The Trip of a Lifetime to Alaska – Land and Sea – Trip Report - COMLETE!! 4/13/12 - Page 7 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Marnie - I can not wait to read all of the details of your trip. I am secretly planning a 45th birthday trip to AK for Chris' birthday next year with a week in the interior and a week on a Princess cruise to Vancouver (oh how I wish Disney would do a point to point....) - I can not wait to read all about your trip!!!
The day before……..Friday, June 24th
As par for the course, any day before a major vacation was a nightmare. First up was trying to check in with Continental (which ended up being United since it was a code-share flight). They wanted to charge me $19/pp for front of the line access (is a plane now considered a theme park attraction )? Um, once I figured out that did not include baggage fees, no thanks! Speaking of baggage fees, I couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to pay for them online with United. Gosh how I miss Southwest! I finally got the bags added (3 total) but they are all coming up no charge? Um, okay, if you say so. Who am I to challenge that. I figure they’ll just make me pony up once I get to the airport!
Next up, mowing the lawn. If you live in the Northeast, you’ll remember that it has been raining. Everyday. Since Tuesday night. We are going away for two and a half weeks. I need to get the lawn mowed otherwise instead of coming back to a hayfield, I’ll come back to a jungle. So out I go, in the heavy mist. And 10 minutes into it, you guessed it, I ran out of gas. Would any of the spares in the garage be full? Of course not! Really, can we just rewind the day and start over? Gas cans now full (of course I spilled some all over myself in the process) it’s back out to mowing for an hour. At least I got the back done. Quick shower, and we’re out the door for Cars 2. For me, it was okay. The kids loved it, and that’s what matters. Now off to the used bookstore so I can stock up for the trip with my Groupon, back home to package a bunch of outfits for birthdays/new baby gifts, and out the door to the library for an ice cream sundae party to kick off the summer reading program. A quick trip to the post office to mail the presents, and we’re back home to pack. Ugh!
I know you guessed this already, but 2 out of the three bags are overweight. I won’t mention any names (Matthew) who had overpacked (Matthew) and refused to remove anything else (Matthew). Oh, I forgot, he took out 4 pieces! After much grumbing and yelling (on my part) we got the contents moved around, and we’re good to go. Head to bed at 10, I fall asleep after 11, and would we make it out the door?
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Sounds like a busy, hectic day... I am DREADING our checked baggage fees on Delta next year - two bags...each... ugh. I used to be Delta silver - ain't gonna be back there before the trip - so we will be paying to check those bags. UGH UGH UGH. Right there with you marnie!! Love how nameless (Matthew) was having baggage issues. Chris often becomes Christopher when I get irritated...
Great start, Marnie! I enjoyed your daily updates on fb and am looking forward to your report!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
I know you guessed this already, but 2 out of the three bags are overweight. I won’t mention any names (Matthew) who had overpacked (Matthew) and refused to remove anything else (Matthew). Oh, I forgot, he took out 4 pieces! After much grumbing and yelling (on my part) we got the contents moved around, and we’re good to go.
Sounds like a familiar scene at our house! Were the 4 pieces underwear and/or socks? Those are always the items Jeffrey offers to take out.
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)? Um, once I figured out that did not include baggage fees, no thanks! 
Speaking of baggage fees, I couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to pay for them online with United. Gosh how I miss Southwest! I finally got the bags added (3 total) but they are all coming up no charge? Um, okay, if you say so. Who am I to challenge that. I figure they’ll just make me pony up once I get to the airport!
Those are always the items Jeffrey offers to take out. 
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