WL CONCIERGE LEVEL IS WONDERFUL - TRIP REPORT - UPDATED 9/18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 love all things Disney, but I think I need a vacation from my vacation.
Cast: Me 40 (Nutcase), DH 42 (Chubby), DS 19 (Free Spirit), and DD 14 (Ms. Popular)
When: August 26-September 1, 2007 - Free Dining
Where: WDW Wilderness Lodge - Upgraded to concierge level!!!
Day 1: We arrived in Orlando around 4:00 pm on August 26, it was hot and muggy and the sky was looking a little gray. Since, this was our first time staying at Wilderness Lodge I was very excited to check-in and look around. We had just driven from Richmond, so we were all a little tired and cranky (especially Chubby) . I thought once we settled in our room we would all feel much better. And it worked with a little help from some Disney magic.
We had been upgraded to concierge level. We made our way up to the 7th floor (with our Golden Keys ), and after unpacking found the snack area. It was so nice after a long drive to sit at a table overlooking the pool area and have yummy snacks and drinks. Just about this time the whole sky opened up and a big storm came through. This was fine with us since we were just enjoying the comfort of our wonderful resort. I LOVE WL!!! We then went back to our room and sat on our balcony to watch the rain. We had planned on walking over to Ft. Wilderness to visit with the horses, but with the rain we decided to take nap before our reservations at Spoodles.
It was not easy getting the kids up after they had settled in, but I managed to do it. We were finally on our way to the Boardwalk for a 9:30 pm reservation. We were seated after about a 15 minute wait. This was our first time at Spoodles and I think it was just okay. The food and the drinks were good, but I thought a little over-priced. We paid oop since we were saving our TS for the Hoop-Dee-Doo and California Grill. Chubby, Free Spirit, and Ms. Popular had appetizers while I ordered a dinner, and the bill was over $80. I think we will go back on another visit if we use the dining plan.
Day 2 (8/27): We didn’t get up as early has I had hoped, but we were at MGM when it opened. We decided to ride Rock’n Roller Coaster first. This was a good choice since once we made it inside we had a visit from the Dreams Patrol. Everyone in our group received a YOMD lanyard. This was great since I had promised to buy Ms. Popular a new one. We then headed to TOT, which is my all time favorite ride. The wait time was only about 15 minutes. After seeing a few shows we headed to DTD, and lunch at Earl of Sandwich. I highly recommend the roast beef sandwich. I think it is the best I have ever had.
After lunch we went to Epcot. We walked around the world shopping, snacking, and just enjoying the World. We were tired pretty early and decided to go back to the hotel since we still had to get ready for a 7:00 pm reservation at the Hoop-Dee-Doo. This was the second time for me, Free Spirit and Ms. Popular, but the first time for Chubby. He really enjoyed it. Although, this time our waitress was a little distracted with her other tables and kinda left us to fend for ourselves. It is a little frustrating when you don’t have anything to drink with your meal. The tables around us had pitchers of water and beer. We finally asked for drinks. I think she was only at our table 3 times. When it was over she came up to me and apologized, and I didn’t even complain or say anything. She was very nice and I'm sure we will be back again.
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
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What a way to start your trip!! First an upgrade and then the lanyards - awesome! BTW, how does one get upgraded anyway?? Looking forward to more....
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Tanya
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