The "If we are already going to be in the state of Florida..." Trip Report - UPDATED 10/3 - Complete/Final Thoughts - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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The "If we are already going to be in the state of Florida..." Trip Report - UPDATED 10/3 - Complete/Final Thoughts
Cast:
Disneydani…Me, 37, bona fide Disney fanatic and EP (executive planner).
DH…39, Disney lover who mostly travels incognito as someone who tolerates our family’s obsession.
DS…12, awesome son, CAP (chief assistant planner).
DD…5, adorable daughter, AP (assistant planner, specializes in the princess department!).
This mini trip sort of came about out of the sheer convenience, or that is at least what I would like my DH to believe! As a bit of background…we love WDW and go there often. Not only do we love it, we have found it to be amongst the safest and most stress-free vacation we could take with our darling DD and her allergies/special needs. It is really quite difficult to find a vacation destination that is so well-versed in all types of special needs. However, a few years ago, we took a chance after much research and traveled to Amelia Island Florida for a much-needed, relaxing beach vacation…..it was absolutely lovely.
Fast forward to January, DH and I were chatting and the subject of Amelia Island came up. He thought it would be a great way to end our summer…a few days at the beach. Of course…the wheels were a turning in my head but I dared not even bring it up. I mean, really…
We would already be in Florida
We would have to rent a car for Amelia Island
We have to fly down and back no matter what
We already have AP to WDW
We have been lucky to snag free dining twice in the past, could there be a third?
Knowing DH would roll his eyes and probably protest, I kept all this info to myself while I went about booking the Amelia Island portion of the trip.
In the meantime, I did some sleuthing and was happy to learn that the rumors of free dining were once again circulating. I e-mailed Wendy at MJ and told her to book me a room and to try to convert me to free dining when it was announced. I found great non-stop flights on Southwest which we could use our rewards tickets for (ie free), snagged an awesome weekly rate at Dollar, and made preliminary ADRs so at least we had something if this trip came to fruition.
I was very proud of myself; I was able to keep quiet for about two months! Then, one evening, after a nice meal, and the kids were off to sleep, DH and I were sipping tea, I gingerly brought up the subject. The conversation went something like this…
Me: I heard Disney was having another free dining promotion
DH: (Yup, that is his silent non response you hear!)
Me: I was thinking, (take a deep breath here because the rest came out like one very long, run-on sentence)…Since we are already going to be in Florida, and since the dining is free, the airfare is free, we have APs, we have to rent a car anyway, it would be silly, if not stupid not to spend a couple days at WDW first. (Imagine innocent looking face and batting eyelashes)
DH: (More silence, after 15 years of marriage, the man can read me like a book!)
Me: (Alright, I knew I had to tread lightly here). So, what do you think (in my most nonchalant voice I could muster)
DH: How long have you had it booked?
Me: Oh, honey, I love you (throwing my arms around him…can’t do into more details, this is a family board, you know!)
So….it looks like we are headed for a little magic before heading to the beach!
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world
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About This Page: 
As a bit of background…we love WDW and go there often. Not only do we love it, we have found it to be amongst the safest and most stress-free vacation we could take with our darling DD and her allergies/special needs. 
It is really quite difficult to find a vacation destination that is so well-versed in all types of special needs. However, a few years ago, we took a chance after much research and traveled to Amelia Island Florida for a much-needed, relaxing beach vacation…..it was absolutely lovely.
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