Oh My Gosh! We're leaving in 16 days, and I haven't packed yet! 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
I have a great boss too and I am so THANKFUL for having him. I think he deserves a gift from Disney!! Have a great time and Happy B-day to your little boy
Theresa,
first of all happy belated birthday!!!
and btw my hubby calls me his "cougar" because im 3 months older than him, so I know how you feel
man you have an amazing boss!!!
do you plan special outfits too?
we bought princess dresses and such. does Jackson like pirate stuff or anything?
I hope youll have an amazing time and please keep us posted!!!
It sounds like our hubbys would get along well. I haven't really planned a special themed outfit for my DS. We are going to be in the Magic Kingdom on St. Patrick's day, so I bought him a cute St. Pat's Day shirt to wear. He does like pirates, especially Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney Junior. I may look into something for him.
Quote:
SSR is our home resort and we LOVE it there!!!! You will have a GREAT time!!!
We are really looking forward to the pools. I may not be able to get my DS out of the pool for long enough to go to the parks.
Quote:
I have a great boss too and I am so THANKFUL for having him. I think he deserves a gift from Disney!! Have a great time and Happy B-day to your little boy
We definitley plan on bringing him a gift. The hard part is what to bring a Disney Fanatic from Disney? I'm thinking some beer or wine from EPCOT. Any other suggestions?
Feeling comfortable that I had a hotel, ADRs and some tentative plans, I set about reading all the wonderful tips and tricks. The holidays were very hectic, so I did not get much planning or reading done during that time. Then one day, a couple of weeks ago, I am paying some bills and decide, maybe I should check some food costs and do a budget. Well, I was in for a bit of a shock.
I knew that Disney food was expensive, but 3 of the 4 ressies that I made were going to cost me a full meal for my 4 year old who barely eats. When I added all the food costs along with a 20% tip (hoping that we would receive that excellent Disney service), those 4 reservations were going to cost over the amount that I had tentatively budgeted for ALL of our meals. Yikes.
Well, back to the drawing board. Which ones to keep, which ones to trash? As I started looking into that issue, I had another "what was I thinking" moment? I had made reservations for 8 in the morning, the night after we would be at Fantasmic starting at 8:30 at night. That isn’t really a very relaxing plan. I did some internet searching and could not find another Fantasmic Package for any day that week, so the Character Breakfast would have to change. I really wanted it to be a breakfast. I’m not really sure why, but part of it is that I REALLY love breakfast buffets. The search began for another character breakfast.
Up next: Could there possibly be a reservation for a character breakfast, this close to the trip?
YES! There can be character meals this close... check it out. Go for a long shot and try and get Chef Mickey. That is our favorite and the food is GREAT! It will cost you though.
Feeling comfortable that I had a hotel, ADRs and some tentative plans, I set about reading all the wonderful tips and tricks. The holidays were very hectic, so I did not get much planning or reading done during that time. Then one day, a couple of weeks ago, I am paying some bills and decide, maybe I should check some food costs and do a budget. Well, I was in for a bit of a shock.
I knew that Disney food was expensive, but 3 of the 4 ressies that I made were going to cost me a full meal for my 4 year old who barely eats. When I added all the food costs along with a 20% tip (hoping that we would receive that excellent Disney service), those 4 reservations were going to cost over the amount that I had tentatively budgeted for ALL of our meals. Yikes.
Well, back to the drawing board. Which ones to keep, which ones to trash? As I started looking into that issue, I had another "what was I thinking" moment? I had made reservations for 8 in the morning, the night after we would be at Fantasmic starting at 8:30 at night. That isn’t really a very relaxing plan. I did some internet searching and could not find another Fantasmic Package for any day that week, so the Character Breakfast would have to change. I really wanted it to be a breakfast. I’m not really sure why, but part of it is that I REALLY love breakfast buffets. The search began for another character breakfast.
Up next: Could there possibly be a reservation for a character breakfast, this close to the trip?
We do the Crystal Palace every trip. We always do a late breakfast, around 10:00 or so. Its a buffet, so you can fill up. By doing a late breakfast you can cut out lunch and just do a snack. This will be one less meal to pay for, and take care of that early morning ADR.
Happy planning. Can't wait to hear more.
About This Page: 
plans! Can't wait to hear more 
!
<--- Disney Fantasy 2016!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I had made reservations for 8 in the morning, the night after we would be at Fantasmic starting at 8:30 at night. That isn’t really a very relaxing plan. I did some internet searching and could not find another Fantasmic Package for any day that week, so the Character Breakfast would have to change. I really wanted it to be a breakfast. I’m not really sure why, but part of it is that I REALLY love breakfast buffets. The search began for another character breakfast. 
OOO Shiny!
Susan
Jyl
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
