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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
I knew it was coming, but then again, I couldn’t really blame her. How could you really expect a little girl who had spent her 7th birthday at Disney World not to want to return for her 8th birthday? Mary Devall had not really pushed the issue since we were planning for our June trip, but when Thom discovered that he would have to be out of town on business on her birthday weekend we knew some decisions had to be made.
Her birthday fell on a Thursday this year, so it would make for a perfect long weekend. Since Thom needed to make this trip, I suggested that he go ahead and that I take Mary Devall for her birthday trip. It did require sacrifice on my part, but I was willing to take one for the team. Finally, we decided to ask my parents to keep Maddie since she was still too little to ride so many of Mary Devall’s favorite rides.
Before I actually made any reservations, we double checked with Mary Devall to see whether she wanted a party or to go to Disney. She had contemplated having a water slide party in our backyard earlier in the year (she pretty much plans year round for her birthday ), so we weren’t sure if that was still an option. About five seconds after we gave her the “Party or Disney” choice, we had our answer. The water slide party was only a distant memory.
Thus began the planning. AP rates were already out for the summer months, so I immediately hopped on line to check out availability. For years, Mary Devall had talked about staying at GF, so I was excited to see that it was still available. When I called to book our room, I gave in and decided to splurge even more by staying club level. I justified it by convincing myself that I could always call back and change our reservation when I came to my senses.
Mary Devall was super excited when I broke the news to her since she considers GF the “fanciest” hotel on property. And when you’re 8 years old, “fancy” is very important.
Only a couple of days after making the reservation, Eileen sent me a PM with a link to summer discounts for club level stays. The dates just happen to mesh with our dates, so I called the number and was soon rewarded with a savings of about $300 off of our AP rate. I felt much better about splurging at this stage of the game.
We then set about the important task of picking ADR’s and anything else special that she wanted to do. It was obvious that Mary Devall was mine because she knew exactly what she wanted to do . . . even down to the day and time. I sent our (her ) requests to IPO with fingers crossed since we were well within the 90-day mark. A few days later when I didn’t hear back from them, I sent off a reminder email (I have long since stopped thinking that staying club level is a shoo-in for anything and everything that you want to do - - you still have to be proactive). Within hours, I received an itinerary with almost all of Mary Devall’s wishes granted. The only things that didn’t work out were the Wonderland Tea Party (it wasn’t offered at a convenient time) and the 1900 Park Fare breakfast on our last morning. Other than those, she received every other one of her wishes:
Thursday, July 30:
Lunch at CRT
Dinner at Chef Mickey’s
Friday, July 31:
Lunch at Yak ‘n Yeti
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
Saturday, August 1
Pedicures at GF spa
Princess Storybook lunch in Norway
Dinner at R&C
Sunday, August 2
Lunch at Sci Fi
At this point, the only thing left to do was book our transportation. Since there were only two of us traveling, I decided to book us a roomette on the train. This type of accommodation was new to us, so we were even excited by that. From what we had seen on the train, the roomettes were small rooms (hence the name ) with facing seats that folded into a bed at night. A bunk from above was pulled down for the second passenger. I watched the rates for about a week until they came down to their lowest point and then I booked it. The two of us were traveling for less than $400 which wasn’t bad at all.
Once we were down to two weeks and counting, I contacted IPO again about a birthday cake for Mary Devall. Once again, Mary Devall had been very specific about what she wanted - - a chocolate cake with Minnie Mouse on it. A custom cake was really way too big for just the two of us, but you only turn 8 once. The CM who helped me order the cake for our Chef Mickey’s dinner was so helpful and described to me in detail exactly what we could expect.
After booking a town car through Happy Limo, there was really nothing left for me to do except pack and obsess a bit more about making everything perfect for her. I had learned a few things from Karen in June, so I perused the Disney Shopping site for a few last minute gifts and found some great little presents that I could give her each day of our trip.
The days before our trip were spent in constant birthday mode. Thom was leaving for his trip on Tuesday, so we took the girls and their godfather out for a family birthday dinner that Monday night where we presented Mary Devall with her birthday present, a Nintendo DS. We normally don’t do extravagant birthday presents like that, but I thought it would be great for her to have on trips like this. She was blown away since she had never asked for one or expected one.
