Me, Muffin and WDW for Xmas stuff!! PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
View Poll Results: Notice that I have been quiet for two whole days! Why do you think this is?!
You have been very busy delivering babies!
10
19.23%
You have once again completely changed things around!
I LOVE this new change in plans regarind the Poly! We've stayed there before and absolutely LOVED it! I wish we could afford to go back but it was my "we aren't going to go back in a while" trip which turned out to be a big fat lie!
You're making me nervous with O'hana dinner. Did you have a bad experience? It's my BF's favorite meal, although I end up eating the noodles only, I would hate to cancel.
Awesome changes! Kona Cafe has such yummy food! We got Ds to try sushi there.
Thanks!! . Hopefully, we will still make it there with our new plans!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by melduckie
Oh Tara, I just love your crazy-ever-changing plans!! So much alike, I tell you!! You'll be pretty close to Cali Grill for a nice dinner if you like it there.
Are you planning any excursions for your cruise? Way back, I did this snorkeling excursion on a Western Caribbean, Royal Caribbean cruise, I don't remember exactly what it was called or what island it was on (helpful, aren't I? ), but every 2 people got their own motorized dingy boat and you would follow the guide to a snorkeling area, then jump off and swim around. It was extremely fun, and we were the only excursion that wasn't cancelled that day because the water was too rough, but our boats were small enough to get to the good snorkeling spots! I would highly recommend it if you want to do any snorkeling!
Thanks, Mel!!. We haven't looked at any excursions yet, but we usually plan a couple. That sounds fun!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by benchley
What about Artist Point? Only a monorail and boat ride away, and you'll be at his favourite resort too
Thanks!! . It'll be a bit more than that now, but what a great idea!! I will tuck that one in!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Maybe I missed it, but what about California Grill? Maybe you could catch the fireworks from there? We are doing the Christmas Party and the Candlelight Processional too and I am so excited!
I the Cali Grill!! That will definitely be a possibility!! I can't wait to go to the Christmas Party. Sadly, the Candlelight Processional is no longer an option for us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
I was going to suggest California Grill, since you will be on the monorail....
All of that is changing, Colleen!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
I don't think your nuts! It's hard to narrow down all the good choices at Disney. What about Liberty Tavern Inn for an early dinner the night you do MVMCP?
That is an excellent idea! Except, it will now still be in refurbishment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I just had this feeling that the Poly wasn't totally out of the picture. Congrats on booking Club Level! Very nice way to spend those winnings. Like a couple of other here, I was going to suggest Artist Point and Cali Grill. deciding!
Thanks, Cam! But! See my next post!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Glad I didn't see the "evil" hint earlier! The alterations seem great and as David Bowie once said CH- CH-CHANGES!
You have no idea, Dave!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilsEagles08
I LOVE this new change in plans regarind the Poly! We've stayed there before and absolutely LOVED it! I wish we could afford to go back but it was my "we aren't going to go back in a while" trip which turned out to be a big fat lie!
You're making me nervous with O'hana dinner. Did you have a bad experience? It's my BF's favorite meal, although I end up eating the noodles only, I would hate to cancel.
Well, we have once again changed things up a bit! . Definitely don't go by us with 'Ohana. I think we were just unfortunate enough to have two bad experiences in a row there. Lots of people that place!!
. So, what do all of these crazy responses mean?!?!?
I think you're totally nutty, Tara, and I'm more than qualified to judge since we absolutely swore we would never ever go annually for any number of silly reasons. Then, it was "We spent plenty last year and should wait a few years to go again" which turned suddenly into "Holy Guacamole! This is the perfect special offer, and we CAN go for Christmas this year timewise."
Ain't being nuttier than a Christmas fruitcake fun? I think so, and it's even seasonal besides.
Welcome to the Disney funny farm, Tara.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
So, what do all of these crazy responses mean?!?!?
I have two words for you. Two stinkin' little words that have completely thrown this trip into tumult!! Let me explain..............
Back in 1996, we went to WDW with our best friends and their daughter over Spring break. We went over Easter week and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. We had such a marvelous time that we decided to go back in December 1997 and stay there again! We even extended the vacation for two more days and were so excited to be at WDW at Christmas time for the first time ever!! Our travel dates were December 1st through December 9th...............
Throughout that year, we kept hearing snippets about a weather phenomena that was caused by warming in the Pacific Ocean. We kept hearing that it may affect the weather in the Southern states in December and January. We paid very little attention to this stuff, not being weather savvy or too interested and that turned out to be a grave mistake.............
