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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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11-11-2006, 01:19 PM
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#46
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Songtan, South Korea
Posts: 4,681
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/11
<font color="blue">
Our Group:
Laura – me! (35) Lover of all things Disney. Been to WDW numerous time. First time to DLR and California.
Michael – DH (33) – Been to WDW the past four years with our little family; went as a child with his family. First time to DLR and CA.
Victoria – DD (11 turned 12) – Been to WDW the past four years with us. First time to DLR and CA.
Maxine – Dfriend (69) – Never been anywhere! First flight, first Disney park, first big vacation ever!
“Sing with me…California, Here We Come!” Why did I name this TR that? Because I am a singer and oftentimes a song is triggered in my mind when I hear certain words. So, California, Here I Come was the song triggered with this trip.
October 28, 2006, was a hectic day of ballet and packing. We were able to get everything packed and ready to go. At 4 p.m., I got on the computer, checked us in to AirTran and chose our seats. I made the mistake of putting us in three-seaters. More on that later.
I didn’t know if I would be able to sleep this night, but somehow I managed it. I think I was so exhausted from getting everything together and organized.
Travel Day
<u>October 29, 2006</u>
We got up early this morning, loaded the car with the luggage, and went to church. We knew we had to leave right after church to get home and get changed. We were able to leave quickly enough. Drove home, changed and left to pick up Maxine. She was all ready. Somehow, Michael stuffed all of our luggage in our Camry, and we were off. We went through the drive-thru at Wendy’s for a bit of lunch. Nothing great to talk about there. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]
We drove to a friend’s house who in turn drove us in our car to the Richmond airport and drove our car back to his house for the week. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thanx.gif[/img] Bert!
At the airport, check-in and security were a breeze. No one was there. We boarded the plane without any hitches and were off. Now, I’m not much into flying. I’d rather drive everywhere. And I wasn’t thinking when I chose our seats. My DH was next to the window, and I was next to him…in the middle. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] I didn’t think about having to sit next to a stranger. I could have chosen the two-seats across the aisle. Silly me. But, the man was very nice. The only thing was that I was between two men who sit with their legs spread wide open consequently invading my small plane space. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Oh well. I tried to lean more towards my DH to avoid contact with the stranger. It worked okay. Thankfully, the flight was only a little more than an hour long.
We landed in Atlanta. The flight had been very nice. Hardly enough time to finish my pretzels and Diet Coke. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] But, I did enjoy the XM Radio. Very nice.
I love the Atlanta airport. It is laid out so well. They really make it user friendly.
We had an almost three hour layover, so we knew we needed to get some dinner. DF got a bowl of chili, DD got a turkey sub, and I got the Roman chicken salad from Quizno's. My salad was fabulous! The lettuce was topped with grilled chicken strips, Parmesan, Romano and Asiago cheese, and tomatoes with a peppercorn caesar dressing. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] DH had chicken fingers and fries from Nathan’s. He liked them well enough. We all gathered at our gate and ate there. Victoria started to get cold, so she put on a shirt of mine I had packed in my carry-on. It was huge on her! She took a little nap on the floor while we waited to board.
Soon, it was time to board for our flight to LA! I was so excited! Once again, DH was next to the window, and I was in the middle. Oh boy, was I in the middle.
Coming up: The hot and horrible flight to LA, and I think we are lost.
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11-11-2006, 02:13 PM
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#47
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Go Red Sox!! :D
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Rhode Island - Red Sox Nation
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 27,451
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/11
Sounds like the first flight went without a hitch, but that "Oh boy!" doesn't sound very promising! Hurry back with the next installment!
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11-11-2006, 02:13 PM
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#48
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/11
Thanks for starting your report, although the next installment doesn't sound too promising. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/pout.gif[/img]
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11-11-2006, 03:50 PM
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#49
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/11
Great start Laura [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] I hope the flight to LA isn't too traumatizing [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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11-11-2006, 07:39 PM
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#50
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/11
Great start - although your flight to LA does not sound like it went well...
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11-11-2006, 09:54 PM
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#51
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Arlington,Texas USA
Posts: 2,555
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/11
I love your report and I can just visualize your little litter brigade! I can't wait to read more, we're heading to California in June. Please, please tell us what your Million Dream prize is!
tenya
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11-12-2006, 09:23 PM
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#52
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Songtan, South Korea
Posts: 4,681
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
<font color="blue">
<u>Travel Day, October 29, 2006 – Part 2</u>
We soon boarded the plane for LA. I made sure to get a picture of Maxine and Victoria in their seat.
