A Dream is a Wish--Mini-TR [UPDATED WITH PIX posts 316 & 320] - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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.
Thanks, Mayra. It's a pretty ambitious goal. I haven't been quite willing to really tighten my belt lately, in fact, I've been eating out more and going out for beers with neighbors and colleagues...But with the $ in black and white it will get easier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Good luck with the savings. Exciting plans for Asia. That will be a long and amazing train trip-- how great!
You've got the idea, Laurie! Lots of time on the train. Without lodging and planning to worry about as much, it should prove to be an exciting but relatively low-stress trip. Having friends there makes it much easier to plan.
Quote:
chezp Glad you got the savings ticker underway! Wow, your plans for Asia sound absolutely amazing. I really hope it works out for you.
Thank you!!! Yes, I think it will be an amzing trip. We were looking at doing this trip in the summer of 2013, but I decided DS was a bit too small at age 4-5. We went to Nicaragua that summer instead and it worked out well. Age 7-8 is going to be a bit more manageable for Asia, where non of us speak the language. At least I think so!
It's not a lot of time to save up...but if anyone can do it, we can. It does help that we get a lot of support from my parents. For example, they filled my freezer full of beef recently! Yay mom and dad!!!
Good luck with the savings! The SE Asia trip sounds like it would be incredible!
Here's hoping we can manage it!
I update my savings when I have my next month's paycheck in hand, and I'm so excited to get that check I can hardly stand it.
If today was payday, I would have increased my savings to %17 of goal. If I were able to increase, lets say, 4% each month, and we are looking at 13 months, I should be at 53% of goal by the time we get to DisneyTime, and also 53% of goal for SE Asia. I might have to borrow from the SE Asia fund the other 47%...Which would be about 4.7% out of that fund...I know you aren't following me here, but trust me....
That would leave me at 47% for SE Asia at Disney time. Then My SE Asia savings per month would go up from 4% per month to 6% per month for the next 7 months, so that would be another 42%, making a grand total of 89% of the trip. The other 11% would come in the form of 2 paychecks I would receive during that trip....Sooooo, it looks like it's possible that we would make it. If we don't do a whole lot this summer. Which is really hard, because staying in 1 spot feels odd to me.
I updated my savings ticker today, as the new month's paycheck has come in. I've "banked" the surplus by recording it on the ticker and in a spreadsheet. In reality, it stays in the checking acct to be sure we never cut anything close with bills.
I'm at 15% now, increased by 4%, just as I hoped for in my rambling post above.
Right on track at this point for the plan detailed above. So looking forward to this trip!!!
Oh I just found this! Good luck with the trip and saving up! I've never been to DL before, but we are going to plan a trip one of these days.
Thanks! It's my home park, and I love it. There are very different options at DLR. Although I've never stayed on-site at any Disney resort, I think it is less important at DLR. Out airbnb rental last year was AMAZING, and a nice healthy one mile wak to the park gates. Hope you are able to visit the original someday!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Good for you! Satisfying to see it grow, isn't it?
Very satisfying! And motivating, it really helps when I'm thinking about that morning latte or scrapping dinner plans to go out.
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.
Savings update! I did my monthly update, and it was better than I feared. I have bought some new clothes and a few gifts this past month, and also a few restaurant meals. But I still saved just under 3%. Next month won't be as great, probably, but I still think we'll do alright. I have some extra $ coming for overtime work in the coming month or two.
Fun to be able to update my ticker. I'm 18% to goal. Which means I'm 18% to my SE Asia goal as well!
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Wow, your plans for Asia sound absolutely amazing. I really hope it works out for you. 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
PassPorter Guide Author
~ Jenn 
Linear Mode
