"Yes, The Past Can Hurt, But You Can Either Run From It or You Can Learn From It" - PTR - COMPLETED 9/20 #184 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So glad you were finally able to do your online check-in!
Not long now!
Last trip we did online check-in under their old system and it worked fine. The new software still has quite a few hic-cups, but I'm glad it's done and off my checklist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stubekis
Ugh! So frustrating when things don't work! I've had that happen when paying bills online a couple of times - just as I get everything input and I hit "pay" the site gets weird and I have to redo all of it. That's when something that is supposed to be a timesaver becomes a time-sucker! Looking forward to hearing your Epcot plans!
I've seen that happen too when purchasing or paying something over the internet. I always check my account first just to see if it first before trying again, so I don't get double billed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Thank goodness your persistence paid off and you finally got checked in!
I'm usually not that patient, but I'm glad to be this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Glad you were finally able to check in! Sorry for the legal issues!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
Glad you were able to check in finally! It will not be long now!
It's funny how when you first make the reservations it's seems along way off but now I almost want to slow the days down, since I still have so much to do before we leave.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugmonster
Not much longer now. You will arrive the day we leave.
True, especially for your family. Looks like a lot of us will be coming and going during the next couple of months.
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Shortly after finishing my update, I came downstairs to start typing my next installment when I found my screen looking like this:
So, I had to go to Amazon order a new screen and have Will install it. We’re not sure how it happened, but I’m glad he was able to fix it quickly so I could continue with my report.
Joshua just finished his summer program and has the next two weeks off before school starts again. During this time I’m going to be pretty busy making sure all of his paperwork is up to date for his aftercare and that his bus route has been changed back to the aftercare center when school starts.
At the same time Disney planning is also ongoing. Mousesteps.com produced a weekly series on Youtube. The latest one shows the use of the Magicband and fastpass +, which Joshua seemed to enjoy watching. Hopefully he’ll be able to handle the new way of entering the parks. I especially like the idea of being able to use an app or a kiosk for scheduling fastpass returns, that way you don't have to worry about having a fast pass runner.
At this point I’m pretty certain our first park we will be visiting is Epcot. This of course is something new for us, since we usually go to Magic Kingdom first. There are a lot of things that I’m aiming for on this outing so here it goes:
· We will be having breakfast at Chef Mickey’s at 7:40
· Arrive in time for Rope drop?
· Grab fast pass for Test Track and ride it once and head over to Soarin
· Ride Soarin and afterwards grab a fastpass if time permits.
· Ride The Land
· Ride Test Track (fast pass return)
· Play the Great Piggybank Adventure
· Ride Journey Imagination and visit Imageworks
· Ride Seas with Nemo
· Ride Spaceship Earth
· Head over to the World showcase and ride Maelstrom and Gran Fiesta Tour
· Maybe visit a few Kidcot stations.
My scheduling has been based on feedback from Touring Lines from the past couple of weeks. Most of these days the park has been listed at level 8. We are planning our trip during a level 1 time. It appears Soarin and Test Track will have the longest waits, so we’re going to utilize fast passes for both of them. The others have very low wait time of 10 to 15 minutes, so we should get through most of them pretty quickly. The rest of the time we plan on walking around and maybe do a little shopping. I’m not sure if will eat there or if we’ll head back to POR for lunch. We’ll have to see how Joshua handles everything that day. At some point I’ll probably stop by customer service to obtain a GAC card to use if it becomes necessary during the week, but I would like to see how he does with going through the standby lines this time around, since the waits won’t be that long.
We're planning to leave the park mid-day and head back to POR to relax and maybe go swimming. Later on we might come back for illuminations depending on how we feel and what kind of day it's been for Joshua.
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Thanks! There's so much more I would love to add, but I'll save them for another trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great plans! Glad you were able to get the screen fixed!
I'm glad I was able to get the screen fixed rather quickly too. I do like using my I-Pad almost as much as my laptop, but it doesn't quite replace it yet.
It looks like I’m able to schedule fast pass+ times for our upcoming vacation online now, so with that capability I was able to put together our itinerary for our first full day at WDW. After finding out Animal Kingdom is having a morning EMH that day, I decided to reschedule our visit at Epcot which was originally for Monday and slated it back in on Thursday. I was also able to snag an early ADR at Tusker House at 8:45 for that morning, so I canceled the ADR with Chef Mickey’s for that day. My DH and I decided Joshua should be fine going to a different restaurant as long as it’s early in the morning. My goal for that day is to get there by 7:30 and hopefully catch Kilimanjaro Safaris where I'll hopefully see and take pictures of many active animals, before our ADR at Tusker House. Afterwards, we will take a stroll and visit the animals of Pangani Forest. Next, will make our way over to Asia, where the family will look for the fearsome Yeti on the forbidden mountain…Expedition Everest. This is our first fast pass selection. At this point I have about an hour before our next fast past is ready, so during this time we’ll have to choose between riding Kali Rapids and hiking the Maharajah Jungle or seeing the 12:00 showing of Finding Nemo the Musical before we head over to DinoLand area. This is where will take a trip back in time on Dinosaur, our next fast pass selection. I’m opting for Finding Nemo the Musical, but we'll have to see how everyone else feels at this point. Then we’ll ride the time machine of Primeval Whirl, take a nice quiet spin on a friendly Triceratops, and dig up some dinosaur bones at the Boneyard. Our final fast pass selection is for the 5:30 showing of The Festival of the Lion King Show, so we’ll have a few hours to explore before we have to head over there. We plan on having lunch at our favorite counter spot…Flame Tree BBQ. After lunch we plan on making our way to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where I’m hoping to do a meet and greet with my advisor, Rafiki! Hopefully we’ll make it back in time to catch Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade and maybe do a little shopping or catch another ride in the Dinoland area before the show.
