Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (Lake Towers) PreTrip Report -UPDATED 5/26 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (Lake Towers) PreTrip Report -UPDATED 5/26
O.k. this is my first attempt at a trip report so please bear with me while I figure this out. I have spent so much time reading all about your wonderful adventures and the other day I thought it was about time that I share some of ours. Who are we, you ask? Well, let me introduce the clan.
Dora (me)- 40 years young and a Disneyholic. I like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain …um, no wait, that’s a song. I actually like margaritas and getting caught lying in a hammock in the sun. My love (obsession) for Disney started on my honeymoon in 2000. I found the Passporter boards about a month before we went so I had a little knowledge under my belt. We stayed at the Poly, concierge level with a honeymoon package. It was truly a magical week and that is where a new love affair emerged. Who wouldn’t love waking up and seeing Cinderella’s castle right outside the window? The cast members were amazing and surprised us with a plate of chocolates and strawberries one day and champagne flutes another. My only regret that trip was not understanding what concierge level could do so we really didn’t take full advantage of it. They did manage to get us in to Cinderella’s Royal Table for lunch one day and I wasn’t even aware at that time there was anything inside the castle at all! This was back when they had a real menu to choose from and it was really good food. After that trip was over, and every time a Disney commercial would come on the t.v. I would get this huge lump in my throat. I just couldn’t wait to get back there. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom and my favorite ride is the Haunted Mansion. I don’t care how many times I ride through it, I always notice something new. I would love to get stuck in the attic scene for a little bit just to be able to take in all the details.
Doug (DH)-45 year old child and my best friend in the entire world. Do you remember that movie “The Butcher’s Wife”? Well, Doug is my split-apart. He may not be as obsessed with Disney as I am but he’s pretty close! He went to Disney in 1976 when there was nothing but the Magic Kingdom. It was his suggestion to go to WDW for our honeymoon. He is definitely more adventurous than me and loves to do all the coasters and thrill rides. He also loves Magic Kingdom but can not pick a single favorite ride in all of WDW. For him, it’s all about appreciating Walt Disney, the man, and taking time to notice the details the imagineers put so much effort into.
Devin (DS)-7 years old and just as big a Disneyholic as his mom. Devin’s first trip to WDW was a surprise birthday present for me when DH realized we wouldn't have to pay for Devin. He was not quite 2 years old and fascinated with everything around him. Thanks to him, we saw parts of WDW we never knew existed and he forced us to slow down and just enjoy being there. Devin loves MK (see a pattern there?) and his favorite rides are Buzz Lightyear and the TTA. We have to start and end every trip with a ride on the TTA. It is because of Devin that we became DVC members. After trip #3 (Devin’s 2nd trip at the ripe old age of 2 ¾ years old) we realized we would have to start paying for him and we planned on coming back yearly. We had only stayed at the deluxe hotels and became quite spoiled with the room sizes and the amenities so joining DVC made sense for us. Devin now has 9 trips under his belt.
Margaret (DD)-3 years old and will tell you she’s a princess but acts like the biggest tomboy. She loves pink and sparkly anything and will go out and roll in the dirt with her big brother without a second thought. She was our surprise about a year after buying into DVC and now we are thrilled we made that decision when we did. She has been to WDW 6 times (7 if you count the trip when I was 7 months pregnant with her). Take a guess as to her favorite park. She loves It’s a Small World and I love to watch her face as we go through it. She will break out into the biggest smile and rock to the music and try to imitate whatever doll catches her eye as we drift by. One look at her face and I am reminded of why I love Disney so much. Her face is the perfect expression of how my heart feels on the inside.
So, that’s us in a nutshell. We will be staying at BLT in a studio from June 6th to June 11th with a Bay Lake view. This is our second stay there, the last time being just this past January. We like BLT for the convenience to our favorite park and you can’t beat the monorail access either. We’ve stayed at Contemporary twice before becoming DVC members so that resort really feels like home for us. Up next, the plans, or lack thereof. Maybe I’ll just bore you with my ramblings since I really need to do something to fill the time until June. Actually, I think I'll spend some time figuring out how to insert pictures into this thing! Wish me luck!!
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We definitely need to plan a meet. Over our Spring Break (first week of April), I'm going to work on our plans and I'll see about a some possible dates and check back with your and Tigerbelle.
We definitely need to plan a meet. Over our Spring Break (first week of April), I'm going to work on our plans and I'll see about a some possible dates and check back with your and Tigerbelle.
That sounds great! I would love to meet other PP's this trip!
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.
About This Page: 
…um, no wait, that’s a song. I actually like margaritas and getting caught lying in a hammock in the sun. 
My love (obsession) for Disney started on my honeymoon in 2000. I found the Passporter boards about a month before we went so I had a little knowledge under my belt. We stayed at the Poly, concierge level with a honeymoon package. It was truly a magical week and that is where a new love affair emerged. 
Who wouldn’t love waking up and seeing Cinderella’s castle right outside the window? The cast members were amazing and surprised us with a plate of chocolates and strawberries one day and champagne flutes another. My only regret that trip was not understanding what concierge level could do so we really didn’t take full advantage of it. They did manage to get us in to Cinderella’s Royal Table for lunch one day and I wasn’t even aware at that time there was anything inside the castle at all! 
This was back when they had a real menu to choose from and it was really good food. After that trip was over, and every time a Disney commercial would come on the t.v. I would get this huge lump in my throat. I just couldn’t wait to get back there. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom and my favorite ride is the Haunted Mansion. I don’t care how many times I ride through it, I always notice something new. I would love to get stuck in the attic scene for a little bit just to be able to take in all the details. 
She loves It’s a Small World and I love to watch her face as we go through it. She will break out into the biggest smile and rock to the music and try to imitate whatever doll catches her eye as we drift by. One look at her face and I am reminded of why I love Disney so much. Her face is the perfect expression of how my heart feels on the inside. 
Actually, I think I'll spend some time figuring out how to insert pictures into this thing! Wish me luck!!
Dora
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Susan
We look forward to hearing more.
)!
Deb
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