Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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04-28-2005, 06:38 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NC
Posts: 12,270
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Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 3 complete
Okay so I got really excited yesterday when I found my CD of our honeymoon pictures. My computer deleted some of them since I uploaded them a while back. So I figured I would do a trip report for that trip since I was only a lurker back then and regretted not typing one up.
WHO: Me (23 at the time) and new DH, Andy (22 at the time)
WHEN: November 23 - 26, 2003 (the rest of the week we spent in St. Augustine)
WHERE: Grand Floridian Resort
WHAT: Honeymoon and my first trip to WDW
We pick up the morning after our wedding (I'm not sure if I was more excited about my wedding day or the trip that followed it  ) We were up by 5am and on the road 20 minutes later. It was a long drive to Florida (which was the furtherest south I'd ever been). I started really feeling the excitement when we crossed the state line. As you can see, I took a picture of the state sign, and then called my mother to shout that we were now in Florida.  Of course a few minutes into Florida I remember turning to DH and saying "Wow, Florida really doesn't look that different from SC" I'm a nerd 
So a few hours after arriving in Florida we start seeing the exit signs for WDW and I will never forget that feeling. First we come across the Welcome sign
Then we had to cross under the Magic Kingdom sign in order to get to the GF.
Finally we arrive and see the entrance to the GF. It was even more than I had dreamed! I was seeing in person what I had watched on TV so many times before!
 
We pulled through to the area where the valet guys take your car and, since our car was still covered in all the post wedding decor, everyone that was standing out front started clapping and cheering. It was a very memorable moment!
Walking into the GF pretty much knocked me off my feet! The lobby was this beautiful, grand, exquisite area.
 
Andy and I checked in and found out that our room wasn't ready yet (it was about 1pm). So we decided to check our luggage with them, wander around the GF a little, and then head off to Epcot to start our adventure in the parks. Here are some of our photos from the GF.  
Coming up next: Our trip around the world! And the view of a lifetime! |
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04-28-2005, 07:37 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 3,536
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1
Great start, your pictures are really nice. I'm glad that you decided to go ahead and post this TR, I love reading about people's trips and it doesn't matter to me when they were taking. You and your DH look so cute!
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04-28-2005, 07:39 PM
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#3
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Metairie, Louisiana
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 1,596
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1
Great start Melissa!!!  More please!!!!  |
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04-28-2005, 07:39 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NC
Posts: 12,270
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
So after finding our way to the monorail we headed over to Epcot. We had a 5:30 PS at the Coral Reef, so that gave us about 3 hours to tour around in Future World. The first thing we did in Epcot, I remember, was see Honey I Shrunk the Audience. We both loved it and the mice running around kinda freaked me out. Of course the dog sneeze at the end was nice and gross 
After that we headed over to Mission Space. I used my camera to see what time it was but my camera is set to 24 hour time and I misread it. So we headed to MS thinking we had an hour less than we really did before our PS. Because of this we thought we wouldn't be able to make the FP time so we waited in line to ride. The line lasted FOREVER! It's the longest I've ever waited. I think something was wrong with the ride at times. But we finally made it up to the front and got to see the funny nerdy guy I referred in my last TR. "I'm sorry sir, there's only 3 seats left sir" he was just so serious about those 3 seats It's only still funny to me b/c of our video. DH taped me saying "Please tell me you got that dork on tape" and then I preceded to mimic him. I do apologize to the boy for making fun of him. 
So we get off MS and I had tears I was laughing so hard at how much fun it was. It was like nothing I had experienced before. After our trip to Mars we booked it over to the Living Seas to make our PS. Now since this was my first trip ever I was a little lost, but somehow DH has the sense of direction like a dog sniffing around and he maneuvered us around in no time. I was very impressed.
