The "5 Reasons to NOT GO" Versus "5 Reasons TO GO" Surprise Trip - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Sorry to hear about the San Fran trip...I guess I should count my lucky stars for having a fabulous MIL. Hopefully you were able to get the big hat sorted out. That sounds like a great way to have the "big reveal"!
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.
Good Luck with the rest of the unplanning and packing and keeping the secret! My daughter would love the hat as well - but you're right, it would get buried in the closet upon our return home.
At least the silver lining to your SanFran nightmare was the Ghiradelli sundae (and the fact that now you know what you want to order off the menu at DTD).
Great report! I know what you mean about your little one growing up too fast, and wanting to take the trip while he still believes in the Magic! My youngest is 5, and she's already growing up too fast! Looking forward to more!
Sorry about the trip to SF - but at least you got to enjoy an amazing sundae and shop at the Disney Store Love the idea of the birthday hat...I have always thought it was just adorable. I like the idea of having a basket waiting at POP with the hat and a few other little goodies.
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.
Reasons NOT to go back to WDW in 2011:
1) It's expensive...every itenerary I play around with it looks something like this $5XXX. Seriously, it seems like no matter how long or where we stay it always starts with a 5.
2) It's not even 2 years since our last trip.
3) DS has been very crabby and pouty lately. On one hand, he'll say "I'm too old for Disney Characters!" and then he'll say "I don't want to go on that ride, or that ride, or that ride, or that ride...!"
4) WHAT IF! You know, what if the A/C breaks this summer, or the car needs a major repair, an appliance needs replacing, etc, etc, etc. AND we've just spend thousands of $ on a trip to WDW.
5) We're lightweights when it comes to the Humidity in Florida...we loved our Dec trip in 2007, but the last 2 years we hear it's been COLD! So apparently we can't take the heat OR the cold. Do we go when it will be warm/hot and tough it our or take our chances on nice/cold...we've already been in Dec, but then again we've already been at the end of Spring. We've been in Oct twice too...when to go? We just can't decide....is that an sign that we should just wait until we can decide?
Reasons TO go back to WDW in 2011!
1) With 3 Southwest Rapid Reward Awards expiring before the end of the year...we just can't stand the idea of not going somewhere. After researching many other places, WDW is actually a pretty comparable deal if you look at $/day spent. It's just that there's so much to do, we want to stay for a lot longer.... Sure a 3 day trip to Legoland is a blast and a lot cheaper...but, it's ONLY a 3 day trip.
2) IT'S BEEN almost TWO YEARS since our last trip. There was only 1 and a half between that trip and the one before...We're TOTALLY due!
3) If we're being honest, DS absolutely gets his crabbiness from ME ! Who wouldn't be crabby and pouty when it's been almost 2 years without Disney? As for the character thing, I think DS (almost 7) is staring to grow up. He's questioning the character thing and is voicing his confusion. As for the rides, he's getting taller and will be allowed to ride many rides he was too short for in the past, so I think there's some anxiety about so many new things all at once.
4) WHAT IF! Well, what if we keep putting plans off and we never take these trips. DS will continue to get older and older and he may see less and less magic in the world. What if he becomes a surly teenager someday all because he didn't experience enough MAGIC when he was little....It will be all my fault for not taking enough trips to WDW.
5) Well...you know all of those "Surprise, we're going to DisneyWorld!" commercials. DS will not stop watching them over and over again on the DVR. He's so thrilled by the idea of "Surprise, we're going!" His 7th Birthday is coming up in June and we haven't been able to settle on a theme for this years party or even any ideas on where to have a party. He had such a great Christmas (Grandparents) that I refuse to buy him anything else simply for lack of space....what if, what if, what if.....A SURPRISE TIP TO WDW. You know, the kind where you wake 'em up and say LET'S GO!
SO, It's settled and even BOOKED!
May 11 - May 18
Myself (Mom), DH (Dad), DS (TJ - almost 7)
Details to Follow!
great start me and DH will be there May 8th-May 16th and then I am surprising him with a trip to Star Wars Weekend for two days on May 20th and 21st good thing we can just drive. LOL
Okay! I confess...a little bit of planning snuck into my day today!
Back in 2007, when we stayed at The Beach Club, DS wanted to know what the Sandcastle Club was. At the time, I also told him about some of the other 'kid's clubs', including The Neverland Club at Poly. During our 2009 trip, DS asked if he could go to The Neverland Club, but we weren't convinced he was ready to spend several hours away from us...We allowed him to do the Albatross Pirate Cruise on that trip and he got a little nervous towards the end of the cruise. Anyway, when we've talked about a 'hypothetical' WDW trip in the future, DS has insisted that he'd like to go to The Neverland Club. Since we're staying at the Poly for the last 3 days of the trip, we decided to give it a try. Yet another surprise for DS. I called today and made a reservation. DH and I will plan on venturing over to EPCOT and giving Via Napoli a try. I figure, if things go 'SOUTH' in Neverland and we have to high tail it back to the club, Pizza will travel nicely!
At the time of my last posting, I was disappointed that the huge/tacky Mickey Birthday Hat had disappeared from the Disney Store.com website. I checked a few times in the last week and was disappointed that it seemed not to reappear. We discussed having Betsy put together a basket for DS, but we couldn't think of more than 1 or 2 things to include in a basket for DS. Today, I had just decided to give the Merchandise Line a call today to see if they could send the hat....when what should reappear on the Disney Store website??? The hat was back!!! So, I ordered the hat....and a shirt...and a cup...and a watch! I couldn't help myself! I wanted to get the DRV discount and free shipping! We still aren't sure how the reveal will happen, but at least we've got the props!
A little while back a few of you suggested that I check out the Smart Phone Apps that are now out there. Well, while I don't have a smart phone, I do have a Smartish Phone with Verizon, so I was able to buy their App. I've played around with it a little and am looking forward to giving it a whirl at WDW. Thanks for the suggestion.
As it so often does, a little shopping led to a little more shopping. Ear planes..check!, Sunscreen..check!, New Rashguard shirts..check! check! check!
This brings me to the 'planning' part. While I was adding our NVL Club confirmation number to the simple (I promiss) spreadsheet with the rest of the trip details, I decided to look up the Theme Park hours and add those to the spreadsheet as well. Okay, a couple of hours later I had a little sketch of how our trip will flow. I couldn't help it. I also had to add a few notes about this, that and the other; I saw somewhere this week that the Phineus and Ferb M&G will Start on the 16th of May. Once I found myself obsessing about which day would be the PERFECT day to give Fantasmic! a try, I closed the spreadsheet for the day and walked away from the computer!
Alright! I will now attempt no more 'planning' or obsessing about this trip until at least the 45 day mark when I pay our balance! It's all of 4 days away...so, I think I can last at least that long.
__________________
Countdown to April/May 2014 Boardwalk Inn.....3 Generations trip with my mom (first trip) and DS9 (fourth trip). DS's gonna show his Gramma the world!
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.
About This Page: 
PassPorter Guide Author
on dealing with those commando planning issues - I know I'd be the same if I wasn't planning a trip in depth! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Dora
! Who wouldn't be crabby and pouty when it's been almost 2 years without Disney? As for the character thing, I think DS (almost 7) is staring to 
grow up. He's questioning the character thing and is voicing his confusion. As for the rides, he's getting taller and will be allowed to ride many rides he was too short for in the past, so I think there's some anxiety about so many new things all at once.
) that I refuse to buy him anything else simply for lack of space....what if, what if, what if.....A SURPRISE TIP TO WDW. You know, the kind where you wake 'em up and say LET'S GO! 
Linear Mode
