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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I think they were supposed to, but one of them got sick.
I think Dawn replied to one of your texts and I hit some buttons and called her on accident, but it was a good accident.
So basically what you're saying is that if it weren't for Dawn replying to one of my texts you would never have made that phone call? And if you read between those lines, what it really meansis that because of me you two were able to chit chat over the phone...gosh I love helping people out.
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.
So Linny, it's taken me a long time to catch up (I had to start from the beginning), but it's been a real pleasure. Now you understand my love for Poly club level. Sigh. And I just love how your trip was constantly sprinkled with pixie dust. So many completely magical moments! I love it. I read you said you were feeling guilty about it and I was all "Girl is CRAZY!" but then I remembered feeling guilty for a basket after our meal at 'Ohana, so I guess I understand that. But don't feel guilty. Personally, I adore reading about every single magical moment.
And your kids are stinkin' adorable! All of y'all are! I don't know what I enjoyed more - reading about all the fun or looking at all the pictures. I can't really pick a favorite, but the one with Andre peeking around Josie to smile at Rapunzel made me say "aww" right out loud. Of course I'm at work, so now everyone knows I'm not working. Now I can't wait for the next update!
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
How sweet that Josie just sat quietly looking at the castle! Awesome view! Love the photo with Aladdin and Jasmine, too. So sweet!
It was the sweetest thing, we always have such great interaction with Aladdin and now with Jasmine too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Josie in the morning - ! Dylan asks us to go to the bathroom - always has and I can't seem to break him of that at home either, so we get woken.
Love those princess pics! Andre looked like he was having fun! I hear you on the heavy kid! Lukas isn't quite that heavy but he's close. I think a few weeks ago he was at 27 pounds and Dylan was only 10 more.
We've always had breakfast at Kona and love it! We'll have to try lunch in the future.
I'm so excited about DVC @ GF - it's how we'll finally get to stay there! That pool area looks so cool! Alice themed? I mean come on!
And September is a good time to go - we had no troubles. It is still hot though.
I have had lunch and dinner there but never breakfast, I am going to have to say hands down lunch might be my favorite there. When you do stay over at GF you will have to skip on iver to Kona for lunch!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Thanks for the photos of the construction. I agree with you - I think it'll fit in fine once it's done.
I'm positive it will all be great, just looking at it now is tough though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfamily1129
Josie is just the cutest little thing!! And so smart! I feel the same way about the castle
Don't we all feel that way!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great pics of the construction!
It's moving right along I guess
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark
Another one who was loving Josie's response about what she was doing behind the curtain. How cute??!!!
Sounds like it was a good day! I loved that Andre had so much fun with the princesses. He was so smiley in all of them!
Yeah, he might not have wanted to go up to them alone, but he sure was giving them some eyes and kisses
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Josie is just the sweetest little girl, I love her comment about the castle
Josie and Andre looked like they had a great time meeting the princesses too, they were smiling from ear to ear
That was one of the best meets with them I think we have ever had too
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
What a wonderful morning at the MK, love the character pictures, Andre looks like he is having a ball with the princesses. Glad Josie enjoyed her Haunted Mansion trip and that it is now her new favorite ride
We really have always enjoyed our meals at Kona, it has been too long since we have been there...think I must rectify that but I love how you can usually always get a reservation there.
Isn't that weird how everyone raves about Kona, but yet you can ALWAYS get a table. Even more reason to love if you ask me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by poohbr2015
I do think once the GF construction is done, it will blend right in with the main GF resort. No one likes to look at construction while on vacation but it happens, there is never a good time to do it. Would I be upset that I spent $$$ and had to look out my window at that, probably, but do I realize that disney is constantly adding and bettering itself and that it the chance you take when you plan your vacations. I agree with you, I wouldn't call it an eyesore!
I can remember going in Sept years ago and the crowds being low, but that was before I think they did halloween parties in Sept. If you like Kona lunch, you would definately like the dinner too.
Yes, it was hardly an eyesore, I'm excited to see it all done!!
Sept I think is becoming more popular but I feel like if you can go before F&WF it might be fine, but then again, who would want to miss that??? Oh yeah, we just did
Quote:
Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
Seeing the construction makes me excited. We love GF too....I have a feeling we'll be adding on when those points open up.
I am soooooo curious what they will be selling for, because yet once again the topic of buying into DVC has come up again in our house
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Thanks for sharing the pictures and update on construction of GF!
Sure thing, I love to share whatever I have info wise, which usually isn't much
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazanya
Great updates!
Thanks!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Ok so after a really crappy day at work.....seeing the photos of the kids totally made me SMILE - Josie with the hip action with Belle! LOVE it! And Andre peeking around Josie! Sigh...
