An Animal Kingdom State of Being with Cam and Fam COMPLETED 9/18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
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.
Annnddd wee're off on another Cam and fam trip report! Great start. I love Stefanie's outfit. Her departure day nervous tummy just seems to be a fact of life. Good thing it usually doesn't last.
You are so right! She has absolutely no tummy troubles as we head home because that's just not exciting like heading to Disney. We didn't find any Imodium, but by the airport and lunch, she was totally fine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Yay! It's begun! I saw you posted pics on Facebook, but I've decided not to look at them. I want to be surprised in this TR!
In the future, I'm going to wait until I've finished all the parts of the TR that the pictures go with before posting to FB.
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.
A little before 2:00 we were dropped off at Southwest’s terminal by Executive Travel and Parking. Stefanie enjoyed pushing her own suitcase, too.
We had a 20 minute wait to check our baggage, but the line continually moved, so it didn’t feel very long. No stress! Once our suitcases were checked, we began the trek to our Gate C-4, shortest distance we’ve ever had at BNA. After looking over a terminal map, we selected Baja Burrito for Luke and me and Burger King for Stefanie. Luke headed off with Stefanie to Burger King first for chicken nuggets and fries while I guarded all our carryon bags. Then Luke ordered two chicken burritos with chips and salsa for us at Baja Burrito. The burritos were good, but not as tasty as the ones at Salsarita’s back home.
Enjoying her chicken nuggets
After lunch we took turns at restroom breaks. Luke came back with a funny story from his break. Some woman kept yelling to Mike at 20 second intervals that their plane was boarding. When the guy in front of Luke exited, she said, “That’s not him,” as though she were talking to someone else. She repeated the comment when Luke exited. Then she realized that Mike was right behind her and had NOT been in the restroom at all. Call her clueless!
Next we moved to Gate C-4, found seats and plopped own. I used the time to catch up on notes, check Facebook, and just relax. Around 3:45 Stef and I made our pre-boarding run to the restroom. When we returned, I asked the SWA ticket taker how many were in the flight crew. She wasn’t used to that question and told me the flight was full. I said, “No, not people, just the crew.” She told me two pilots and three flight attendants. While she was answering me, a pilot walked up and told me our flight had two good looking pilots. I asked if he was one of them. And his reply was, “Can’t you tell?’’ I sat back down and he came over to ask if I had a concern about the crew. I told him, “No, but I do have gifts for you!” He then squatted down and talked with us for a while, showing us pictures of his son and daughter. Cuties! He also invited us to the cockpit after the flight. He even admired Stefanie’s Mickey nails. The goody bags score again!
Soon A Boarding was called. We had done Early Bird Check-in and had A31, 32, and 33, meaning we were first in the second boarding line. As the previous flight was deboarding, the ticket taker came over and took our tickets. I looked at Luke and asked, “Does this mean we are boarding first?” He shrugged his shoulders. A gentleman in a wheelchair was escorted on and then she came back and go us and another DVC family whose daughter had also talked with the pilot. Even bigger score with the gift bags.
The flight attendants were also very appreciative. The pilot Mark (seen above) welcomed all of us to the flight and told everyone that the flight would be smooth thanks to Stefanie who had provided candy for all the crew. He also said she must have known it was National Be Kind to Pilots Day as it would be tomorrow, the day after that, and every day. She actually got a little red faced when the whole flight applauded her. By the way we scored three front row seats in aisle 1 ABC!
The flight took off right on time at 4:30 CDT and landed at MCO at 7:07 EDT ( a whole 8 minutes early). But we were the last to disembark as Stefanie wanted to check out the cockpit. Luke squeezed in to capture her moment in the limelight.
Mark told her she could mess with anything she wanted to, and she did. She kept saying she was flying the plane!
Once she had “flown” the plane, it was time to pick up our suitcases and contact our shuttle service. So weird not having DME take care of everything.
Up Next: Are we dining too late for the characters?
Those goodie bags are such a wonderful idea. How special that Stefanie had the opportunity to check out the cockpit and "fly the plane"! Sounds like your trip was magical right from the start.
So happy you've started! I get "travel tummy" also...and it's always the worst before I'm going to be flying. On a trip to WDW a few years ago, we had a breakfast ADR at Chef Mickey's on our departure day before heading to the airport. DH took video during that meal and I'm hardly in it as I spent almost the whole meal in the bathroom with a nervous stomach. Thank goodness when we head to WDW in two weeks we'll be driving!
What a great start. How cool that Stefanie got to sit in the cockpit.
My cousin just told me about The Help over the weekend. She said it was really good. Once she gets it back from her sister-in-law, it's heading my way.
All caught up now and just had to say that it was so cool that Stephanie got to sit in the cockpit! Sounds like you had a great crew - I'm thinking that next time I fly it should be Southwest...I'm a nervous flyer but I've heard great things about them...
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.
Those were some really powerful goody bags - front row seats, a trip to the cockpit and a smooth flight to MCO.
Hope everything goes well with the shuttle. So strange for a Cam report not to start off with the DME, but I am excited to hear all about your Universal adventures.
Wow! That flight was almost a ride at WDW, complete with pre-show. The pilot sounds like a real sweetheart. I'm sure the Crew members really appreciated the goodie bags and the time and thought that went into putting them together. How great for Stefanie!
So I've been thinking about doing the goodie bags myself, but your story just pushed me over the edge. How cool!! I think my daughter would really get into it.
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.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
You started your TR!
Call her clueless! 
I sat back down and he came over to ask if I had a concern about the crew. I told him, “No, but I do have gifts for you!” He then squatted down and talked with us for a while, showing us pictures of his son and daughter. Cuties! He also invited us to the cockpit after the flight. He even admired Stefanie’s Mickey nails. The goody bags score again! 
Aimee
PassPorter Guide Author
that Stefanie got to "fly" the plane!!!
Linear Mode
