Three, it’s a magic number - 11/29-12/6/11 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Why: Who needs a why, really? The first trip we took was fabulous. Three years ago, the kids were 5 & 7, the pace was great, we did a lot. So we figured we’d spread our wings, see more of the USA and head back in a couple years. But we had booked with JetBlue for that first trip and the prices had gone down – now we had a $400 credit that had to be used within a year.
So after about 25 seconds of discussion, we booked Disney for a second trip. What should have been a budget trip (the airfare credit + free dining + our Disney Visa points) turned into a total splurge at WL. Again, a picture-perfect trip. So now we’re really done for a while. So we skip WDW last year, and start planning our next vacation. We both love London (partly because they speak English - we almost broke up in Germany) and I have an uncle that lives near the Grand Canyon and isn’t getting any younger. So two great options are in the running.
Did I mention the Disney Visa? I’m paying the bills one night and say, “honey, why do we still both have Disney Visas if we’re not going back to Disney?” Adding it up, we have almost $1000 in points. A little too much for the Disney store at the mall, don’t’cha think? So once against we walk backwards into a trip to the World. I really think sub-consciously it’s what we wanted. WDW suits us so well – DH hates to travel (learned the hard way in Germany), and once you’re in the World, you don’t have to travel. No maps, no decisions, we just wake up and say, “Walt, entertain us!” We just love the flexibility, the options, the fun, the early mornings and late nights, the customer service, the food. It’s like being in an all-inclusive county!
The kids are now 8 & 10, and I see my tween and teen nieces and nephews and I can’t imagine dealing with the hormones and attitude at WDW. So this is it. Really.
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It does seem a like a lot of dollars, doesn't it? But we put everything on credit cards and pay it off each month (a credit card company's nightmare). DH likes to track everything so he can see how many times I stop at Dunkin' Donuts. He's got his vices, too, so it all evens out in the end.
Anyway, two Visa cards over 2 years = $1000! Woohoo!
Great start! I totally understand the "panic" mode when a vacation just sneaks up on you, lol. I'm totally there right now, and we're only 2 weeks out Your kids are going to be so happy when you reveal your surprise, I can't wait to hear about their reaction! GOod job on collecting so many Disney Visa Rewards Dollars!! It only seems right to use them all towards a fabulous vacation!
Where: After much hemming and hawing, we decided to stay off-site (first time ever).
DH is a sweetie who goes along with a lot of things, but he’s not pretty if he doesn’t get his sleep. We stayed in an ASMu Family Suite (loved it!) for the first trip with kids, and in a WL bunkbed room the second trip (loved it, but it was crowded and who knew how noisy we all were when we sleep within a few feet of each other). Now we couldn’t make the same “step up” without going with the GF which doesn’t mesh with our style (or our budget).
So asking around, we have three friends who have stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek, right between DHS and DTD. For $120/night, we have two bedrooms (king/2 doubles), 2 bathrooms (one with a jet tub), a full kitchen (though I’m not planning on cooking), a living room with a dining table, 3 TVs, a washer/dryer, five pools and a lazy river. And we can see the Epcot fireworks from our huge balcony because it’s basically onsite, right across the street from CBR. I stuffed my Disney snobbery in my pocket and booked it. We won’t have magic 24/7, but I really think we’re OK with that.
We always rent a car since we’re usually too impatient for Disney transport (except for that fabulous boat from WL to MK – aaaaaahhhh…). So we’ll have to pay for parking - but I bought the park passes through AAA so got the diamond preferred parking. I think the extra space and laundry is going to be so worth it.
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The extra space is definitely worth it! Our upcoming trip will be our third staying in an offsite 2 bedroom villa, which was actually less for the whole week than staying at a Value Paying less and getting more space seems like a no brainer to me Can't wait to hear about Bonnet Creek, I've always wondered what it was like when driving by.
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So once against we walk backwards into a trip to the World. I really think sub-consciously it’s what we wanted. WDW suits us so well – DH hates to travel (learned the hard way in Germany), and once you’re in the World, you don’t have to travel. No maps, no decisions, we just wake up and say, “Walt, entertain us!” We just love the flexibility, the options, the fun, the early mornings and late nights, the customer service, the food. It’s like being in an all-inclusive county! 
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It does seem a like a lot of dollars, doesn't it? But we put everything on credit cards and pay it off each month (a credit card company's nightmare). DH likes to track everything so he can see how many times I stop at Dunkin' Donuts. He's got his vices, too, so it all evens out in the end. 
It's the only card we use, and pay it off every month! 
Your kids are going to be so happy when you reveal your surprise, I can't wait to hear about their reaction! GOod job on collecting so many Disney Visa Rewards Dollars!! It only seems right to use them all towards a fabulous vacation!
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