And little miss staring at the castle! I think I would have been doing the same thing!
Awww, glad that made you smile!! Her poses sometimes just leave me at a loss for words
Quote:
Originally Posted by dsteiny23
Okay, I had to catch up on this before Sunday
All the way back to AK yellow day - We did MJT for the first time this trip and it's just beautiful back there! I was hoping the bats would be more active, but it was still a great walk.
Yeah, ITTBAB went poorly for Jason too. He kept scolding me afterward when I told him not to look up at the spiders he looked forward and still could see them. "Mommy said don't look up, she didn't say don't look forward and I could SEE them!!" Needless to say we won't be seening that again any time soon.
Proud of Josie for riding KRR!! And I think it's hysterical that Andre is tall enough to ride and Jason 'just' made the cutoff for RnRC this trip Wonder if Josie would have felt the same about it if she walked off the ride looking like Craig did last year.
Sorry the Luau seats were crappy, but I do LOVE Josie up on the stage. And I'm liking 'blue luau' day too. Or maybe it's just because you're all so stinking good looking
Josie sitting behind the curtain looking at the castle...swoon...what a cutie pie!! And I'm thinking Andre was liking him some princesses that morning too
Okay, I'm ready for Sunday
Yellow day, blue luau day you killing me!!
I was sooooooo thinking of you guys and the picture from KRR and was wondering how I would deal with that one, now that she liked the ride I'm still gonna wonder how it will turn out the day she gets full on dumped on!!
I'm nervous to see what Andre wil be tall enough for when we go back......freaking me out.
By the way.....did I tell you I hate migraines
By the way.....did I tell you that I love that you told me about store brand Excedrin???
Quote:
Originally Posted by shnewell
Great morning at MK! Josie is so sweet, and the photos of Andre with the princesses are just adorable!
I will be curious to see what the GF DVC looks like, but I trust that Disney will make it wonderful!
Thank you!
I totally trust them too, I just can't wait to see it all
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
what a great MK morning. I love the story of Josie in the morning. Who could blame her right? If I had a view like that I'd be checking it out too.
More please.
BTW: I heard my first commerical today for AC stating they are all open - how is the recovery going?
The 'main" part of town in AC is fine, it's the north end where the boardwalk got washed away, not around the tourist areas, HOWEVER....that was all the media was talking about so everyone thought that AC was ruined and beat up pretty bad like the surrounding towns were. So tourisim was terrible for a few weeks after Sandy. No one was coming to town. Buses that run every 30 min from NYC were only runnin every 2 hours. I had so many girls coming late for work because they had no transportation from Philly, NYC and even from the ferry in Delaware. So I know the city pushed some major ads. It's picking up now, thank god.
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
I'm finally back!!! Phew...sorry it took me so long. Anyway, did you guys get lucky with seeing the princesses so quickly. We did not have the same luck in that department, but it's always well worth it no matter how long the wait. I love that you have your very own Cinderella that lives close by. Maybe you can ask her the question my mom was curious about. Do they do their own makeup or is there a makeup artist behind the scenes?
As for the new DVC area of GF, I totally agree with you about it seeming a bit tight over there. I feel like it's right on top of the Wedding Pavillion, but I'm sure they will have it all themed to transition beautifully. It's just a bit yucky right now.
Ahem...what am I missing??? Did Dawn and Linny have another meet up together without us?
We were there right at RD and went to see them first thing, so our wait wasn't so bad. As for Cindy, I know from a lot of my performer friends in Disney that they all do their own makeup, however they have strict instructions on how to do it and what they want, I know there are managers aroud to help them, but pretty much they are on their own after they learn how to do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
I think they were supposed to, but one of them got sick.
I think Dawn replied to one of your texts and I hit some buttons and called her on accident, but it was a good accident.
Quote:
Originally Posted by honeybee723
So basically what you're saying is that if it weren't for Dawn replying to one of my texts you would never have made that phone call? And if you read between those lines, what it really meansis that because of me you two were able to chit chat over the phone...gosh I love helping people out.
Yes it was me who had a "Something just suddenly came up" moment. a migraine was what did me in that day and I was totally bummed.
What Kelly is really trying to say is that she butt dialed Dawn by accident and then tried to make it sound like she really wanted to call her on that oh so random day
"See" you ladies tomorrow night!!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
So Linny, it's taken me a long time to catch up (I had to start from the beginning), but it's been a real pleasure. Now you understand my love for Poly club level. Sigh. And I just love how your trip was constantly sprinkled with pixie dust. So many completely magical moments! I love it. I read you said you were feeling guilty about it and I was all "Girl is CRAZY!" but then I remembered feeling guilty for a basket after our meal at 'Ohana, so I guess I understand that. But don't feel guilty. Personally, I adore reading about every single magical moment.
