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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Congrats on the new grandson! Have fun planning your trip!
Oh, Cam... he is a sweetheart. As far as planning, I'm a complete NUT about it (which I know everyone on these boards can understand)!
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Originally Posted by MikeL
On top of everything else a PIN Code it DOESN"T get any better than that
I was SO excited to hear that I had a PIN code.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on the savings!
Thanks! I was excited! That's more souvenir money for Brayden! LOL
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Originally Posted by chezp
Congrats on all the savings! I couldn't agree more with you about books - nothing comes close to a paper one for me!
Thanks! My book didn't arrive today --- I'm sure they don't realize how much this is torturing me! My paperwork has been relegated to a file folder for now. (Oh the HUMANITY!)
The last time I went with my family (Jim didn’t go because he had to work), we had the Deluxe Dining Plan. I have to say, it was a LOT of food, even though I’m a BIG eater. I know I didn’t have to eat everything on the plan, and I didn’t… but even having 3 big reservations a day was too much for us. So, this time we thought we would just do the regular dining plan. I’m kind of enjoying the idea of not being tied down to too many reservations, and it’s cheaper too.
So far, our table service dining and park schedule is as follows:
Sunday night: T-Rex @ Downtown Disney
This is our arrival date, so we’re planning to hang out at the resort, and spend some time at DTD.
Monday: Via Napoli for Dinner @ Epcot
Tuesday: Breakfast at the Tusker House (my favorite breakfast buffet @ Disney) and Yak & Yeti for Dinner @ Animal Kingdom
Wednesday: Cape May Café for Dinner – no parks today, just relaxing at the Pool/Hot Tub & DTD shopping
Thursday: 50’s Sci Fi Dine-In @ DHS
Friday: Narcoosee’s @ the Grand Floridian after a day at Magic Kingdom – we’ll be there for Wishes at 8:00!
Saturday: This is our departure day, and we’re probably going to hang at the pool, do last minute shopping at DTD, and then sit down on the “sad-benches” until Magical Express comes to take us back to reality.
Our T-Rex and Sci-Fi meals will be out of pocket, while others will be paid for using our dining plan credits. We plan to pay out of pocket for most breakfasts, and the quick service meals will cover the rest. Not too shabby!
Now for the Nana-Guilt -----
As you've probably guessed, I'm allllll kinds of sappy about my new grandson, and savor every little giggle and smile, just as I did watching my little girl grow up. Therein lies the rub. Once the initial excitement of actually getting to go, my heart kind of sunk. How could I go have fun in this wonderful place without my daughter and her little boy? I even posted on here asking people how to handle the guilt. The support I received here was very helpful.
So, how am I going to (try to) handle it?
First: I'm going to remember that he's a little guy that won't remember my absence and will be excited when he sees me again.
Second: I know he's in VERY loving hands while I'm gone. His Mommy and Daddy treat him like gold. I do a lot of the caretaking, but they will definitely step up and take good care of him.
Third: I'm trying to remember that adults sometimes need to re-charge and reconnect. Happy Nana and Pop-Pop = Happy Household = Happy Kids
Fourth: RETAIL THERAPY. I have a feeling this kid will look like a walking Disney advertisement after Nana and Pop-Pop get done shopping!!!
I'm hoping my four-step program will get me through my guilt.
Like many others, I both love and hate flying. The worst part for me is that I'm claustraphobic, and very sensitive to motion sickness. In my eyes, there is nothing quite as horrifying as being stuffed in a tin can with 150+ strangers, strapped into a seat the size of a piece of gum, and launched 30,000 feet into the air. The good part is, I can suppress all of those feelings, if the flight is taking me to Disney World!
My best experience flying was last February, when we flew JetBlue out of Washington/Dulles. I absolutely loved having the tv in the seat-back. It kept my mind SO busy, and I loved that I could pull the map up and see exactly where we were in our flight! I never thought about being crowded or ill the entire time... it was AWESOME!