Side note: a little bit of good news…our court date has been postponed until November!
Next up: Fast pass selection and schedule for Hollywood Studios….
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Ok before I tell everyone about our upcoming plans for our day at HS, I have to tell you what happened a few days after realizing I could schedule my fast pass on MDE. I decided to check out the latest news at POR and on their unofficial website and in big bold letters at the top of the screen was the announcement I have been waiting for:
Magic Bands coming to Port Orleans Riverside from the 3rd of September!
My husband thought I had completely lost it when I came running downstairs and started jumping up and down in the living room. When he realized what was making me so happy and dancing around, he quickly chimes in that he wants his magic band to done in the color red . So with that color chosen, I decide to let Joshua go next in choosing his band color, and after a quick look he decides he wants to wear the blue one. Now it’s my turn, but before I can choose, Joshua decides it’s his job to choose for everyone and makes the executive decision that Daddy has to wear red and Mommy has to wear green. There is no room for discussion…the boss has spoken. So in a few weeks we’ll have our custom magic bands to wear on our upcoming vacation.
Well now on to Hollywood Studios and my selection of fast passes:
We're only going to be spending a few hours here since we are attending MNSSHP in the afternoon/evening, so with that in mind I decided the three covet passes for HS had to be:
• Toy Story Midway Mania-arrive between 9:15 and 10:15
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster –arrive between 11:00 and 12:00
• Tower of Terror –arrive between 12:00 and 1:00
The part I like is that all three are early in the morning, so hopefully we’ll be able to ride each one twice, using both the fast pass and the stand by line. I’m not sure if we’ll do anything else there, before we head back to the resort for lunch at Riverside Mill. Afterwards we might go swimming and relax a little, before we head over to the Magic Kingdom to attend MNSSHP. We decided it was going to be difficult to wear costumes that night so we are going to be wearing the following matching t-shirts:
I’m anxiously waiting for the 2013 MNSSHP program to come out in the next few weeks so I can go it over with Joshua, so he’ll know what to expect. For some reason he forgot he had a two week break between the end of extended school year, which just wrapped up and the beginning of the new school year. So at the end of the first week, he tells me he has school on Monday. I had to explain to him that school would not be starting for another week. He was a little disappointed to find out he has to wait another whole week before he can go back to school again. I just hope at the end of the second week, he’ll still have the same enthusiasm about going back.
Up next: Plans for the rest of the week and is it time to start packing yet?
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Glad you were able to get the screen fixed! 
of many active animals, before our ADR at Tusker House
. Afterwards, we will take a stroll and visit the animals of Pangani Forest. Next, will make our way over to Asia, where the family will look for the fearsome Yeti on the forbidden mountain…Expedition Everest. This is our first fast pass selection. At this point I have about an hour before our next fast past is ready, so during this time we’ll have to choose between riding Kali Rapids and hiking the Maharajah Jungle or seeing the 12:00 showing of Finding Nemo the Musical before we head over to DinoLand area. This is where will take a trip back in time on Dinosaur, our next fast pass selection. I’m opting for Finding Nemo the Musical,
but we'll have to see how everyone else feels at this point
. Then we’ll ride the time machine of Primeval Whirl, take a nice quiet spin on a friendly Triceratops, and dig up some dinosaur bones at the Boneyard. Our final fast pass selection is for the 5:30 showing of The Festival of the Lion King Show, so we’ll have a few hours to explore before we have to head over there. We plan on having lunch at our favorite counter spot…Flame Tree BBQ.
After lunch we plan on making our way to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where I’m hoping to do a meet and greet with my advisor, Rafiki! 
Hopefully we’ll make it back in time to catch Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade and maybe do a little shopping 
…the boss has spoken
. So in a few weeks we’ll have our custom magic bands to wear on our upcoming vacation. 
to find out he has to wait another whole week before he can go back to school again. I just hope at the end of the second week, he’ll still have the same enthusiasm about going back.
![[SIGPIC]](signaturepics/sigpic27594_7.gif)
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