And your kids are stinkin' adorable! All of y'all are! I don't know what I enjoyed more - reading about all the fun or looking at all the pictures. I can't really pick a favorite, but the one with Andre peeking around Josie to smile at Rapunzel made me say "aww" right out loud. Of course I'm at work, so now everyone knows I'm not working. Now I can't wait for the next update!
Hey girl, thanks for joining in. I think I was just really overwhelemed with ALL the magic going on and it did make me feel funny, but you all snapped me out of that real quick.
I am really in love with the Poly CL. I have nothing else to compare too, but I will in May when we try a different CL room. This time for real and not a fancy upgrade. I'm so flippin excited about it too!!!!!
Sorry my kids got you busted for not working
Great TR, So glad I made before it was over! I have been away for a bit and just now getting back on here and getting caught up. This is really a wonderful magical trip for yall!!! This past weekend I booked us a Disney Trip for next year (Aug 2013) and was going to book the Cat 1 at the Luau but from what you have said here in your TR, should I just go with the CAT 2 seats or just go ahead with the Cat 1 and make sure I call 180 days out? Great pics of the family too!
__________________
Me and Cole in the Sears Tower Skydeck, 103 floors up, in a glass box hanging off the side!
Great TR, So glad I made before it was over! I have been away for a bit and just now getting back on here and getting caught up. This is really a wonderful magical trip for yall!!! This past weekend I booked us a Disney Trip for next year (Aug 2013) and was going to book the Cat 1 at the Luau but from what you have said here in your TR, should I just go with the CAT 2 seats or just go ahead with the Cat 1 and make sure I call 180 days out? Great pics of the family too!
Honestly I have no real advice on what to do. If what they say is true you could book Cat 1 at 180 days and have a stellar seat. But who knows if that is even true. I wish I had something better to tell you, I would love to hear what you do though in the end and maybe we can all make some better sense of this.
If you were to look at the seating chart, we were in the last table of the bottom floor section, off of center to the left. I would have been happy with being closer to the stage but over to the side more, which actually I think may even be a cat 3?? I'm not sure.
Nice and full we headed over to the room to get into our suits and do a little swimming. I did take some pics today by the pool and can someone please tell me what the fascination is with fathers holding their kids under the waterfalls here while they are screaming bloody murder??? I so remember my dad doing this to us, and have pics to prove it, and now here I have ARnud doing the same exact thing, and I know he has never heard these stories from me before about my dad doing this. It was cute though and the kids had so much fun.
After some showers and a change of clothes we headed back to Epcot with no real plans in mind. Once we got there we took another spin on SE since Josie is totally into this ride now. We even played for a bit afterwards trying to power up some countries around the world.
We were getting a bit hungry so we decided to hit up the CS at Mexico. Before we got some grub though Josie was itching to ride “Donald’s Boat Ride” as she calls it. However the ride was down so we decided to check back after we ate.
Back out to the CS and Arnaud and I shared the nachos and Josie had, the empanadas. While ordering I decided Arnaud and I needed to get our cocktails on, so I grabbed us some margaritas with the pomegranate power straw. I could have done without that pomegranate part though. We sat by the water and had a nice little dinner. Once finished we went back inside to ride “Donald” again, but the ride was still down. Josie was a bit upset but I spotted a PP phtog and suggested we get a pic inside Mexico. Now let me tell you, we have always had really great luck with getting an awesome pic in here. So much so that I would have to say hands down this is the BEST pic of our trip…..I mean really our pics from here ALWAYS turn out like this one…….ready for the pic of the century, it’s a good one………………
OK, really now???? Every pic we have from here looks like this. What is the problem? I think now it’s just become a funny little thing we have to always do. One day they will get it right.
From there we moved on over to Norway to ride Maelstrom. We have never been on this before and Arnaud kept asking me what it was like and I said I don’t know, but I am pretty sure it’s like a small rollercoaster ride???? Well we walk inside and it seemed as if all of Epcot wanted to ride this ride right now too. The line was FOREVER!!!! Plus I had no idea how this queue was set up, I never knew if we were near the front of the line or not. Once we made it up to the front I saw boats……OH, guess I was dead wrong about this one. The entire ride we kept laughing so hard because it was really not what I expected at all, then to all of a sudden to be going backwards……I was dying. We had a great time, but I did feel bad for skipping the movie afterwards. I actually would have loved to watch it, but I knew there was no way I was getting them to stay put. SO off we went to explore the shops and start heading around WS.
