Our First Trip, MY First TR!!! (Dec. 2010) - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I enjoyed reading about your trip. I'm glad everything worked out for you. Maybe it's just meant that only the two of you should go this time. What could be better then going during Christmas. The two of you will have an awsome trip. Looking forward to reading more.
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Glad the switch was easy and will still be delicious!
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Originally Posted by stitchlover808
Glad that you found another restaurant that you liked to replace Flying Fish. Sounds like you will have a great time. I know Kona for breakfast looks good.
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Originally Posted by auntlatoya
Disney at Christmas is a dream of mine. If I have to wait until the children are all grown up, I plan to visit before Christmas one year and see the decorations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by happytigger808
I enjoyed reading about your trip. I'm glad everything worked out for you. Maybe it's just meant that only the two of you should go this time. What could be better then going during Christmas. The two of you will have an awsome trip. Looking forward to reading more.
Thanks All! I can't wait to go! I am so very excited and can't hardly wait for this trip! A little bummed that I'm not going during the Food and Wine Fest, but there's always 2012! lol
Probably later today I'll be adding another snippet to this PTR.
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Wow. I completely forgot to list up our flight info. How could I have forgotten that? Well, The good news is, I didn’t forget what the info is! Since we’re going for a long weekend we wanted to get the most out of the trip. Arrive Early and Leave late, and that’s Exactly what we did!
I logged into Southwest’s page every day for about 3 weeks before they added December, and when they did I was so pleasantly surprised! My dates wound up working perfectly! We had a morning flight the day we wanted to leave and a night flight on our last day.
So Thursday morning we’re on a 6:50AM flight which should arrive in Orlando at 10:10AM!!!! That’s so early!
Then Sunday night, we’re not leaving until 7:20 PM which will get us home at 10:05. (ummm isn’t that a shorter flight time? Weird)
Both of our flights are Non-stop direct flights, which is awesome. I’ve signed us up for Disney’s Magical Express, so we won’t have to worry about our luggage much, which is a plus!
Beth lives about an hour away, so she’ll come to my place Wed night after work so we can get up and go, since the Airport is only 15 min from my house. Thursday morning we’ll get up and either take a shuttle to the airport or have my dad take us. Yellow Tags on our Luggage means we won’t have to worry about our bags until we get to the resort! What a great thing Magical Express is!
Then, on Sunday when we leave, we just have to be back at the resort by like 4:00 to hop a bus to the airport. They say to give 3 hours. I don’t think we’ll need it, but Disney has more experience than I do with this. I think we’ll eat dinner at Macaroni Grill at the airport before the flight. I think. Then have Dad pick us up to head home. (I think I’m taking Monday off too, so I can recover, but who knows.)
Great plans with the flights. And yeah, it is a shorter flight time on the way back, but it's usually because there's a tail wind. I wish it was like that on the way down!
Phew! Now that I’ve told you all about our dates, and our Resort, and our ADRs and our Flights… I don’t know what else to tell.
Oh! Right, I forgot! We heard that Via Napoli was opening so we added a Lunch!! I logged in the DAY it was available for ADRs and it was almost fully booked. But I got a Lunch! 2:00 Lunch sounds like a plan! We’ll get pizza and be great, and then have diner at the Captain’s Grille at 6:00…
Wait a minute. That sounds like a horrible idea! We’ll be too full to eat Clam Chowder and Pork Chops! We have to get rid of one.
Or…. I know. Let’s see if we can make it earlier! 11:30 lunch? But wait... I think we’ll be rushed and won’t have a great time. Let’s just pick one. Yeah. Let’s do that! I’ll see if Via Napoli has anything open for dinner, then we can make up our minds.
7:00? Via Napoli at 7:00? Uhhhh yes. That sounds doable. That way we won’t even have to leave World Showcase. That is perfect!
Let’s book it and we can decide which one we want to keep a little closer to the trip…
What’s that? Get rid of Captain’s Grille? Ok. Via Napoli it is.
Gee, that was easy. So, once again we’ve changed our plans. First it was Flying Fish, and then it was Captains Grille, now it’s Via Napoli. I think that’s all of the changes I’m willing to make. Any place else I want to eat we can do that in April when we have 9 days. (That PTR is starting soon. Almost 180 Days!!! OMG!!!)
all of your plans sound GREAT i hope you guys have a blast.
I hope so too! Thanks!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Great work on the flights!
Thank you! My first time planning. it's easier than I thought!
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
Great plans with the flights. And yeah, it is a shorter flight time on the way back, but it's usually because there's a tail wind. I wish it was like that on the way down!
I wish I didn't have to deal with planes at all!!!!
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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The two of you will have an awsome trip. Looking forward to reading more.
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Pixie Dust
Disney at Christmas is a dream of mine. If I have to wait until the children are all grown up, I plan to visit before Christmas one year and see the decorations.
Cassie
PassPorter Guide Author
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