"Can I Play on Your iPhone?" A WDW Trip in a Digital Age (May 28 - June 7) - Page 28 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I’m usually an earlier riser anyway on vacation (too much to do to waste time sleeping!)
While I'm with Karen and Sharon on their "sleeping in is for suckers" mentality when I'm at Disney World, I have to say, neither of those gals seem to know how to sleep in, even at a beach house, or what should be a lazy day over Spring Break. I'm going to have to start putting melatonin in their margaritas.
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
spent an embarrassing amount of time on Google Earth figuring out the fastest path to Harry Potter, including the elusive shortcut through the parking lot of RPR. But, we don’t need to mention that… especially to my boss.
Not.Surprised.At.All.
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
When your tickets are used for a teachable moment, you know them are some old tickets.
And not nearly as sparkly as your schpayschal (says Aunt Tardy) Disney pass.
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
My first view of Hogwarts was overwhelming. It is absolutely spectacular.
*sigh* Someday.... someday....
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Past the House Cup beads.
TOTALLY AWESOME!! GRYFFINDOR IS IN FIRST!!!
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Beyond the Gryffindor common room.
CORRECTION: the stairway to Dumbledore's office.
I never noticed that the statue was wearing glasses, just like Dumbledore's. How cool is THAT?!
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Past the portrait of the fat lady.
Which is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
First on tap was getting two postcards sent by owl post to my two favorite Harry Potter loving Muggles, Eileen and my sister Kirsten.
I treasure mine -- it's peeking out at me now from my Bulletin Board of Awesome Things.
Did the owls move at all? (Inquiring minds want to know.) And I love that there is bird poop on that high up rung over there.
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
The butterbeer was a hit with Zack, so much so that I only got a taste or two. Good stuff.
I'll never get to know what it tastes like -- the foam contains gluten and Rowling won't let them serve it without the foam.
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Yup, that would be a Duff energy drink and a Lard Lad donut. Told you he didn’t need coffee earlier.
Breakfast of champions. Just not the champions that are ever gonna win any competitions....
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Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
I don’t know what it is about Universal Studios. The park is nice enough. It just doesn’t really do anything for me.
This is why I want a WWOHP to pop up in England -- in a fresh, new spot that is unspoiled by any other theme park. THAT will get me on a transoceanic flight.
Eileen - yes the owls heads move every so often, and they're hooting as well!
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Tanya
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Thanks Cheryl! I seriously am in awe of writers like you. Even with the report handwritten now, it still takes me forever to type it up and get photos posted. How do you do it?
Tell me about it! It is a lot of hard work, but I guess that's what comes of being the type of person who can never sit still without doing something - writing trip reports definitely gives me something to do in my free time!
So glad you are finishing this up. You just crack me up! It seems that you and Zack have a similar relationship to me and my DS TRavis (19).
I am sorry for the loss of your father. It is always so difficult when you lose a parent with all the added responsibilities that you have to take care of.
Was your dream crush Brandon Walsh... totally not judging, but I was a Dylan girl.
I just had to comment on this because I too was a Dylan girl and I guess you could say he may have had a hand in naming my first born Dylan (and now it doesn't help that my second's name is Lukas (Luke)).
Staying in a hotel on site seems like the way to go. Some day I'll get there! It looks so awesome! Can't wait for the expansion! When is that supposed to be done?
Glad you enjoyed the RPR and Universal! Personally, I wouldn't go to either park without the Express Pass access and early entry benefits that hotel guests get. It's not worth it to me to stand in line there! But when you do it right, it can be a fun day.
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
The butterbeer was a hit with Zack, so much so that I only got a taste or two. Good stuff.
I’m getting the evil eye here for jonesing for another sip!
Where's the Butterbeer mustache? You don't drink it with a straw!
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I’d have so much more willpower if there was a little more truth in packaging. Heavy Heifer HoHos? I’d pass ‘em right by! Wide Whale Whoppers? No interest. I think I’ll just have to remember that trick before I’m tempted to indulge. Starting tomorrow. After I finish my Saggy Saddlebags Strawberry Shortcake. Sigh.
Ain't that the truth -- like the I-Can't-Believe-the-Size-of-my-Thighs ice cream. But also advertise Choco-Broccoli and I'm a convert!
I obviously feel the need to comment on a trip report update nearly eight months after the last one. (Although I was giggling about the possibility of just posting it alone like it was no big deal.) I actually have most of the trip report written, so I think I might actually finish. I had plenty of time to write it, unfortunately, with my Dad being in and out of the hospital from the end of August until the middle of January trying to recover from surgery from bladder cancer. It was a rough few months, and unfortunately, in the middle of January we got the news that the cancer had spread everywhere. My darling dad died just three days later, just about 24 hours after we brought him home from the hospital.
I figured this trip report would be like so many others I never finished, especially as we were all so busy trying to keep my Dad's CPA business afloat through tax season so that we would have a valuable asset in the end. Then, my sisters and I were on a wonderful two week trip to Hawaii. During that trip, though, I saw the sad, sad news about Stefanie. I've been thinking so much about Cam and Luke since then, and especially about how precious Cam's trip reports are to me. Family history is just so important, and like I said in my opening post on this thread, this trip really feels like it needs to be documented. I hope that maybe some of the crazy, that only the Weisses seem to bring, will make Cam and Luke smile. I can't even tell you how much joy their stories (and everyone else's on Passporter) brought to me over the past several months. Love to you all!
You did make me smile and chuckle and you also made me cry, but it's all good. Thanks! Stefanie listened to parts of so many TRs and loved all the pictures, especially after she had met folks. I have always been diligent with preserving all our family memories so I could keep retelling them to Stefanie for years to come, but now I realize they will keep me remembering her for years to come.
Glad to see you writing this TR again. So sorry to hear about your dad - sending some good thoughts your way.
We had the exact same feeling about Universal. We thought the resort was great and the Express Pass was awesome. WWOHP was excellent, but the transitions are rough and there are only a few other gems out there. I do personally LOVE the MIB ride (wish it were at Disney ). Can't wait to hear more!
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Pixie Dust
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It is a lot of hard work, but I guess that's what comes of being the type of person who can never sit still without doing something - writing trip reports definitely gives me something to do in my free time! 
Mary - not enough trips!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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