Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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03-03-2005, 01:16 PM
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#31
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Edmonton, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 17,823
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Soon we were back to our room where Ben goes to drop off the box for UPS and I call my mom. We started talking about charms for our bracelets and I told her all about finding a tool to put the charms on. Well, that sent me on a quest. We hung up and I ran down to the Mercantile(met up with Ben at Guest Services). I wanted to pick up that tool that I looked at two days ago. None to be had!! They sold out!!
I was bummed, but I told Ben that we could go over to the Contemporary and take a look there and do our tour of the monorail resorts. We were to have dinner at ohana at 6pm.
It was nearly three pm and I wanted plenty of time to shop, er I mean tour the resorts before dinner. We looked at all the shops on the 4th floor at the Contemporary only to find out that they too had sold out of those tools. But I did find a few neat charms for my mom and DD Carlee.
We rode the monorail over to the Grand Floridian. The Mercantile is where I finally found the charm tools. It had become a quest and I was glad that I finally found them! Rule of thumb: always buy it when you first see it. It doesn't just apply to things at Disney either!!!
We strolled around the main building at GF. One of these days, we're going to tour the grounds of the resort, but not that day! We were in search of 1900 Park Fare. I want to try that place out in June. I hear the Strawberry Soup is wonderful and I also hear that Cinderella is there at dinner time?? I think it might be an easier PS to make than the Castle!?
We take the monorail all the way back around to the Polynesian, killing time. Ben had asked me if we could walk from GF back to Poly, I answered no, but I believe the correct answer is yes?
We love the Polynesian. It reminds us of our Hawaii trip in 2001. I love the waterfall, I love the chairs, I love the well, I just love everything about it.
We check in at Ohana at 5pm. Our dinner isn't until 6pm but we figure we can check in a little early. Fortunately, we only waited for a little while until our pager went off. Our pager was making funny noises and said we were too far away. We were right by the podium in the lounge!! Might have been defective??
We were shown to our table and served almost immediately. Actually, the service here was the slowest we've ever encountered at WDW. If it weren't for the fact that I was really thirsty, I wouldn't have minded. The caddy with all the vegetables?? OMG!! That was some really good stuff!! I really  the green beans. They were the only thing we requested more of.
The skewers of meat came around. I didn't care for the shrimp at all. Guess I'm not a fan of peel and eat shrimp. But the turkey, pork and beef were awesome!!! It's hard for me to approve of turkey. Turkey just brings to mind my mom's dry turkey at Thanksgiving(according to her, it's never dry  )so I have a hard time eating it. This was very good, just not as good as the Kaluhua Turkey on Kauai.
Dessert came next. Who knew that something so simple as pineapple would be so delectible?? That caramel dipping sauce is divine!! I think Ben and I could have just eated the green beans and pineapple!!
We really liked the food, except the shrimp, loved the dessert, but we found the service to be really slow. Hawaii is laid back--but not quite like that !!!! Would we eat there again?? Maybe. If someone else paid for it. Since there are now 6 members of the clan, we'll be more conscientious of our meal budget. Heck we might even actually have to start budgeting the trip!!
We waddled out of Ohana. We seem to waddle alot.  We headed downstairs for a tobacco break. I had to use the loo and that's when I noticed the changes to the Poly!! Where there was a shop last year, now there are toilets!! Cool!!! Things are a-changing down there!!
I also just had to speak with the DVC person there. She's the one who told me that the Plaze in NYC will be turned into Condos!! So, us ever visiting NYC and staying at the Plaza just went down from 10% chance to a 0%chance! I'm very bummed about that!!
After a nice rest at the Poly, we once again boarded the monorail to the Contemporary. Wishes would be going off in about 20 minutes, but neither of us wanted to stand on the dock and watch it, we just wanted to catch the boat back home.
To pass time, I fed the ducks. The male(mallard ducks)basically wanted me to hand feed him the food while the female went right for it. I told Ben that just shows you how the female does all the work!!
