Let's Start at the very beginning - PTR:August 17-31 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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 was able to download the pictures - here is a little update as to what we have been up to.
Last week was Spirit week at Evan's school and Wacky Wednesday
These are his cousin's pants as he wanted purple and we don't have any
As tradition - he wore his hump day shirt because it is Wednesday afterall
His wacky Mohawk - sorry just realized our closet door is open.
Getting his trophy and ball at Basketball.
Belt graduation
First you have to remove your old belt (yellow)
fold it up nicely
then get your new belt - which he still doesn't know how to tie
Oh - not too tight Sensei
Horse Stance!
his favorite Sensei
Wrigley and his "possessed" eyes
here he is and you can see all the chairs in the background to block the stairs and the couch. - still no jumping allowed
Trixie and Wrigley's butt
Trixie in her natural state - laying around doing nothing - notice the blanket she is laying on because the couch alone isn't comfortable enough - I would bet that under the blanket is the pillow too.
And look who was awake last night - Hermie. sorry this is a little blury but you can see his legs as he was hanging off the cage
His shell is the orange and yellow spotted thing in the upper right of the cage.
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I just read the Allears newsletter and saw that Magic Bands are now available for annual pass holders so maybe we will get to test them out after all.
Now onto our plans for Monday, August 18th.
Tradition dictates that we go the Magic Kingdom first. It is my favorite and I just have to get there asap.
I would love to be able to say we will do every attraction in every park over the next 2 weeks but I know that isn’t going to happen. I suppose if we went totally commando style and did none of the extras I have planned we would be able to do that. However I’m looking forward to just…what does Sara say…”do less, enjoy more”.
My intentions are to sort of pick a land (or 2) and concentrate on that area of the park, saving walking around and crisscrossing the park. However that would also mean that it might take 3 or 4 visits into a park before we hit some of our favorite rides and that may not happen with the little ones – but I’m hoping to at least try to have some sort of game plan for each park based on what I think everyone’s wishes are. Now onto our Magic Kingdom morning.
Because it is so early in the trip and everyone will be excited and not too tired, I’m hoping to hit rope drop and catch the opening show this morning.
Mostly we will eat breakfast in the room. We got a Garden grocery order last trip and it worked out really well so we will do that this trip too. So after breakfast in the room we will head to MK for rope drop.
Heading straight to BTMRR – One of Evan’s favorites and then over to Splash. Evan wouldn’t go on this last time so I’m really hoping to get him on it this time. He has been on flume rides at the shore and we have been watching YouTube videos too. I read him the Birnbaum book description and he said – that doesn’t sound too bad. So keeping my fingers crossed he will get on SM.
Also hoping to get over to Haunted Mansion. I adore this ride but Evan would not do it last time and it isn’t looking too promising for this time either. I was able to get on it once since the rehab years ago when they first added the bride story line but not since the interactive queue.
Last trip Evan and I had a bet as he didn’t think you could meet Phineas and Ferb at Disney. If I won and you could meet P&F then he would ride Splash Mountain but if he won I would buy him a fire truck. Well of course I won but he never rode SM –so he owes me.
This trip we have another bet – that he came up with, if he rides Space Mountain I will give him $1.00 but if he doesn’t then he will go on Haunted Mansion. This is a win-win for me. I sweetened the deal and told him I’d give him a $1.00 if he rode HM too. So we will see. He is pretty skittish. I love the show Ghost Hunters but he hates it and all shows like that so time will tell about Haunted Mansion. Last trip he was just 40 inches and couldn’t ride Space. I haven’t measured him lately but know he is over 44, just not sure if he is 48 yet.
I definitely want to head over to Tom Sawyer Island. The boys have never done that and think they will love it. If we have good timing, we should be able to complete BTMRR, SplM and HM by the time that TSI opens and be on the first raft over – also hopefully before it is too hot.
Looking for lunch at CHH and catching a ride on the Liberty Belle – again new for the boys
If able I’d like to time it so we can get FP for Peter Pan and Small World and then make our way out of the park for some pool time.
During the summer when it is so hot I always head out of the parks and back to the hotel for swim and rest and head back into the parks around dinner time. In my head I have mentally blocked out 2-6pm as “down time” (including travel time to and from)
If we can squeeze in more we will try to get the other Frontierland attractions in. Country Bears will be new for boys and the shooting gallery too.
Maybe if REALLY lucky we will see Move it Shake it…on the way out – new for all of us.
But I definitely want to stop and let Evan visit the fire house on the way out.
Then afternoon break of swim, nap/rest, snack, etc…
Tonight is Epcot night
Assume arriving around 6pm and do some things in Future World, Space Ship Earth and Imagination and then walk over to the UK for our Dinner at Rose and Crown – first for all of us.
If the Disney stars have aligned and we get sprinkled with some pixie dust we will have patio seats for Illuminations. Otherwise I guess we will have to watch from somewhere else along the lagoon or from a viewing area for R&C patrons. Our ADR is for 7:30 so that is good.
After Illuminations it is back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep and rest up for the next day.
Now don’t get me wrong I know nothing goes as planned but just hoping I can complete these items on the list each day.
Firsts:
Evan – Splash, Haunted Mansion, Tom Sawyer Island, Fire House, Move it Shake it
Me – HM Queue, Fire House, Move it Shake it
Mom – Rope Drop and same as me
Eric – Rope Drop, Tom Sawyer Island, Fire House, Move it Shake it
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.
Great plans for your first day! I have an adr for R&C for 7:30 in June. I am also hoping to get a patio seating and be able to watch Illuminations from there. I booked it early in the trip, just in case it doesn't go how I hope, I can watch another night.
All of your plans sound great, I like the idea of just conquering one section of the park at a time. The less criss crossing you have to do the better, especially in the summer heat!
Good luck with getting a patio seat at R&C, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. If not, their VIP viewing area is great, that's where we watched from in August when we didn't get a patio seat.
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