We're going to WDW! Adventures of a Mom & Toddler Trip, PTR - Page 25 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Hope you had a nice dinner and enjoyed the movie. Thinking about seeing it myself, but I may just wait until Toy Story 3 and wait for Prince of Persia to come out on DVD. Anyway, I'm glad your mom liked the surprise and wait a treat...new luggage!
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.
Thanks I'm actually in the middle of doin my hair for us to go out and we just got some sad news, Sturgis, Erick's family dog is getting put down today. It's also still a sad day for me as 16 years ago today my mom's dad passed away. I'm trying not to cry, as Erick was asking me when his parents were deciding to finally put the dog down. She did give us a huge scare the past few days.
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.
Thank you so much for the pixies Cam. We certainly miss weet Sturgis. It was hard since as she came down the stairs with DFil to go to the Vet, the first person he headed to was me for some loving (I had no idea she was trying to say goodbye to me) before DFil could put his leash on her to leave.
I will let everyone know how our Anniversary was in a little while. Thank you for the Anniversary Wishes everyone. They were certainly appreciated.
Hope you had a nice dinner and enjoyed the movie. Thinking about seeing it myself, but I may just wait until Toy Story 3 and wait for Prince of Persia to come out on DVD. Anyway, I'm glad your mom liked the surprise and wait a treat...new luggage!
Thank you so much Melissa, Dinner was great thank you, except we were probably a tough crowd since we were just hit with the sad news right before leaving for dinner. Prince of Persia was great, however sadly I think I dozed a few times during it (maybe during parts I didn't understand). We too are trying to patiently wait for Toy Story 3 to come out and take Skyler to his first movie in the theater during his Birthday next month. Thank you so much, I am so glad my mom is excited about our Surprise Breakfast for her on the trip. Yeah new luggage. I was hoping I wouldn't have to drop that bomb on Erick about needing new luggage, but I think pushing a stroller and having to lug around a huge body bag duffle w/o wheels may be a huge pain for me to get to DME for when we leave (unless I call Bell Services). We are going to look for a new suitcase soon for us to take along, and I have seen the same one Cam has at our Sams Club, which is maybe where I'm going to look for the new one.
Erick & I had a wonderful Anniversary despite a few things, however that is life. I wasn't expecting Erick to get home at 4 yesterday morning from work (he was supposed to be off at 11pm Monday night, however got stuck staying since a store visit that was supposed to occur Wed. (today) happened yesterday, and the store had to be in tip top shape. I have to admit it was so hard wishing Erick a Happy Anniversary while he was at work at Midnight via Text Message. I did get a little teary eyed wishing he was home already, but I know he is working hard for him to afford to send Skyler & I to Disney and to visit my mom. One of his bosses even told him to tell me to suck it up and let him work until 6 am since Erick was sending us to Disney.
We did manage to sleep in pretty late and Erick did get a little impatient while waiting in the car with Skyler while I ran into the Grocery Store to pick up our cake I ordered, the rose petals I had ordered, and flower arrangement I had to have them make on the spot since they ran out of Orchids and their next shipment wasn't supposed to arrive until today. They did a great job and it probably had to be the most favorite flower arrangement I have ever purchased, and luckily Erick didn't complain about the cost of it either since it was very affordable for a stem with quite a few blooms of Dendrobium Orchids, a single white rose, and a Bird of Paradise, with some greenery. I did take a picture of our cake and the flower arrangement which I need to upload to my photobucket account still. Sadly those are the only pictures I was able to get of the evening. Besides Erick's glasses I bought him (which he loved) he also got another surprise from him, when I was in the grocery store, I saw something Erick loves Salt Water Taffy (he hasn't had this in a long time) so I got him some, which certainly made his day.
Things did feel a little rushed as Erick and Skyler were rushing me to finish getting ready to go, and Skyler wanted his Mama. I was trying to finish drying my hair and use my brand new waving iron to do something else with my painfully straight hair when I got a text message from Erick's sister telling me that DFIL had called her and let her know he and DMIL were putting the dog down. Let's just say that's where I almost lost it and couldn't figure out how Erick would take it and if Skyler was going to try looking for the dog all night, especially where he was with DMIL & DFIL while we were out, and DMIL was running behind getting home from the Vet, which I almost had to call and cancel our dinner reservation, since I wasn't sure when she was going to come home.