Back home at the VWL we trudged slowly upstairs. I was really sad to know that in less than 12 hours, we'd be leaving WL until June. June seemed like an awful long time away then(still does!).
We packed up and got our things ready for the morning. Watched a bit of the news and it was lights out! |
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03-03-2005, 01:24 PM
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#32
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Columbia, SC
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,014
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Great evening! We love 'Ohana - - we had very poor and slow service our first time back in September, but they more than made up for it in January. I find the shrimp to be a little too tough for me, but I do love that turkey. I probably could just eat that salad, the green beans and the shrimp wontons and be happy also!
Wendy, I keep forgetting that you switched to VWL. You wrote about taking the boat from the Contemporary and my immediate thought was "I didn't know that you could take a boat from the Contemporary to BCV!" 
Jill |
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03-03-2005, 01:36 PM
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#33
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Edmonton, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 17,823
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Friday February 18, 2005
Can you believe that we had set our wake up call for 4:30am?? Well, after reading this, you might see a pattern--we're early risers! We don't mean to be. We just are.
This is the saddest day of all. I was upset that we were leaving WDW. I was tired from the trip. I was super anxious and excited to be getting home to my family today!!!
We had our coffee as our breakfast. We knew we'd get something at the airport. Ben was really worried about the drive back. He figured that traffic might be horrible.
He stops at the front desk to get valet and I wait outside with the bags. It was probably 35-40 degrees that morning, but I didn't care, I figured I better get used to it. I didn't feel so bad leaving today because the temps was only supposed to be 65, so at least we had awesome weather while we were there.
We're leaving WL before 5:30am!! Trust me when I say that there isn't but a few cars around!! We're following the directions from Deb's site. Ben didn't listen when I said to stay in the left lane. We ended up pulling into Epcot. Like an idiot, we're sitting there at the toll booth wondering what we need to do?? I spotted, finally, a sign that would get us out of there and maybe we could find a turn around. Well, we found a turn around. We ended up right where we started!!!
This is the part where you can LOL I can look back now and really laugh, but at the time, I wasn't happy that he wasn't paying attention. I'm always the navigator, but really doesn't the driver need to pay attention too??
We finally get off property. Sigh. Very sad. Also notice this was where the traffic was! Granted, it wasn't much. It sure wasn't Indianapolis traffic(465 any time of day for my fellow hoosiers)so it wasn't hard to drive.
We get closer to the airport and I'm reading the signs like mad and just as I tell Ben we need to go left after this left here, we end up driving around in the parking garage!!! 
When we get to the garage attendant, I told him we had a nice tour of the parking garage but we were actually supposed to be dropping the car off at alamo! He laughed as he handed back our fifty cents and said there was no charge.
We did manage to get out of there and into where we were supposed to be. I don't like parking garages. For some reason, driving in them makes me feel sick. I'll take multiple rides on RNRC before I want to be in a garage again!!
We drop the car off, grab a porter. Okay, he grabbed us. LOL. Headed up to level 3 and checked in! Thru security and off to our gates. We only had to wait 2 hours until we even started boarding!! There's early birds and then there's the Braddicks
Ben and I passed time by reading the Orlando Sentinel and USA Today newspapers. I love how Orlando's newspaper is the same price as our local paper, but about 20 times thicker!! It's a good value!!
The flight home left almost an hour late and it was a little bumpy, but that's alright, I tried to sleep.
We landed and met up with our driver, Dean. He owns the car service that we like to take to the Indy airport. Real nice guy. Gonna give me a good deal on my June trip!!
We got home by 2:30pm and my mom and my BIL were there. They were so happy to see us!! My dogs were too!! Soon, my sister arrives with Michael and Gabrielle. She had just picked them up from daycare. As she's getting them out of the car, the bus pulls up and here come Josh and Carlee!! They see me standing on the porch and they hightail it up to the house!! Big hugs all around and soon everyone is talking at once and we're all just so excited that Ben and I are home!!
Next: Final Thoughts |
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03-03-2005, 01:40 PM
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#34
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Edmonton, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 17,823
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway! Finished!!
