Now that You've Graduated College, What are You Going to Do??.....GO TO DISNEY WORLD!! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're Back!!! What can I say....it was magical from the minute we checked-in to when we sadly checked out!!! Travis and I laughed and talked and really enjoyed each other's company for 5 wonderful days.
So, let me get my thoughts together and I'll start this trip report!
I woke up Sunday morning with my mind going in all directions! Today we leave for WDW!! After church, ate lunch, did a few errands and then just sat and waited...and waited...and waited. What was I waiting for...Travis to get up. You see, he was taking the first stretch of driving so he stayed up all night Saturday night and slept most of the day Sunday. But when he woke up around 3:00, he was ready to go. So, about 5:30pm we loaded up my truck, kissed hubby & dog good-bye, set the GPS for Pop Century and headed east!!! First stop was Cracker Barrel in Sulphur, Louisiana. I wanted us to get a good meal before we got on the road and because we had all night to drive we weren't in a big hurry. NOTE: My sister had come into town the week before & she asked where we were eating Sunday night. I told her where and she handed me a $25 Gift Card for Cracker Barrel. I just love my Sis!! The meal was great of course and around 6:30pm, we paid the bill, I gave Travis the keys and we were on our way!!!
Around midnight, we passed the Florida state line!!! Halfway there!!! I asked Travis if he wanted me to drive and he said he was okay, he could drive a little further. Well, I hadn't really slept at all, so after a quick bathroom break at the rest stop, I tried to go to sleep. When I woke up, it was FOGGY. I'm not talking a little fog, it was thick. So I started talking to Travis to keep him awake and at one point, we were driving 50 mph. Wow!! At one point, we switched drivers and I drove awhile. We were driving so slow that we saw a possum trying to cross the road. Travis and I together said, in unison, "Possum....Road Kill"!! The fog was clearing in some parts, but in others areas it was still pretty thick.
Soon, we turned south on I-75. Getting closer!!! The sun was starting to come up and the fog was clearing. By the time we got to Ocala, I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day!!
We followed the GPS and road signs, even though we both knew the way, and before we knew it we were going under that magical archway...Walt Disney World!!! We made it!! Soon we were pulling into the parking lot of Pop Century. I sent a quick text to hubby saying we had arrived and we made our way to the check-in desk.
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We had been on the road for 14 hours, but we didn't feel tired!! We were at our Happy Place!!
As we walked toward the check-in desk, we were noticing the amount of people. I told Travis that the marathon weekend had just ended and some folks were checking out and some were staying an extra day to finish out the weekend. Soon, we were next in line and as we approached the counter we saw that there was a veteran CM and a CM earning his ears!! Both were very nice and the new CM was doing great!! We gave him our information and he asked were we celebrating anything. I told him that this was a graduation gift to Travis. The CM then handed Travis a Celcbration Pin.
As we continued our check-in process, the veteran CM told us our room was ready!! SCORE!! And all our requests were made, 50's building, top floor, overlooking the lake!!! Pop Century Room Assigners come through again! Then the CM looked at me and told us something that made us both just drop our jaws... She said, "You know, for just $8.24 per person, you could add another day to your tickets. What did you have planned today? Instead of just having 4 days at the park, now you could have 5 days." What...are you kidding me? We had just planned on doing Downtown Disney today and some shopping. Travis and I just looked at each other. I looked at his face and into his eyes and only a Mom can look at their childs face and see what they are thinking!!! It was a huge YES!!! So, I handed her $20, she clicked away on the computer, explained the print-out, then handed us our Keys to the Kingdom Card. She looked at Travis and asked, "So, with this extra day, which park are you going to first?" He was still in shock and replied, "I"m not sure yet, but we'll decide on the way to the bus stop!" So, with a HUGE Thank You to both CM's and card in hand, we headed to the car to drive it to the 50's Section parking lot, unlaod the car, and get ready to go to a park! As we were driving, we found a spot right next to the sidewalk!!! All Travis could say was, "This is totally awesome!" We unloaded the car in one trip. Got to the room, changed into shorts and headed out the door. I asked Travis on the way to the bus stop, which park. He said Animal Kingdom because he wanted to ride Expedition Everest! So AK it was! Within an hour of arrival, we had unloaded the car, freshened up a little, and was standing at the bus stop. Now remember...we are doing all this after a 14 hour drive with about 2 hours of sleep for the both of us! Standing in line for AK:
Soon we arrived at AK and of course had to get the traditional front-of-the-park picture!!