A little back story about this past weekend and Sturgis, I know I had mentioned on the boards she had cancer, and DInlawas had it removed the first time, and it was supposed to come back, but it was all a matter of time. Well it came back sooner than expected and her eyes were starting to swell, she was starting to get a bloody nose again, and this time she was bleeding out of her mouth, despite her eye being swollen shut, she couldn't breathe from her nose, her face being extremely swollen and distorted (really she looked like she got in a fight with Mike Tyson). It was very sad to look at, and very sad she was going through this. Sunday while DBIL and DSIL were up here from the Virginia Beach Area, she wouldn't stop bleeding, and supposedly when they took her to the Vet today they said the bleeding wasn't going to stop anytime soon, so either DInlaws could either bring her home and let her bleed to death, or put her down. I know they made the right choice and she is out of pain now, but it is hard to see another dog right now and not be constantly reminded of the the lovable Stugis we just lost. Erick knows in time his parents will get another dog (and they have had Sturgis since Erick was in High School), but I do kind of fear Skyler is going to try to look for her and wonder where she is.
On to Dinner, we had the whole Habachi Table to ourselves which was very nice. Every other table around us, packed and there were a lot of Birthday Celebrations. We had a very sweet waitress Mandy and she was great about bringing us refills on our drinks (and neither one of us had any alcoholic drinks) without us needing to ask, and our Chef Alex was awesome. He even made a Disney Reference of Nemo with our shrimp. I had to say it was quite romantic having the peace and quiet at our table and they even offered to let us move right in front of the chef instead of on the side.
Our food was delicious, and I admit it has taken me quite a few years to return to a Habachi Restaurant, but despite us losing Sturgis today, I really enjoyed our dinner. Erick got the Emperial Steak (serloin steak) and I got the Benihana Delight of Chicken & Shrimp with teryaki sauce on it. I even told Erick he could bring me back any time he wanted to since I really enjoyed the food, and I will also admit for the longest time I had a huge phobia of raw meat,especially of touching raw meat or having it cooked right in front of me, however at our dinner I somehow managed to get over that and want Erick to teach me how to cook (I can't cook for the life of me and love the fact that he's an excellent cook). Erick was one very happy camper over that. I did also tell Erick the next trip he and I get to take to WDW I will try to make us a ressie at Teppan Edo! They were even sweet at Benihana to give us each a complementary scoop of Ice Cream for Dessert, which I got Chocolate and Erick had Rainbow Sherbert.
I somehow managed to time our dinner reservation perfectly for us to see the 9:00 showing of Prince of Persia, instead of the 10:00 showing. We made it during the Previews, but that's not much missed. Sadly I dozed through parts of the movie that were either too slow for me or I just didn't understand. Erick actually caught me too.
We came home to Skyler just finishing up his dinner of Speghetti (since he fell a sleep while DMIL & DFIL ate dinner) and enjoyed our delicous cake. I changed our cake from last year which was a 1 layer chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and 5 chocolate covered strawberries on it) and this year it was a two layer cake one chocolate and one vanilla with butter cream frosting and fresh strawberries in the middle, and it had 4 Chocolate Covered Strawberries on it. I couldn't wait to cut it and have a piece of it, even more so than a glass of the wine I bought for us to enjoy together.
All in all it was a great day with a few set backs and a dog now in doggy heaven. Nobody from Erick's work, either jobs, called him into work today, so I was relieved that didn't happen. Thank you again for the Anniversary Wishes and for the pixies.
So sorry about Sturgis It's always tough losing a pet since they do become part of the family. I'm glad you were able to enjoy your anniversary though, and it sounds like it ended up being a perfect evening!
Thank you all so much. It is too quiet aroundhere without Sturgis and I think I cried my self to sleep after Erick & Skyler were sound a sleep since I truely miss our Sturgie Girl. Erick was kind of confused why his sister missed Sturgis so much when she now has 2 puppies of her own and left Sturgis with us and had to watch her suffer every day. At least she is in Doggy heaven though and hopefully my old dog Lassy will meet her. It was weird not having o move her food and water bowls so Skyler wouldn't get into them. I can't speak for her previous owners, but at least here she was a very well loved and taken care of dog.
Otherwise everything else was pretty perfect about our Anniversary. I'll upload the pictures now and resize them later when I can get on the computer without Skyler wanting to take more keys off my keyboard and post them for you all. I'll post one of Sturgis too.
Thank you so much again everyone for your sweet comments and condolances for Sturgis, and the pixies. Even the sight of her dog ice cream and 1/2 bag of dog food is making me lose it and it's hard for me to not cry in front of Skyler who thank goodness is still oblivious.
I hope Game 3 of The Stanley Cup Final will be a good distraction for me tonight and my little lucky charm Skyler will help me root on thr Blackhawks again tonight.
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
! They were even sweet at Benihana to give us each a complementary scoop of Ice Cream for Dessert, which I got Chocolate and Erick had Rainbow Sherbert.
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