Final Thoughts
Rental Car: For us, we didn't need it. We drove it from the airport to BCV; BCV to VWL; VWL to airport. It sat the rest of the time. Had I not been sick at the beginning, we might have used it more. I don't know. We do know that for our June trip, we'll rent one for a day so we can get groceries or so the boys can go over to Kennedy Space Center.
Meals: Would we dine at CRT again?? Maybe. I did like breakfast better than lunch.
Crystal Palace? Yes, definitely. The breakfast is really good, but I want to try dinner.
Whispering Canyon Cafe? Yes Definitely.
Le Cellier? For sure. It's a must for us.
Beaches and Cream? Same as above. It's now a must for us.
Liberty Tree Tavern? Oh yes. I can't wait to come back in June!
Resorts:
While I love the BCV for it's location, and the theme is nice, the VWL is much more our style. It's hard to believe that when I first saw the WL, I hated it!! It felt too big, to massive too oppressive for me. Boy am I glad that I walked into the lobby and didn't judge the book by it's cover so to speak!
One more special piece of Disney magic:
It came in the form of a large manilla envelope when we got home. It was a Where the Magic Happens certificate for our 10th Anniversary from Erin at Member Services.
Now the countdown really begins for the big trip in June!!!
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03-03-2005, 01:52 PM
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#35
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Columbia, SC
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,014
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway! Finished!!
What a fantastic anniversary, trip!!! Thanks so much for sharing, Wendy.
I was especially glad to hear your impressions of VWL since I'll be a first timer there in May! 
Jill |
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03-03-2005, 04:14 PM
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#36
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Edmonton, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 17,823
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway! Finished!!
Cute little pig!!  |
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03-03-2005, 04:42 PM
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#37
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway! Finished!!
Great report Wendy!! Thank you so much for sharing it!! June will be here before you know it!! Hang in there!! |
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03-03-2005, 04:56 PM
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#38
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The Original BagMan
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Shalimar, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 22,002
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway! Finished!!
Great Report Wendy, so sorry it's over and thanks for sharing it with us...
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03-04-2005, 12:17 AM
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#39
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Colonia, NJ
Concierge Level: 2
Posts: 2,517
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway! Finished!!
What a great anniversary trip you had, Wendy!!! I loved reading all about it! How cool that you got the anniversary certificate and the champagne glasses - Disney magic at its best! And I was very excited to read about your PS at Liberty Tree Tavern b/c I just made a PS for us on our last night at WDW! I hope Goofy will be there too! Ooh, just reading the word 'Ohana makes my tummy rumble - I loved the shrimp wontons myself LOL
Thanks for sharing your special trip with us!!! |
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03-04-2005, 04:37 AM
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#40
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 13,146
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway! Finished!!
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us Wendy. What a great time you and Ben had .
Love the pic of the piggy .
Karen |
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03-04-2005, 10:29 AM
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#41
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Illinois
Posts: 405
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Wendy...I really enjoyed your trip report!!!! Thanks so much for sharing. I might change a few dinners next time we go!
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03-04-2005, 02:10 PM
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#42
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Lafayette, LA & BCV
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 4,751
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Sounds like you had a great anniversary trip. We got one of those certificates when we were there last February for our anniversary. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
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03-04-2005, 02:49 PM
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#43
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: LITH, Illinois
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 3,205
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Sounds like a wonderful anniversary trip. Thanks for sharing.
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03-04-2005, 11:42 PM
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#44
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South East London
Posts: 5,164
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Wendy, I've really enjoyed reading your report and seeing your photos. Thank you so much for sharing it all. It sounds like you had a wonderful time, what a way to celebrate your 10th wedding anniversary Looking forward to reading your report in June - it'll be here before you know it 
Annabel |
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03-05-2005, 09:04 PM
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#45
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Louisiana/Mississippi
Posts: 2,300
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Re: Ben and Wendy\'s 10th Anniversary Getaway!-new day added!-3/3/05-nearly done!
Great report
Thanks
Kim
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