Thank You Disney Movie Rewards PTR (November 16-22, 2014) - Page 8 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Oh wow, that sounds like it is going to be an amazing day!
I only wish it was longer! But I know we are going to love it!
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Originally Posted by lauriep
I agree that this day is worth the whole trip! The Studio tour is wonderful. You keep seeing scenes and items that you've seen for years in documentaries and also some things you've never seen anywhere. I was near tears the whole day just realizing where I was. The food at the commissary is good, too! It was fun shopping with all the Disney execs, but there was pretty much the same stuff as in the parks. Ask if they have any Studio-specific things and they'll point you in the right direction. I'm so excited for you!
It is worth the whole trip! I don't know about the kids but I am going to be like a kid at Christmas that morning. For the shopping I will definitely want to check out the studio specific items.
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What a great day planned!! I like that you will take it somewhat easy after and not try to visit a park as well - as I would probably do so
If we had tickets for that day we would probably go to a park when we returned. Since we opted to just get the 3-day military tickets to save a bunch of money, we have limited park time.
What a great studio tour day planned! I'm so excited to hear all about it
I am so excited about this tour. I'm reading a book about Walt Disney and it is getting me even more excited.
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Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Glad Pat seems to be recovering ok. Definitely want to keep watching him though.
He is doing so much better, but we are being overly cautious. I hope that it doesn't make him feel left out on the trip. Which I'm sure he won't, there is plenty to do other than thrill rides.
Wow, I have been so busy the last couple weeks. Here is what I have been busily working on around the house and to prepare for the trip.
I schedule the kids homeschool work through the last day before the trip. I made sure we did not have any subjects stopping in the middle of a chapter before we leave and made sure tests are completed early in the week before we go. I have also reviewed all the the curriculum for all the days before the trip. The only stuff I need to do is grade, complete some Bible lessons (I am going through the same curriculum as Shana, so I complete them the night before she has the lesson), and finish up some French lessons.
I was sick this whole last week. Not deathly ill, but just an awful cough, very mild runny nose, but absolute complete exhaustion. Going to feed the alpacas wore me out.
I found out that the base Pat works at does not have an ITT office and therefore he cannot pick up the 3-Day Military park tickets on his lunch break. Instead, I am going to have to make a trip to Albuquerque. I really needed to go there anyway to pick up some extra Alpaca ration, but it is still annoying.
I dropped my van off at the body shop today to be fixed. We had a huge hail storm a week or two before Pat's fall and I had a ton of damage on my van. I now have a rental car for about a week or so.
I also stopped at Walmart while in town today and picked up new socks and underwear for the kids and me. I'm pretty sure if we didn't vacation we would never buy new socks and underwear. I always buy new stuff so it is easier to pull and pack.
I decided that I wanted to have at least one breakfast and thought that Thursday where we currently have no plans would be the best day. I booked an ADR at Storyteller's in the Grand Californian for 8:15am.
I still don't have plans yet for Thursday or Friday and am probably leaving it that way. At the moment we may skip the beach and just plan to do the La Brea tar pits. This change is because we have made the decision to change our Alaska cruise. With DCL changing the on-board-booking to having to sail within 24 months we are able to move our cruise later in 2015. We thought we were going to outright cancel, but have decided to change to a 7-night Western Caribbean in Nov 2015. We just cannot swing the cost of the cruise and the flight to/from Vancouver in August of next year. Since we can drive to Galveston, it will save us almost $3000. Since Shana will be able to go to beaches on that trip we may skip the beach on this one.
I'm starting to work on the packing list. We have decided to try the tubs instead of suitcases. I bought tubs and we can fit 4 tubs, plus a smaller one for toiletries in Pat's car. There will be extra room on top of the tubs for pillows, CPAP's and small items. We will also have some spare room about the size of a tub for groceries. I'm debating whether to take the time to print out decorative items to tape on the tubs. Not sure if I'm in that creative mode at the moment.
