Celebrating as One Big Happy Family: 5/10/14 - 5/18/14 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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.
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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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Plans look great! And now you can just relax, knowing you'll have minimal waits for some of those rides And with all that extra time you aren't in line, you can grab an extra adult beverage See, planning isn't toooo bad!!
FP+ does make us all seem like extreme planners. I have you all marked in my iPhone calendar with a note to call you that day to meet. Can't wait to see you all!
Well of course my favorite plan here is the date night dinner and drinking around the world with no kids..............
OH, and of course Hope's b-day surprise
Gurrlll...........you are staying at theee best pool on property and only scheduled 2 little breaks there?? You crazy.
So, I'm so not into this FP+ either, but you made most of yours for early morning? Let me know your thinking behind that because I have been thinking I might make mine for late morning/afternoon since we are RD people anyway.
Great Plans!! Reading this has giving me hope since I too am planning a vacation for 6 to 8 for next January. My brain is on overload already
Can't wait to hear about Hope's Birthday Surprise.
Everything sounds good. I cannot wait to hear what you have planned for Hope's special day! I am hoping DH and I can pull off a date night too. Lillian will be 16 this year so I think she can hang at the resort for a couple hours, right?
Actually, I gave a copy to each of the women in our group, because come on, do you think any of the men are responsible enough for a planning spreadsheet? The women tell them what to do and where to be anyway, so I just removed them from the entire equation.
I love this! And really, it's so true! I haven't used FP+ yet, but that sounds crazy that they make you have three for each day. What a waste!
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Nice plans! I hear you though about the issues with Fastpass+. I was really shocked when I investigated it for our last trip and realised you had to have three each day. Needless to say, a lot of ours were wasted and it's frustrating, as someone else could have used those.
By the way, I like your style giving the spreadsheets to the women in the group!
I know. Just because I don't like a FP ride, doesn't mean someone else feels the same way. Yes, you can change the automatic Disney selected FPs to something you'd like to see, but when it came to the parks with the tiers, it didn't quite work out that way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Signing in. It sounds so complicated. Planning for that many is a headache. I hope they buy you FAB.
It was complicated, but maybe that's because of our group size. Or maybe it was just me. Who knows.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Your plans sound great! Glad you had everything work out for the group.
How great that you got to snag an Anna & Elsa FP+. I almost fell out of my chair when I was finally able to get mine. I was so happy and excited! I told my kids I had been able to get the most important FP, the Anna & Elsa greet. The looked at me like I was a crazy woman.
I remember when I had to do my FP+ selections. I told my kids to please not talk to me or interrupt me until I was finished. I was sitting at my dining room table with the laptop, a planning journal that I have, my initial FP+ plans for each day, pencils and pens. It looked as if I was about to take a college exam.
It's like the Holy Grail of FPs right now. If possible, I'll try to get in line as soon as we get through rope drop, and that way I can change my FPs around for that last day. I know Hope will have a hard time waiting an entire week to see them while we're there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Oy vie! I can't even imagine planning for 8ppl!!! but it certainly looks like you have it all under control! And yes, I agree......someone, or maybe everyone should be purchasing you a FAB!!!
I wouldn't say I have it under control, it's just more controlled than it was when I started. And I definitely like your way of thinking. Maybe I should let you tell them that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
You may now take a bow and will get a standing ovation. That is an impressive planning job! I so agree with you about all those wasted FP+ Frustrating. For most parks I only needed 1 or 2 from a combination of accessibility, the tiered system or just preference. Having a FP+ for Mission Space or Space Mountain does me no good and is just depriving someone else of that slot.
Wow Laurie, you really make me feel like I've accomplished something. I need you around all the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xwewhisper
Plans look great! And now you can just relax, knowing you'll have minimal waits for some of those rides And with all that extra time you aren't in line, you can grab an extra adult beverage See, planning isn't toooo bad!!
I'm loving the idea of these free...and now extra...FABs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great plans!! Sorry the whole FP+ selection was a headache!
Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
FP+ does make us all seem like extreme planners. I have you all marked in my iPhone calendar with a note to call you that day to meet. Can't wait to see you all!
I think a lot of Disney folk were on the verge of being extreme planners, and if you weren't there yet, you're definitely given the push you need in that direction now. Can't wait to finally say hi to you in person!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linnynad
Well of course my favorite plan here is the date night dinner and drinking around the world with no kids..............
OH, and of course Hope's b-day surprise
Gurrlll...........you are staying at theee best pool on property and only scheduled 2 little breaks there?? You crazy.
So, I'm so not into this FP+ either, but you made most of yours for early morning? Let me know your thinking behind that because I have been thinking I might make mine for late morning/afternoon since we are RD people anyway.
You have no idea how excited I am for that night, but I don't want to rush it becuase it's towards the end of the vacation. It'll be interesting to see how the whole "drinking around the world" thing goes.
And trust me, we will be spending plenty of time at that pool if I have my way. Way more than just two days, but I didn't put it on my "itnerary" because I didn't want my family thinking I was crazier than I already am, but scheduling the pool breaks too.
