Meri's Dream Come True - A Birthday Celebration! - PTR updated 02/04/2014 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Excellent tweaking! I'm really glad you're going to break the drive. Twelve hours straight seems just so exhausting I don't know how you'd be ready to have fun when you arrive. I wouldn't put any money at all on your being finished with tweaking, though. Considering you have so little time at WDW before and after the trip, you've packed in a lot!
I would go with breaking up the drive. We drive from Scotland to Paris and I suspect it is a similar distance and we wouldn't do it now without stopping at least overnight somewhere.
We will be in Florida in 2015 but it will probably be the summer. We are thinking doing a mad west coast east coast and back to west coast holiday.
Hope Chef Mickey's becomes available for you! Otherwise everything will work out!
We know about those long drives - we do it straight, but only because DH doesn't mind driving through the night.
Excellent tweaking! I'm really glad you're going to break the drive. Twelve hours straight seems just so exhausting I don't know how you'd be ready to have fun when you arrive. I wouldn't put any money at all on your being finished with tweaking, though. Considering you have so little time at WDW before and after the trip, you've packed in a lot!
I prefer to drive straight through, because I'm impatient... but if breaking it up means I can get there a few hours earlier... well... count me in!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Wow, just read through this thread and I am so excited for you all! Can't wait to hear how the big reveal goes!
I can't wait, either! I hope it's noteworthy, lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
How well we've all learned, right?!
Plans look great - as they stand now, and as they end up!
LOL yeah, it's true, I'm a tweaker!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Good tweaks... breaking up the drive sounds like a good idea to me!
It will make it a bit less tedious for sure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
I think breaking up the drive sounds like a great change to the plans!
Mom far prefers to break it up, so I know she's glad, too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomhazel
I would go with breaking up the drive. We drive from Scotland to Paris and I suspect it is a similar distance and we wouldn't do it now without stopping at least overnight somewhere.
We will be in Florida in 2015 but it will probably be the summer. We are thinking doing a mad west coast east coast and back to west coast holiday.
You should drive across the country!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I think your changes in plan make a lot of sense.
Mom did, too. She likes shorter spurts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Hope Chef Mickey's becomes available for you! Otherwise everything will work out!
We know about those long drives - we do it straight, but only because DH doesn't mind driving through the night.
I don't mind driving through, either, but mom can't sleep in the car, so it becomes an issue. I, on the other hand, have no issues sleeping just about anywhere, ha!
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.
Ok all I'm saying is that this tweak is completely Heather's fault (and I'm SO glad for it, lol).
She posted on here and then PM'ed me, and then I talked to mom, and then Heather and I arranged Wednesday as follows...
NOW, we will still arrive somewhere between 3-4. Instead of going to Kona Cafe, I'm going to have Bev meet us at the food court at POR, and we will eat there and visit. Honestly it's a better deal for Bev, because with her severe dietary issues, she actually has more options at a food court. We will visit until about 615pm, and then we will say goodbye to Bev, and we'll hop a bus to MK, where we wil meet up with Heather some time shortly before 7pm. MK is open until 10pm this night, so I'm hopeful that we can get a few good rides in.
Meri really wants to see Beast's castle, and she wants to ride the new Ariel ride. Then, if time allows, she wants to ride BTMRR and Buzz Lightyear. And she'd like to ride Buzz with Heather, I've been informed. Of course, as Mark and Cheryl know, at the very last minute, she may change her mind and ride with me, lol.
So, I think in my mind, since we've got such a short time at MK, and since Meri's three "must do" rides are in three different lands, we should probably go straight to Buzz, and knock that out, and then continue around to New Fantasyland, since by that point, crowds should start to get situated for the castle show / fireworks. By the time Wishes starts, I'm thinking we should be able to watch from New Fantasyland (it's actually neat to watch the fireworks from behind the castle - a different perspective). Though I think we'll need to pause to watch Tink fly if we can - that's always Meri's very favorite part. Then when Meri is done with New (and old) Fantasyland, we'll continue around to BTMRR. But, of course, as is always the case, we'll see how the crowds are, and do what makes the most sense. I just like to go in with a game plan, since we've got a tiny window to work with!
I'm very hopeful that on a Wednesday night in early February, there will be minimal crowds, so we can get more done than usual... but we'll see!
Either way, I'm glad we'll get to set foot in the park, and that we'll get to spend time with Heather! YAY! So it's a wonderful tweak! Hazel is the only "missing link" here. But I'll get to see her in 2015! I'll make sure of it!
Very glad you'll be able to get to MK! I think with a combination of short lines and FP+ you should be ok to do the rides you need to get in. I'm hoping for low crowds that week, too!
Just to add a little more confusion into the loop Rory has a little Birthday present for Meri. Are you still going to the Polynesian on Sunday morning because if so I could drop it off for her at bell services or something?
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.
About This Page: 
Considering you have so little time at WDW before and after the trip, you've packed in a lot!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Melanie
But I'll get to see her in 2015! I'll make sure of it! 
Linear Mode
