you soon and thank you for letting me relive my trip.
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.
Today was our first scheduled day at MK and thankfully the skies were blue and the weather was beautiful (warm!)
We headed out mid morning (which would be our trend for the week!) excited to see the decorations at the park.
Bags checked, keys in head, we headed for the turnstiles but wait! The curse of the keys continues! Ken had four keys…Abby’s, Alex’s, mine and his old key not the one that was fixed. So more time at Guest Services and we’re off, ‘er I mean in.
First thing was the kids getting their photo with Santa. It would be the first ever with the golly old elf with the kids wearing shorts and t-shirts. I apologize since this is a pic of a pic since we took the photo with our still camera.. not digital.
Rides were next on the agenda. BLSRS was first. Ken managed to top out at one million points. A feat he would not be able to repeat!
Then it was onto Fantasyland. Lines were already long (it was a Saturday!). We stood in a ridiculously long line for the Pooh ride.
There were characters here and there but the kids did not seem interested this trip! They had other things on their mind!
Abby announced she was ready to try the Haunted Mansion! While Ken got Alex a toy me and one of her grandmas held her tight and covered her eyes and ears in the stretching room. Apparently there was no way around it! Once on her first doom buggy Abby did great. Hooray for a Disney milestone for my baby girl!
After that it was time to meet our friends from the 100 acre wood at CP for lunch. Lunch was a first for us here as we did breakfast the past two years. I love this place. It’s beautiful, service is great, characters are great and the food did not disappoint. Here are some pictures.
What was cool was Alex’s first celebration. We were celebrating his homecoming from Guatemala at 7 months old 4 years ago. The manager heard about it, brought out a pirate celebration cake and gave him a Tigger. The look on Alex’s face is so sweet! (apologies for the photos as they are photos of photos... again, taken with a different camera!)
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.
continued - the pic of Alex holding Tigger for the first time is just priceless! Melt my littlle heart!
Alex is such a sweet little guy! Happy homecoming baby boy!!
We had enough time to stake out a parade spot so after enjoying that we headed back to CSR to nap. Least, that was the plan. The kids did not nap and that was the NEW trend. Once at the park, stay at the park for the day. Woo hoo!
We headed back early evening to see the castle already lit up. Much more beautiful in person than in pictures! Crowds were heavy so we decided to skip watching Spectro and hit some rides. But with it being an EMH night the crowds were HUGE! FPs for PPF weren’t for several hours so we waited in line for IASW – always a favorite with the kids pointing and just thoroughly enjoying the ride. It inspired what will be a new collection for me – stay tuned for that later!
We then saw Mickey’s PhilharMagic (always a favorite!) and went back to BLSRS.
Wishes were starting and it was almost over so we decided to try and head out.
This is where the STUPIDITY portion of the TR comes into play. A CM was leading us and others out by the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station. One lady had her stroller completely blocking the way. To make matters worse, she was completely oblivious to the flow of people wanting to leave – and having that be our only exit. To make matters even worse, she was too busy yacking on her cell phone to care. After my kids nearly tripped over the stroller wheels Ken yelled “Lady, can you move your stroller? We’re trying to leave!” Of course she only did it AFTER we walked by.
Then the CMs were leading us in back, in the bowels of MK where back buildings are and garbage cans. Ken said it was ruining the magic for him!
We made it to the bus before the absolute crush of people and got back to CSR around 11 with Alex completely asleep and Abby needing to hit the hay.
Today was: warm and sunny
We tried: Haunted Mansion with Abby
Result was: She loved it
Coming up: Epcot – new rides, storytellers and CP. Would the kids sit still and enjoy it or would we need to leave?
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.