Heading up towards Germany, I knew I wanted another salted caramel to share with Arnaud, so that was the plan, until we saw Snow White out for pics. Arnaud got in line while I had the pleasure of going into the caramel shop for a sweet little treat. Once I got back they were next in line for Snow. Once again Andre didn’t want to go up to her, but boy was he throwing some mad kisses her way. Which she seemed to love as well.
We scooted over to Japan and Arnaud decided he wanted to buy his girl a pearl!! She has one from her first visit from her Uncle, but now Arnaud wanted to get her one from him. I don’t think she really understood what was going on, but she did pick out a shell and the girl doing the reveal was really fantastic! Josie was in awe and when the pearl came out she was in complete shock!!! It was a big one too. We glanced a bit at the settings to see if we should set it in a necklace, but I thought it was a bit pricey and I couldn’t make a decision on what to do with it. Then I thought it would be nice to also set the other one she has from home with it somehow too, so even though Arnaud was game on splurging, I said lets hold off. I’m crazy right???
SO now it was about that time where we always are like, man should we stick it out and wait for Illuminations or head back and watch Wishes from the room. We decided to keep walking around and see how the kids were holding up. Once back around to FW I think we all agreed to head back for our favorite show. I mean, really, I don’t think we will ever have that view again of the castle so might as well take full advantage of it.
On the ride back to the Poly Arnaud and I had to make a big decision. We had an 8:30am ADR for H&V the next morning. Every time we go to DHS early we always have an issue with transportation, even though I give us an hour to get there. Sooooo either we get up at 6ish to be out the door and at the bus stop by 7ish, OR we sleep until 7ish to be out the door by 8ish and grab a cab???? We went with door #2!!!!!!
UP NEXT: I got nothing catchy here……..a fun day at DHS!!!!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Great pool time! So much joy all three of your crew's faces! Nice evening at Epcot, too. We've gotten one good pic inside Mexican and we were so shocked that I had to get a print of it.
Great night! Lukas would blow kisses to Minnie, but that's it. He'd wave from afar too. I hope he likes them better next year since we'll be stuck on a boat with them.
Maybe Josie can get a pearl every trip and then you could make a necklace. That was the plan if we ever had a girl.
Love the Mexico pic - I LOL when I saw it after that comment. I think the lighting is too low to get anything to turn out good.
Great TR, So glad I made before it was over! I have been away for a bit and just now getting back on here and getting caught up. This is really a wonderful magical trip for yall!!! This past weekend I booked us a Disney Trip for next year (Aug 2013) and was going to book the Cat 1 at the Luau but from what you have said here in your TR, should I just go with the CAT 2 seats or just go ahead with the Cat 1 and make sure I call 180 days out? Great pics of the family too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linnynad
Honestly I have no real advice on what to do. If what they say is true you could book Cat 1 at 180 days and have a stellar seat. But who knows if that is even true. I wish I had something better to tell you, I would love to hear what you do though in the end and maybe we can all make some better sense of this.
If you were to look at the seating chart, we were in the last table of the bottom floor section, off of center to the left. I would have been happy with being closer to the stage but over to the side more, which actually I think may even be a cat 3?? I'm not sure.
Keep in mind too, that I was told it's not when you book it, it's all about when you get your tickets printed. That is when your actual seat is assigned.
If you do book Cat 1, I would do it at 180 days, pick up your tickets at Conceirge ASAP when you arrive, and then make sure to check in at the Luau early. That way you've covered all points.
I thought all seats on the floor were Cat 1, seats in the center in the balcony is Cat.2 and Cat 3 is balcony wings. Idk, though.
Pool time looks like it was fun. I have to confess that I like that waterfall myself and I almost always am over there when I'm in the pool. Loved hearing about your time at Epcot. I was chuckling to myself when you thought Maelstrom might be a small roller coaster. It's full of creepy trolls! (Can you tell I don't really like that ride? )
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Looks like the kids had fun at the pool. A great night at Epcot. I couldn't decide either on a setting for my pearl, and took it home. Then it took me almost 2 years to finally decide on a way cage to add to my charm bracelet. Good luck deciding on a setting!!
Great time at the pool and Epcot! I love the pics of Josie with her pearl, she looks so happy! Good luck deciding on a setting for it. The girls both got pearls last time and I have no idea what to do with them either.
Sounds like a very nice evening strolling around and catching a couple rides. I too am hooked on SE now, as I went on it for the first time this trip, last week. I loved it, and we laughed so hard.
Donalds boat ride and the Viking ride were firsts for me too, though I am not itching to get back to them necessarily.