DH was next to the window, I was in the middle and another person was next to me. Ok, I am not a small person, and I understand what it is like to be overweight. However, I am very aware of people sitting next to me and their comfort. The lady who was sitting next to me (who happened to be more overweight than I am) couldn’t have cared less that I was in the seat next to her. Her arm and shoulder were basically over my own arm and shoulder. Her leg was all in my floorboard space. And I was beginning to get really warm. And, we hadn’t even taken off yet. Oh no! I have the most unfortunate problem of throwing up if I get too hot. Not to mention that I don’t like taking off and landing. My DH turned his air off so I would get more on my face to prevent me from getting sick. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thanx.gif[/img] honey. What a sweetie!
We were finally on the runway and taking off. We left at 9:30 p.m., Eastern time and were to arrive in LA at 10:05 p.m., Pacific time. The entire flight was an oven! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] We had never flown AirTran before. It was so hot!! I thought I was going to pass out. My DH was getting really hot, too. I enjoyed the Diet Coke they brought me. I couldn’t get enough of it. Poor Michael, I was leaning all over him to get away from the lady who was all over me. Did I mention that it was really hot? For fear of disturbing the comfort level of others on the plane, I never opened my mouth and told an attendant how hot my DH and I were. That was very stupid on my part. Next time, we will both open our mouths.
Enough of reliving the nightmare flight…we finally landed. I didn’t think we would ever arrive in LA. Thankfully, I never had to use the barf bag that Michael had gotten ready for me, and thankfully we didn’t experience any turbulence whatsoever. Get me off this plane!!
Once off the plane and in LA, my spirits began to lift a little. I’m in California! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] We made our way to baggage claim. I must say that LAX is not very pretty at all. It was rather dirty. I guess I expected it to be pretty like Atlanta and Richmond.
All of our luggage arrived safely. Just as a reminder, Maxine had had major surgery five weeks prior to this trip, so she was still not yet strong enough to do things she used to do. She had two pieces of checked luggage and a carry on. Our family had four checked pieces and three carry ons. Maxine could pull one of her pieces. The rest of us doubled up and carried several things.
We made it outside to wait for our bus to take us to the Thrifty car rental place. WOW! LAX is busy! Traffic was crazy! We only waited 2 or 3 minutes before the bus showed up. The driver loaded up all of our luggage. That was so nice of him. He dropped us off at Thrifty and unloaded all of our luggage. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thanx.gif[/img]
DH went inside to pay for the car and finally brought it around to us. He knew we needed plenty of trunk space for the luggage. He looked at a PT Cruiser, but there just wasn’t enough room for all of the luggage. He decided on a Chrysler Sebring. Cute little car. The trunk wasn’t as big as our Camry’s, but Michael is great at loading up the car and fit almost everything in except for two carry on pieces.
It was around 11:00 p.m., by the time we got the car. Needless to say, we were a little tired. Normally, I am a great navigator. Being tired, it was time to get a little lost. Oops!
Coming up: I don’t think we are going the right way!
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11-13-2006, 01:44 AM
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#53
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
What a nightmare flight you had - the next time anything like that happens, definitely say something. It's not worth suffering in silence. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
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11-13-2006, 07:23 AM
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#54
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 18,767
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Yikes! What a uncomfortable flight but at least you made it! More please!
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11-13-2006, 09:05 AM
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#55
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
What a flight [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Glad you finally made it to LA, and hope you get to your hotel soon [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/luck.gif[/img]
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11-13-2006, 02:03 PM
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#56
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
Glad to hear you made it to LA - although sad to hear how uncomfortable you were on the flight.
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11-13-2006, 02:44 PM
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#57
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Arlington,Texas USA
Posts: 2,555
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
Sorry you had such a lousy flight. But, hey, you're there now!
tenya
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11-13-2006, 08:58 PM
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#58
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Go Red Sox!! :D
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Rhode Island - Red Sox Nation
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 27,451
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
That flight didn't not sound like a very fun experience. I hope you guys don't get too lost!!
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11-14-2006, 12:09 AM
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#59
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
I'm sorry that your vacation got off to such a rocky start with that dreadful flight experience but I'm sure once you get to DLR, things will definitely improve.
Joy
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11-14-2006, 12:45 PM
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#60
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New York
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,960
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Re: Sing with me...California Here We Come! Updated 11/12
Sorry your flight was so uncomfortable. I hope you don't get too lost on the way to your hotel. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] Ready for more!
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