Travis had an agenda and Expedition Everest was first, then Dinosaur, then It's Tough to Be a Bug, then Kali Rapids River. I'm not a fan of the River ride, so he went solo on that one. Let me add this little note: I had Terry's camera. I don't like Terry's camera! It has too many @*#*@ bells & whistles on it!! Next time, I bring a simpler and easier camera to operate. Rant Over.
We had several Photo Pass pictures taken, so when those come in, I'll post those.
Travis in line at EE.
Managed to get a train going up the mountain!!
After EE, we headed toward Dinosaur. Only one picture, remember I hate the camera!!
The wait time was about 15 minutes, which was the standard wait time all week for most rides!! We rarely had to wait long.
Next was It's Tough to Be a Bug, which was entertaining as always. Although there were a few things missing and Travis and I both noticed it!
This was taken while walking around the Tree of Life. Remember, wait time was 5 minutes, so it had to be a quick shot!
Next was the Kali Rapids River. I sat this one out and Travis headed in line. It was about a 20 minute wait for him and I walked towards the bridge waiting for him to come around the bend. Soon, I saw him and he looked soaked!
He's the one in the purple shirt and with the big grin!!
The back of his shirt is soaked!
While I was waiting, I tried the zoom lens and captured some of the monkeys playing!!
Travis and I were getting hungry, so we headed to Restaurantosaurus to eat. He got the shrimp po-boy and I got the hamburger. We were on the Quick Service Dining Plan, so he got the chocolate cake for dessert and I got the cheesecake. All food was DELISH!! At this point, I could tell we were fading fast, so we made the decision to go back to the room and rest. We headed out of the park and while we were waiting for the bus, Travis leaned over and said he was so sleepy. On the bus back to Pop, I think I fell asleep. When we got back to the room, he took a shower and I turned on the TV to listen to Stacy give us the latest updates on Disney Parks!!
I'm not sure when he got out of the shower because I was dead asleep!! But I did set the alarm for 3:00 to get up and get ready for Ragland Road.
Up next....Ragland Road and Travis was in Heaven!!
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After church, ate lunch, did a few errands and then just sat and waited...and waited...and waited. What was I waiting for...Travis to get up. You see, he was taking the first stretch of driving so he stayed up all night Saturday night and slept most of the day Sunday. But when he woke up around 3:00, he was ready to go. 
So, about 5:30pm we loaded up my truck, kissed hubby & dog good-bye, set the GPS for Pop Century and headed east!!! 
I'm not talking a little fog, it was thick. So I started talking to Travis to keep him awake and at one point, we were driving 50 mph. Wow!! At one point, we switched drivers and I drove awhile. We were driving so slow that we saw a possum trying to cross the road. Travis and I together said, in unison, "Possum....Road Kill"!! The fog was clearing in some parts, but in others areas it was still pretty thick. 
And all our requests were made, 50's building, top floor, overlooking the lake!!! 
She said, "You know, for just $8.24 per person, you could add another day to your tickets. What did you have planned today? Instead of just having 4 days at the park, now you could have 5 days." What...are you kidding me? We had just planned on doing Downtown Disney today and some shopping. Travis and I just looked at each other. I looked at his face and into his eyes and only a Mom can look at their childs face and see what they are thinking!!! It was a huge YES!!! So, I handed her $20, she clicked away on the computer, explained the print-out, then handed us our Keys to the Kingdom Card. She looked at Travis and asked, "So, with this extra day, which park are you going to first?" He was still in shock and replied, "I"m not sure yet, but we'll decide on the way to the bus stop!" 
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