The Crazy Large (but fun) Group Trip Report!!!! - Page 5 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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I would say go! but then it depends what would her dad say ? is she close to her family? will she loose out on money? Good Luck... I hope all works out
I just found your PTR.
First of all, your pictures of everyone are amazing. Do you do photography for a living, because you are awesome.
I hope you guys have an amazing vacation together.
Pixies to your friend on making her decision. I would probably ask my dad what he would want me to do.
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I just found your PTR.
First of all, your pictures of everyone are amazing. Do you do photography for a living, because you are awesome.
I hope you guys have an amazing vacation together.
Pixies to your friend on making her decision. I would probably ask my dad what he would want me to do.
Thanks! I do not do photography for a living. Right now I just do it as a hobby. I would love doing it for a living, but finding time is next to impossible.
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First off thanks for all the and thoughts. Kevin (Abby's dad and my second dad) is doing great. Triple bi pass surgery went very well and he is sitting up and talking.
Abby talked with her parents and they both told her to go to Disney. So are group is still 11. Or is it
Actually our group is back up to 12. My Aunt is talking the place of Abby's Mom (Lynnette) That way Lynnette ends up with a full refund at a time of much need.
Abby is so much a part of our family, that sharing a room with my Aunt is not a big deal. And my Aunt has wanted to go with us sense she found out we were going. My Aunt is obsessed with my children and Abby's little boy. Her grandchildren are in junior high and high school. So he loves being with little ones.
Here is a picture of my Aunt. Its not very good. She is hard to get a picture of. Her obsession with my DS is out of control. She never looks at the camera. I will get a better one of her in a few days.
So that is how the crazy large (but fun) group stayed a group of 12.
First I have to say sorry. I had this whole "The night before vacation and all through the house not a creature was sturing not even "Mickey" Mouse" update planned out. But my day of Thursday was taken over by getting the house in order for departure on Friday morning. DH is a nut about the house being spotless when we leave, so that when we come back from The World, we come back to a clean house. (I must add, he does not expect me to clean it by myself, in fact he would rather do it. He's kind of annal in that way. Its fine with me.)
So Day One is here.
First: We woke up at 1:45 am. Which came way too early. So I ended up the rest of the day. We ended up leaving out of Maryland around 2:30 am. We stopped for gas (2 times), breakfast (Burger King), and Lunch (Taco Bell). We arrived in Orlando at Downtown Disney Area around 3:30.
The Illinois crew had a little bit more road to cover than we did and they were about 6 hours behind us.
Next: So we decided to go grab the cereal bars, pop tarts, granola bars, and soy milk (for DS who is now allergic to Dairy, great news right before vacation.) Side note: We got the soy milk that only has to be refrigerated after opening. We knew we wouldn't have a fridge until Saturday (the next day) so I hope he likes it. After we grabbed what we needed at Publix (I love saying publix, because that means I am at Disney. ) We went to Olive Garden for dinner, and after dinner went to walk around an outlet mall. After the kids and I were tired of walking around a boring old mall, I called the rents to see how close they were or were not. They still had about an hour. So DH and I decided to sit in the car with the kids and watch Toy Story 3. It was a very nice family moment. DD and I had seen it at the theater when it came out, but DH and DS hadn't seen it yet.
Finally (as my DD put it): The rents pulled into the Best Western in Downtown Disney around 9ish. We all hung out for a while. My grandma fell in her hotel room and my grandpa frantically came running for my help. She is ok. She tripped over the phone wire. I am not sure how but she did. After she was taken care of and the kids had some snacks we turned in for showers and bed.
Up Next: Day Two (Downtown Disney and O'hana for dinner)
We check into Animal Kingdom Lodge today, and we start our Disney Vacation.
I am not sure if I will be able to update every day. I would like to. I am hoping I will get some time before bed every night (I have become a night owl.) But we shall see. If I don't get back to you guys until I am home, I hope you all have an awesome week. I will tell the Mouse you said HI!
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So are group is still 11. Or is it
that your group is back up to 12! 
But my day of Thursday was taken over by getting the house in order for departure on Friday morning. DH is a nut about the house being spotless when we leave, so that when we come back from The World, we come back to a clean house. (I must add, he does not expect me to clean it by myself, in fact he would rather do it. He's kind of annal in that way. Its fine with me.) 
So I ended up 
the rest of the day. We ended up leaving out of Maryland around 2:30 am. We stopped for gas (2 times), breakfast (Burger King), and Lunch (Taco Bell). We arrived in Orlando at Downtown Disney Area around 3:30. 
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