The Coral Reef was a wonderfully romantic meal for our first night at WDW. We were seated in one of the semicircle booths facing the aquarium. Plus the restaurant was decorated for Christmas. Since we were on the dining plan we were able to choose appetizers, entrees, and dessert. I had the fried oysters as my appetizer, DH had the lobster soup. My entree was the Cajun Catfish served over grits and DH had the grilled Swordfish. Everything was delicious!! Since DH had let them know it was honeymoon they fixed our desserts up for us. DH had the Chocolate Wave which was a chocolate cupcake with chocolate/bourbon syrup in the middle. He still raves about to this day. They placed a candle in his to celebrate. Mine was the Lost at Sea sorbet which they placed a cute little chocolate banner that read Congratulations. It was a very memorable meal! We definitely give this place a big thumbs up 
After our dinner we headed over to tour around the World Showcase. I wasn't quite sure what to expect and to be honest it was overwhelming to see everything. I did really enjoy the fact that it was nighttime. Everything was lit up and it was very romantic walking around. DH bought me one of the big paper flowers in Mexico (which I still have sitting on our desk), and a cute black and red oriental purse in China (which I still carry). After some touring and picture taking, we found a great spot to watch Illuminations. We were seated on the huge flower pots in the area between England and France. We settled in and DH went to get me some hot cocoa from France since it started to get chilly. Illuminations was amazing! We could actually feel the heat from the flames from where we were standing!
After Illuminations we made our way out of the park and headed back to the GF. We were both exhausted. It had been a very long day! And we still hadn't seen our room yet. So, we get back to the resort and find our room. We were in the Boca Chica building. DH unlocked the door and we stepped inside. He says he'll never forgot the next few moments as long as he lives. We walked in the room and I was first taken by how beautiful the room was. Then I pulled back the curtains and stepped outside to see the lagoon, then I heard the music coming from the MK, and then I saw the castle, all lit up and changing colors to go with the music. I just started crying and gave him the biggest hug and kept saying "thank you thank you thank you" over and over again. I will never, ever, forget that feeling, at that moment, listening to the music, seeing the electrical water pageant parade, and seeing the castle. It was truly a dream come true!
Here are our Epcot photos:
(this is one of my favs!)
Coming up next: My first time in the Magic Kingdom!
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04-28-2005, 08:03 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
Awww!   What a great report so far, Melissa!! |
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04-28-2005, 08:09 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
Melissa, what a really nice, romantic trip report!! We stay at the Grand Floridian and I just it!! Can't wait to read more. Your pictures are awesome!! |
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04-28-2005, 08:47 PM
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#7
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Whitefield, NH
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 13,599
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
I'm loving this as well - what an awesome job you guys did!!
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04-28-2005, 08:55 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 4,488
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
Melissa,
How do you remember all this? I swear I can't remember this much details about my trip 6 months ago! Keep the report coming!
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04-28-2005, 09:09 PM
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#9
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Dopey's biggest fan!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: China Spring, TX
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 26,975
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
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04-28-2005, 09:17 PM
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#10
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Batman's Gal/Mickey's Pal
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Owensboro, KY USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 95,254
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
Thanks for sharing your memories! You are bringing WDW and your honeymoon to life!!!
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04-28-2005, 09:25 PM
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#11
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Chicago Illinois
Posts: 5,421
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
Great report. Your room at GF sounds perfect.  |
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04-28-2005, 09:47 PM
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#12
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
Great start Melissa!!! I love all the photos. Can't wait to read more.
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04-28-2005, 10:06 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NC
Posts: 12,270
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
[ QUOTE ]
Melissa,
How do you remember all this? I swear I can't remember this much details about my trip 6 months ago! Keep the report coming!
[/ QUOTE ]
I kept everything from the trip to make my scrapbook (including the meal receipts we found in my scrapbook box). So I have my scrapbook details, photos, video (DH videoed everything in the parks, and my plans from before the trip.
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04-28-2005, 10:39 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Posts: 4,751
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
This is great Melissa, I can't wait to read more!!!
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04-28-2005, 11:12 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: East Bridgewater, MA
Posts: 16,143
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Re: Looking Back (A lost TR) ~ Day 1 cont.
Awesome start - can't wait to read more!
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