We made it down to Orlando just fine! But to say that it poured the entire 9 days we were at WDW would be an inderstatement. The roof of the Wilderness Lodge was leaking. The CM's were amazing and did the best they could to keep people entertained indoors, but the entire week was just awful! It poured buckets!!
Back to this year..............
We are again hearing those weather snippets. This time, we are paying rapt attention to them. We could be absolutely wrong, and I hope we are, but with our past experience being just about the same dates, we are not willing to take the chance. So we just rearranged our entire trip! We are still doing the cruise portion as this part of the trip would be little, if any, affected. But we now have a separate trip planned for WDW!
Details to follow..............................
P.S. Those two stinkin' little words are ........EL NINO!!
. Next: Our totally refurbed trip!!
__________________
Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 06-09-2015 at 09:57 AM..
I think you're totally nutty, Tara, and I'm more than qualified to judge since we absolutely swore we would never ever go annually for any number of silly reasons. Then, it was "We spent plenty last year and should wait a few years to go again" which turned suddenly into "Holy Guacamole! This is the perfect special offer, and we CAN go for Christmas this year timewise."
Ain't being nuttier than a Christmas fruitcake fun? I think so, and it's even seasonal besides.
Welcome to the Disney funny farm, Tara.
Agreed!! Thanks for the support, Dot!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on the Poly! Good luck deciding where to eat!
Well, thank you in hindsight, Marnie. We have a new plan now.....
__________________
Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 06-09-2015 at 04:26 PM..
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.
In a perfect world, I would have spared you guys all of my drama leading up to this trip. This here would be page one. I hope you don't think that we have completely lost our minds, but we feel much better being conservative when we spend a boatload of money. Anyway!
We are probably just being big chickens but with our past experience at WDW in the drenching, unyielding rain, we are changing our Christmas trip to a Food and Wine/ Early Christmas adventure!!
There are a couple of things that we will miss out on by doing so. We are going too early for the Candlelight Processional. We will only get to see the decorations and Christmas finery for our last few days. . That means we certainly won't get to enjoy them extensively, but we will try to hit the highlights. Everything we have read says that Disney will be in full swing Christmas mode by the 1st MVMCP, but there is nothing official out yet, so we will see!
We also realize that the time we chose will be crowded! We will be there during a marathon weekend, but these are the dates we had to pick. And! Last, but certainly not least, we will be missing out on the Polynesian and Club Level pampering.
On the other hand!! .
We will get to enjoy a lot of the Food and Wine Festival!!! I haven't done this for years and Muffin never has!! We both love food and wine!!!
We are still going to MVMCP!! (Thank you, Chelsea!). Those tickets were already bought and paid for and were supposed to be non refundable and non transferable, but a lovely CM in ticketing services helped us out with that!
We will, at least, get to see some Christmas stuff!! .
This and our cruise now becomes two vacations instead of one!!
The only thing that will send me into a deep depression is if we don't get to see the Osbourne lights!! I am anxiously awaiting a date to come out for when they start.
So! Erase all previous trip data from your minds!! We are beginning anew!!
Who: Me and Muffin
When: November 3rd through November 10th ( Notice how I got an extra day in there!)
Where: Animal Kingdom Lodge ( my favorite and also how I got another day in there! ) with a Savanna View!!
Why: That is the only thing that has not changed much. Except! To include the Food and Wine Festival!!
I am completely exhausted with all of these changes! I am now figuring out our park days and ADR's once again!'
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.
Are you sure you shouldn't look at Beach or Yacht Clubso you can walk in and out of F&WF?
Oh, ye gawds and gawdesses, Colleen! Don't for eternity's sake give her MORE resorts to switch to.
Otherwise, I'm gonna run out of fingers to keep track of how many resorts they were for sure going to stay in and how terrific staying there would be only to find a couple hours later that all that went down the you-know-what with a whoosh, and now they're staying in the Orlando Ritz-Carlton completely off-property or something really improbable like going to Disneyland Paris before their cruise.
I sincerely nominate Tara for the PassPorter Award for Most Resort Switches in the Shortest Timespan EVER. Seriously!
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
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.
Congrats on the extra day & savanna view but I too would really be thinking Food & Wine Festival - ease of popping in & out = EPCOT resorts! I would At least look into it & their club level would give yourselves a little pampering.
I can completely understand your concerns about the weather. Josh is constantly reminding me that "We haven't gotten a hurricane in far too long," so even though he doesn't have any proof, I think the change of dates is a smart move F&WF will be a blast!!!