I decided to select morning FPs because I knew there were rumors about the 4th pass being a possibility, and that you'd have to use the first three before you could grab another one. Because I got them for the morning, we have more of a chance to snag other passes for later in the afternoon/evening. I was trying to cheat the system a bit, so I'll let you know how that works out for us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Plans look great, and I agree that you've earned a FAB from each adult member of your group!
Good call with the limited spreadsheet distribution!
So now I get a FAB from each member of our group??? This is getting better and better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great plans!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackid2
Great Plans!! Reading this has giving me hope since I too am planning a vacation for 6 to 8 for next January. My brain is on overload already
Can't wait to hear about Hope's Birthday Surprise.
Hopefully when you go it won't be like this. But if you need any help, you know where to find me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by llgmommy2
Everything sounds good. I cannot wait to hear what you have planned for Hope's special day! I am hoping DH and I can pull off a date night too. Lillian will be 16 this year so I think she can hang at the resort for a couple hours, right?
Sure! What resort are you staying at? If you really don't want to leave her by herself in the room (not sure if I'd want too even at that age) some of the DVC resorts have that Community Hall to hang out in. If not, just take her along on your date with you guys. Which technically wouldn't be a date though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
I love this! And really, it's so true! I haven't used FP+ yet, but that sounds crazy that they make you have three for each day. What a waste!
It really is a waste. A waste of a FP and a of time.
[ Sure! What resort are you staying at? If you really don't want to leave her by herself in the room (not sure if I'd want too even at that age) some of the DVC resorts have that Community Hall to hang out in. If not, just take her along on your date with you guys. Which technically wouldn't be a date though.
We will end up taking her along. I have a very hard time leaving her out of anything. Lillian is our only child and we think she is the bees knees. We are staying CBR. My boss teases where ever she goes to college make sure we have an office there so I can transfer. LOL
I'm rerally hoping the more FP+ changes are coming and quickly. My window will begin in July so hope the tiered system and mandatory 3 are gone. I'd love to be able to do hopping on the first 3. I guess I'll just have to wait it out - but not looking forward to that planning. I can't make them until 30 days out and have a feeling all the Anna and Elsa ones will be gone. At least in my group we pretty much will all stick together each day so I won't have to split up the FP times/attractions too much
Great intros and great plans!
You have me totally scared about the FP+ stuff. Our trip includes 8 too!
My DH & I share your parent's anniversary! We will be married 15 years on May 15th. Happy 43 years to your parents!!!
You have a lot of celebrations for your trip! How fun!!!!
[ Sure! What resort are you staying at? If you really don't want to leave her by herself in the room (not sure if I'd want too even at that age) some of the DVC resorts have that Community Hall to hang out in. If not, just take her along on your date with you guys. Which technically wouldn't be a date though.
We will end up taking her along. I have a very hard time leaving her out of anything. Lillian is our only child and we think she is the bees knees. We are staying CBR. My boss teases where ever she goes to college make sure we have an office there so I can transfer. LOL
We'll, or I know at least me, will probably be the same way with Hope when she gets older.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
I'm rerally hoping the more FP+ changes are coming and quickly. My window will begin in July so hope the tiered system and mandatory 3 are gone. I'd love to be able to do hopping on the first 3. I guess I'll just have to wait it out - but not looking forward to that planning. I can't make them until 30 days out and have a feeling all the Anna and Elsa ones will be gone. At least in my group we pretty much will all stick together each day so I won't have to split up the FP times/attractions too much
I hope it changes for you too. I think that once they test this new phase out they'll make the necessary changes, and then continue to do so until all the kinks are worked out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Great intros and great plans!
You have me totally scared about the FP+ stuff. Our trip includes 8 too!
My DH & I share your parent's anniversary! We will be married 15 years on May 15th. Happy 43 years to your parents!!!
You have a lot of celebrations for your trip! How fun!!!!
Happy Anniversary! You'll find out how this goes for our group of 8, and it might not be as bad as we all think it will be.
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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And with all that extra time you aren't in line, you can grab an extra adult beverage 
See, planning isn't toooo bad!!
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I have you all marked in my iPhone calendar with a note to call you that day to meet. 
Can't wait to see you all! 
The women tell them what to do and where to be anyway, so I just removed them from the entire equation. 
I hear you though about the issues with Fastpass+. I was really shocked when I investigated it for our last trip and realised you had to have three each day. Needless to say, a lot of ours were wasted and it's frustrating, as someone else could have used those. 
but it certainly looks like you have it all under control! And yes, I agree......someone, or maybe everyone should be purchasing you a FAB!!! 
That is an impressive planning job! I so agree with you about all those wasted FP+ Frustrating. For most parks I only needed 1 or 2 from a combination of accessibility, the tiered system or just preference. Having a FP+ for Mission Space or Space Mountain does me no good and is just depriving someone else of that slot.
I need you around all the time. 
Holly: 
Liz 
Katie's graduation
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