I have printed out directions (even though we have a GPS and iPhones, I like to have printed directions just in case) from our house to In-N-Out Burger in Kingman, AZ. Then from there to an Albertson's that is on the way. Then finally to the Grand Californian.
I think that narrows down what we have been doing. I can't believe we are so close!
Oh, I have to tell you about my funny Disney dream. I always seem to start having Disney dreams a couple weeks before a trip and they are usually really bizarre. So, in this one we were at the studio tour walking around and talking with our tour guide. She asked about our hobbies and things and Shana mentioned she likes singing and art. Well, some other person in an office nearby overheard her (I have no idea who the person was) but he asked Shana if she would sing something for him. She was a little nervous but sang (I don't remember what song she sang) after she finished he asked if we had some extra time that day. We, of course, did. He rushed her off to a recording studio and that's when I woke up.
Yep, insanely crazy and absolutely ridiculous, but I did tell Shana that if someone asks her to sing, she needs to sing!!!!
So, that is where we are at and this trip is coming up so quickly. We will actually be in Disneyland park 2 weeks from today!!!
Wow, you have been busy! Sorry to hear about the Alaskan cruise, but I can completely understand, given how much it will save you and at least you still get to enjoy a cruise.
I can't believe how soon your trip is coming around now!
Wow, you have been busy! Sorry to hear about the Alaskan cruise, but I can completely understand, given how much it will save you and at least you still get to enjoy a cruise.
I can't believe how soon your trip is coming around now!
It has been crazy! It always seems to be like that before our trips.
We were holding out to cancel the Alaska outright, but were waiting to see if Pat got a big trip. But I feel much better doing the one out of Galveston and saving for a big Alaska cruise down the road. I'm really happy we didn't cancel the week we pretty much made the decision and then found out about the change in the booking dates.
It is so close and I'm so excited.
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Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Wow, lady, crazy busy!!!
Maybe that dream will come true! You are going to CA!
It's always nuts in the weeks before we go. I feel surprisingly relaxed though. I think not having to worry about luggage weights helps with that.
That would be crazy if the dream came true. Funny thing is Shana doesn't really want to be "famous". When I told her the dream she said she wouldn't like all that attention. Sweet girl.
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Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
Signing on...I'm a wee bit late lol. However, I feel like I'm already caught up thanks to our daily chats.
At least you made it before the TR starts. And yes, you pretty much know it all from our daily chats.
What a funny dream-- it would be amazing if it's a prediction! My pre-trip Disney dreams are usually anxiety dreams-- forgetting something, missing the plane, etc. Sounds like packing in the tubs will really work well for you. Sorry you won't get to do Alaska, but you can't complain too much about "only" getting to do a week-long warm-weather cruise! I hope you're feeling better now and that Pat continues to feel ok.
What a funny dream-- it would be amazing if it's a prediction! My pre-trip Disney dreams are usually anxiety dreams-- forgetting something, missing the plane, etc. Sounds like packing in the tubs will really work well for you. Sorry you won't get to do Alaska, but you can't complain too much about "only" getting to do a week-long warm-weather cruise! I hope you're feeling better now and that Pat continues to feel ok.
It was a funny dream, but would be crazy amazing if it was a prediction! I get the anxiety ones too. Two nights ago I dreamt that Pat was going to divorce me because I am too much of a Disney Geek (like there could be such a thing ).
I'm sad about Alaska, but the original option was to just out right cancel. The Alaska date was the latest we could book under the 18 month rule. It's funny I prefer the cold weather to the warm, but I know we will love the Caribbean, much better than no cruise.
I'm still tired if I do a lot of activity, but feeling a lot better. Pat is doing very well, he is in Denver this week for work and enjoying visiting with friends/family.
We are booked on the Nov 6, 2015 Galveston cruise! Couldn't pass up the deal and ability to drive down
Everything is coming along nicely for you!!
That's the cruise we booked!! Of all the choices out of Galveston it had the ports that most interested us. We will have to plan to meet up at some point during the cruise.
I'm really feeling like I should have more done, but I just tend to be much more laid back if we are driving.