The unfortunate thing is that Washington/Dulles is about 2-2.5 hours from our house and that's a little too far to drive home when exhausted. Last year, there was a snow storm and I had to drive home on a narrow 2-lane back road with very little lighting. The puffy white snowflakes were coming at my windshield at a steady pace, and it was mesmerizing. I kept worrying that I had fallen asleep, and was just dreaming that I was awake. How silly is that? I have never been so scared in my life. We made it home safely, but that trip left an impression on me.
Since it would just be Jim and me this time, he will probably do the driving… and never gets sleepy while driving – so I figured we could check out JetBlue again. No dice! They apparently discontinued their non-stop flights from Washington/Dulles and their prices weren’t worth the layover. Bye-Bye tv that kept me happy and busy.
So now to Plan B: I’ve flown AirTran out of Baltimore/Washington before, and that was pretty nice. (no tv's in the seatbacks, but still) I checked for flights, and it seemed like they were a little high, but at least they had non-stop flights at the times we wanted. I waited a day or two, and voila – the prices were down again ($99 to Orlando, and $130 on the way back) so we booked them. We paid about $250 for each of us, and that included taxes seat selection. I don't think that's too bad, yet I keep torturing myself by checking and double-checking to see if the rates ever get better (these are non-refundable with a $75 change fee, so I have no idea why I keep checking).
My only problem is, because we were booking later than normal, most of the good seats on the plane were reserved. We ended up having to take row 23 on the way to Disney, and 26 on the way back. Here's where my claustraphobia kicks in... looking at the plane, I was further from the exit than I could stand. Especially on the way home ---- row 26 is practically BURIED back there!
I seriously had to do something about row 26. I kept checking over and over again, until I found two beautiful seats in row 16! They only cost an additional $7 per person, so I snapped them up quickly. I feel much better about the flight home now.
I'll have to find a way to deal with the flight TO Disney (row 23), but I'm hoping the adrenaline of the trip will help me through.
We’re flying out at 8:00 am and arriving at 10:15 am. Our return flight is at 6:00 pm, returning at approximately 8:20 pm. I like getting to Disney early and leaving a little later, so I’m pretty happy with what we got. BWI is only 1.5 hours away from our house, so that’s a bonus too!
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Congrats on the first grandson. Adorable. Congrats on getting to go on another trip prior to 2014. Everything looks great. Glad you were able to get your flight seats changed. Excited to read about your trip.
Congrats on the adorable little grandson!!! And the trip!!! Don't let that Nana guilt get in the way.............think of it as a way to get away and spoil that little cutie with some fabulous disney gifts!!!
Great dining plans!!!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Congrats on the adorable little grandson!!! And the trip!!! Don't let that Nana guilt get in the way.............think of it as a way to get away and spoil that little cutie with some fabulous disney gifts!!!
Great dining plans!!!
Thank you! I know I'll feel twinges of guilt here and there, but I'll try to handle it. Being in Disney helps, since nothing keeps the mind busier than that!
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Originally Posted by Russi01
Congrats on the first grandson. Adorable. Congrats on getting to go on another trip prior to 2014. Everything looks great. Glad you were able to get your flight seats changed. Excited to read about your trip.
Thanks! I'm going to keep working on the flight TO Disney, but at least I'll have the excitement of Disney to help.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on the flights!
Thank you!
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Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Your dining plans look great! You have a good attitude about leaving the little one. I'm glad your flights worked out.
Thank you... I can't wait to shop for him.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Glad you were able to get the flights sorted out in the end.
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Have fun planning your trip! 
My paperwork has been relegated to a file folder for now. (Oh the HUMANITY!)
So far, our table service dining and park schedule is as follows:
PassPorter Guide Author
In my eyes, there is nothing quite as horrifying as being stuffed in a tin can with 150+ strangers, strapped into a seat the size of a piece of gum, and launched 30,000 feet into the air. The good part is, I can suppress all of those feelings, if the flight is taking me to Disney World! 
We made it home safely, but that trip left an impression on me.
We ended up having to take row 23 on the way to Disney, and 26 on the way back. Here's where my claustraphobia kicks in... looking at the plane, I was further from the exit than I could stand. Especially on the way home ---- row 26 is practically BURIED back there! 
Deb
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