Things to Accomplish...Solo Trip to WDW....Check! - Page 3 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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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.
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.
Sorry it's taken so long to get this trip report started. Christmas and New Years pretty much kept me busy. So, hopefully I can do this report and complete it, (I have this strange ability not to finish reports!! ) Mainly because I can't post pictures right. But with a little help from a fellow PP, (thanks Cam22, ), I may get it all done right this time!!
Day One …It weighs HOW much?!?!
I went to work Friday with much anticipation about this trip. I was still a little nervous about going solo, but I had positive thoughts. After I got off at noon, I completed all the tasks I had to get done and got home around 4:00pm. Knowing I had to fall asleep, I took a muscle relaxer to help me relax and eventually fall asleep easier. After going over my packing list about 2 times, I felt like I was ready for my trip. I told DH to go play pool with his buddies and to stay gone until around 12:30am. (How many wives tell their husbands to stay out late at a pool hall?!??!) Reason behind my madness, I needed him out of the house so I could go to bed early and when I got up to get ready, he would be coming home from pool playing and I wouldn’t wake him up. Sounded good to me… Anyway….around 1:45am, Travis, DS, woke me up. I went to the kitchen to turn on the coffee and proceeded to get ready. DH was laying across the bed, but not asleep yet. I quickly showered, packed the last few items and loaded up DS’s car. As he loaded up the car, he lifted my suitcase and said, “Mom, you are really close to 50 lbs. This is heavy!” That comment would come true later!! After giving DH and the dog a quick hug and kiss, we walked out to the car and DH told me to text him when I got to Orlando. Then at 2:51am, DS and I set out for Houston Hobby Airport. We talked the whole way and at 4:35am, we were unloading my suitcase at the airport. Travis hugged me tight and told me to have fun. I had already printed out my boarding pass, A-27!! So I proceeded to check in for my luggage. The lady behind the counter took my suitcase and it weighed 51.0 lbs. WHAT!!! Oh no!! I did have a carryon bag in my suitcase, so I was prepared just in case. But she took my suitcase, shook it a little, (this was a strong woman), and weighed it again. Total weight…50.5 lbs! She said it would go through at that weight, but I couldn’t add anymore in my suitcase. Really lady, I’m going to Disney, so I KNOW there will be stuff added!! Security went quickly and after a full body scan I was soon at my gate waiting for my flight. Around 5:30am, we began boarding. I always have to have a window seat because I do get air sick sitting in the middle or aisle seat. So, the first empty row I came to, I claimed as my own! This flight was only half full, so I had a whole row to myself. I tried to sleep, but sleep would not come and within 2 hours we were landing at MCO. I did get to see the sun come up and it was beautiful!!
Since I’ve only flown twice before to Orlando, I really wasn’t sure of the lay-out of the airport and where I needed to go to get to Magical Express. So, after getting turned around several times, I finally figured out where I need to go and soon was checking in at the podium for my bus to AoA. BTW…the first time I used Magical Express, the set up was entirely different. There was a whole counter, not just a podium.
I was directed to line 6 for AoA and there was no one in line!! After about a 3 minute wait, I was then directed to a ME bus where I was lucky enough to have a front row seat. Our driver was fantastic and so entertaining. As we approached that infamous arch, he slowed the bus down and told everyone now was the time for a picture and he then started a countdown.
We crossed onto Disney property and everyone clapped!! Caribbean Beach Resort was first drop off, the Pop Century was next. I can't remember if there were anymore stops. I just know AoA was the last resort stop and the bus was still full.
Check in was a breeze. I had Micheal from New Jersey and he was great. Although my room wasn’t ready, I did get the wing I requested in the Little Mermaid section. After getting my resort & park entry card, I checked out the shopping area and the food court. It was very chaotic because it was around lunch time, but it looked promising. I took a restroom break, and then headed out to the Animal Kingdom bus stop.
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.
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.
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So glad we got to meet you! 
) Mainly because I can't post pictures right. But with a little help from a fellow PP, (thanks Cam22, 
), I may get it all done right this time!! 
Knowing I had to fall asleep, I took a muscle relaxer to help me relax and eventually fall asleep easier. After going over my packing list about 2 times, I felt like I was ready for my trip. I told DH to go play pool with his buddies and to stay gone until around 12:30am. (How many wives tell their husbands to stay out late at a pool hall?!??!) 
Reason behind my madness, I needed him out of the house so I could go to bed early and when I got up to get ready, he would be coming home from pool playing and I wouldn’t wake him up. Sounded good to me… 
WHAT!!! Oh no!! I did have a carryon bag in my suitcase, so I was prepared just in case. But she took my suitcase, shook it a little, (this was a strong woman), and weighed it again. Total weight…50.5 lbs! She said it would go through at that weight, but I couldn’t add anymore in my suitcase. Really lady, I’m going to Disney, so I KNOW there will be stuff added!! 
I finally figured out where I need to go and soon was checking in at the podium for my bus to AoA. BTW…the first time I used Magical Express, the set up was entirely different. There was a whole counter, not just a podium. 
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