On the night before we left, my parents took Mary Devall, Maddie and me out to dinner to celebrate. After dinner, they dropped Mary Devall and me at our house and then left with Maddie. The big smile on her face as they drove away told me that she was going to be just fine staying with her Papa and Junebug. I would discover later that her four nights with them ended up being like the Columbia version of Disney World - - they went to the zoo twice and she made them eat out every meal but breakfast.
Once it was just the two of us, I flew into high gear while Mary Devall played on her DS and watch a little television. I packed our clothes and everything else we would need (ponchos, mini fans compliments of Heather, camera, etc.) that I had gathered on the guest room bed for the past week into two small suitcases. After Mary Devall and I had both taken a shower, I was able to pack up my toiletry bag in my suitcase and put both bags by the kitchen door.
A little after 9 p.m. we were both tucked in bed. Since we would only be sleeping a few hours and we were the only two in the house, I let Mary Devall sleep with me. The only problem was that I cannot go right to sleep and always watch a little tv to unwind. I was watching a renovation show on HGTV and assumed that Mary Devall was asleep when I heard her say “Wow! They did a great job on that room!” After that show, I turned off the tv since it was evident that neither of us would sleep with it on.
I’m pretty sure that we were both asleep by 10 p.m. but the alarm was soon going off at 12:30 a.m. (and it was officially Mary Devall's birthday! ) It still amazes me how quickly we both pop out of bed when Disney is the destination. We threw on our travel clothes, put the suitcases in the back of the van and were out the door within 15 minutes. Ralph even ran outside to give us a goodbye bark (we have a doggie door) as we pulled out of the driveway.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Wow look at you go! Two TR at one time! I can't wait to read all about your birthday adventures! And no, you don't give extravagant birthday gifts . . . just trips to Disney World . . . Club level at the Grand Floridian!
Wow look at you go! Two TR at one time! I can't wait to read all about your birthday adventures! And no, you don't give extravagant birthday gifts . . . just trips to Disney World . . . Club level at the Grand Floridian!
Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I'm so excited to read another one of your TR's. What a great birthday! I can't sleep without watching tv first either and it really annoys DH, lol. Can't wait to read more.
Off to a great start. I love it. I just have to ask though. Who's taking care of Ralph while you're gone?
My husband's best friend and the girls' godfather took care of Ralphie (he did a lot of that this summer while we traveled). He professes not to be an animal person, but Ralphie sure does come running when Barton enters a room.
What did you tell Maddie you two were doing? I believe you said soemwhere else that she didn't know you were going to WDW.
You know . . . I'm still not sure if she knows where we went. My mom said that she asked where we were once, but my mom just said that we were off together. She never asked us - - even when we brought her Disney play cars and a Disney princess t-shirt home.
It's actually funny because she makes it a point to know everywhere Thom travels when he is gone - - she even told my parents this week that he was in Buffalo.
About This Page: 
How could you really expect a little girl who had spent her 7th birthday at Disney World not to want to return for her 8th birthday? Mary Devall had not really pushed the issue since we were planning for our June trip, but when Thom discovered that he would have to be out of town on business on her birthday weekend we knew some decisions had to be made.
Finally, we decided to ask my parents to keep Maddie since she was still too little to ride so many of Mary Devall’s favorite rides. 
), so we weren’t sure if that was still an option. About five seconds after we gave her the “Party or Disney” choice, we had our answer. The water slide party was only a distant memory. 
I justified it by convincing myself that I could always call back and change our reservation when I came to my senses.
And when you’re 8 years old, “fancy” is very important. 
I sent our (her 
A custom cake was really way too big for just the two of us, but you only turn 8 once. The CM who helped me order the cake for our Chef Mickey’s dinner was so helpful and described to me in detail exactly what we could expect.
The big smile on her face as they drove away told me that she was going to be just fine staying with her Papa and Junebug. I would discover later that her four nights with them ended up being like the Columbia version of Disney World - - they went to the zoo twice and she made them eat out every meal but breakfast. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
![[SIGPIC]](signaturepics/sigpic27594_7.gif)
Liz 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Linear Mode
