Lydia's Make A Wish TR - 11/29-12/05 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
I am so glad you are writing this TR, even with the tears in my eyes. How great that you got the upgrade and the gorgeous view, too. Can't wait for more!
What a great TR so far, I remember reading all your planning posts and finally get to hear all about this special trip is wonderful (even though I am going through klennex as I read). I am so glad to hear that you got the upgrade and seeing the delight in everyone's face - I am so glad that you were able to take this trip with them. Looking foward to more.
I have never been to WDW with children before. I did a lot of prep work for our touring and, thanks to you guys I was well prepared. We rented 2 strollers from Orlando Stroller Rentals. They were perfect! Clean, awesome features (love the adjustable handle), fold fast and easily and they steered well. When I go back with my little girl, I will definitely use them again. My backpack was well stocked with sunscreen, pennies and quarters in an M&M tube, moleskin, ponchos, markers and vellum paper for autographs and a Pringles potato chip can to put scrapbook stuff in so it won’t crease (menus, maps, autographs, confetti…). Backpack packed – we’re ready to hit the parks!
I would have planned to save MK for last, since there’s no better place for kids at WDW, but the parade taping was going on the last 3 days that we were there and I knew we didn’t want to be in the middle of that mob. We got up early enough to have breakfast in the concierge lounge. Luke found a hidden Mickey in his cereal:
We walked to the park and made it in time to see the opening ceremonies (something I had never managed to see).
I want to take a second to explain the depth of Lydia’s fear of “big headed, long eyed” characters. She was terrified! In the weeks leading up to our trip she reminded us that she does not want to be near any ”big-heads.” She can see them on stage or in the distance, but none of them were to head towards her. During the opening ceremonies she demanded I hold her and was so torn up about the possibility that Mickey or any other head character was going to come down into the crowd. I had booked Play & Dine at Hollywood & Vine for our second morning, knowing I would probably have to cancel. I was wondering how we were going to do Chef Mickey’s (that’s one we knew Luke would really enjoy and didn’t want to miss). I figured I’d deal with that later. That ADR wasn’t until the end of the week and if we had to cancel then so be it. We’d still have some awesome memories.
We flooded down Main Street with the rest of the mob and went straight into Monsters Inc. This was our 1st attraction of the week and I really hoped it would’nt disappoint. They loved the show! Stacey was put in the spotlight and on the big screen! At some point during her interview, the monster asked her to say “Wugga wugga wugga wugga woo woo woo.” With all the vigor and oomph she could muster up, she repeated the magic words. She was very animated. It was one of the funniest moments that day! I had tears from laughing so hard and Lydia was giggling too. I wish I could have recorded it but no cameras were allowed. Still, it’s etched in our memories.
Because we were a Make A Wish family, we were able to obtain a “Green Light Pass.” At most attractions and character meets we were able to advance to the front of the line. At a season in our lives when time seems to be slipping away so quickly, it was blessing not have to stand in hour long lines. I hope all those who we passed in line understood the gratitude we felt for their patience.
Using our Green Light Pass, we were able to experience loads of blissful memories! The rides from that morning were Barnstormer, Space Ranger Spin, Dumbo, TTA and Indy Speedway:
Another big highlight of the day was meeting Ariel. Lydia had been looking forward to seeing her. We were taken to the exit and after about 5 or 10 minutes, a CM showed us in. As soon as I stepped around the corner, I could feel tears well up. I had never been to Ariel’s Grotto before so I had no idea how intimate it would be. There was no one else around, just our family. Lydia had no hesitation to jump right up beside Ariel. They exchanged these momentous glances and precious conversation. I hope we didn’t overstay our welcome, because there was absolutely no feeling of being rushed out. To all the Ariels and Belles and Jasmines out there who take the time to make children feel so special, thank you! You may never know how deeply you affect a child and their dreams. (Ok, wipe tear, sniff and continue)
What a productive morning! We completed Tomorrowland and Toontown and took a peek inside Fantasyland. Now, it’s off to Lunch at Cinderella Castle. Stay tuned!
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.
This is such a wonderful trip report to read. My family will also be taking a MAW trip in the spring. Our daughter is almost finished with 2 years of treatment for leukemia. We've met so many families undergoing treatment for different types of cancer and I'm glad to hear you are staying positive and praying for your miracle. Miracles do happen all of the time. I will be praying for Lydia's miracle of full recovery.
I am also glad that you got to stay at Contemporary and got your Club level upgrade. We'll be going on a 4 night Disney Cruise for our MAW trip and wanted to extend our stay at Disney World at our own expense so we could have a week long vacation but aren't able to do so as MAW books everything as a package (including our return flight on the fifth day). A little disappointed but I now we'll have a great time on the cruise and it's something we would probably never do otherwise. So I really am happy that it sounds like a lot of the details fell into place and the trip was very special. I love seeing Lydia's smiling face in these pictures. Disney truly is magical.
Shelly,
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am connecting my faith with yours in prayer for Lydia. I am looking forward to reading the rest of your story. And BTW, you are doing a great job writing! I'm in the middle of my own TR and I think your doing wonderful!!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
How great that you got the upgrade and the gorgeous view, too. Can't wait for more!
-Amanda 
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
!!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Linear Mode
