Leaving the Drama Behind to Celebrate 25 Years with the Love of My Life...another PTR updated 12/11/14 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
Leaving the Drama Behind to Celebrate 25 Years with the Love of My Life...another PTR updated 12/11/14
Hello...Well here I am again with my next PTR. I can’t believe how quickly time is passing. It feels like I just put my 2013 TR to bed just the other day. I’m also posting on this DCL Cruise thread because alas…there will be no Disney parks this vacation. A first for us.
Some of you may know about my past family drama (title hint)….My mom spent eight months of her life in nursing rehab and wasn't supposed to survive yet alone come home. At this time mom is doing very well. Much better than we all anticipated but she keeps me a lot busier than I thought she would. She has had a few health issues but nothing serious. My Dad passed away on April 29th due to complications from Alzheimer’s. Though it was expected it still didn't make things any easier to accept. The family is doing well. We love him and miss him.
I believe when I finished my last TR that I mentioned I had to have some emergency laser eye surgery due to two tears in the retinas of my left eye. Well that mended well and I was doing fine for nearly 4 months. Noticed I said “was”? I had to return to the eye center just this past week due to a similar problem with my right eye. This is the one I always considered my good eye and now it’s not. Thank goodness that most of this PTR was written in Word beforehand because right now all I see is tons of specks and lots of blurriness. This in time like the other eye will clear.
Heather our DD…again will not be joining us. She has been working for an electronics store for a little over eight months now and though see has stated that she wants to give her notice and find something more full time, I just haven’t seen that happening yet. Besides she loves her employee discount but that’s about all she loves. Oooo update. Heather gave her notice yesterday! After tax free weekend she will be leaving to work with her dad. Not a glamorous kind of job but it’s forty hours plus some OT. She’ll have paid sick days and bonuses and 2 weeks paid vacation. On my! She’s quite excited. Looks like her BF will be joining the Saint Gobain team also.
So it looks like it will be just the two of us again this time…sob…sob. Lol!!! Not to fret we plan on taking Heather and her boyfriend to Disney next fall and it will be just the four of us happy little campers…Hopefully!
So who are we?
Linda…age 58. Mother of a grown daughter, I take care of my own mom who has spent way too much time in a nursing home over the last year and a half. I love Disney, photography, cooking and graphic designing. This will be my 11th trip (second in a row without my dear offspring) but my 6th Disney cruise. I really need this vacation!
Dan…age 49. The love of my life (title hint), unlike our anniversary celebration 7 months late, Dan will be celebrating the big five-0 on the 3rd day of our cruise, the 16th of December. He hates the thought of getting older but such things are eventual. Dan has been working 60 plus hours a week and also needs this time off. He loves cruising with Disney. I had the darnedest time trying to get him on his first Disney cruise and now he’s talking about our Platinum sailings. We have a ways to go. Lol!
A little reminder
Where are we headed?
On another Disney cruise of course. We had originally booked the Fantasy for a 7 night Western Caribbean on last year’s Eastern but when I got home and found out that it was a Pod Cruise I changed the date. (No offense Pod-Cruisers) Later I learned that the Magic would be going to Jamaica as well and I had to get on this one. That and the fact that this would mean we are now sailing into Gold and now all four ships. I liked that idea.
But like I said this year will be with no Disney Parks. Whaaaaat you say? Yes, sad but true. No parks, no MVMCP, no cakes??? Gasp!!! This year Dan and I will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary and where else to celebrate than the Magic. Now our anniversary has officially come and gone. May 6th to be exact. We kept things kind of low key as it was just too close to Dad’s passing to really celebrate. Dan however gave me some lovely flowers and this surprise.
Pretty Posies A little sparkler from my sweet guy
We have tossed around several ideas in the past for this momentous occasion. That which included, renewing our vows through Disney. A biggie but so expensive. Taking a cruise to Hawaii on NCL and renewing our vows on the ship (inexpensive but not Disney) or one of the local hotels (free but not Disney). Maybe staying at Aulani…but then there’s the fact that Disney is sailing to the islands next year. The problem here…taking DD and her BF to Disney as promised. Our timing sucks.
When are we leaving?
We fly out the day before on December 13th. I made reservations at the Hyatt Regency at MCO for our overnight stay. No Disney, remember? We’ll be taking the DCL bus to the port on the 14th to start the beginning of our 7 day cruise to the WC with stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and of course Castaway Cay. Then it’s back to the port on the 21st and homeward bound and hopefully not with a few feet of snow.
Last December…praying there is none of this
Our booking window for Southwest Airlines opened up on May 19th. I got our flights all set and we’ll be arriving at MCO around 3:45. Check-in at the Hyatt is at 4pm so this works out great. Another first again because we won’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to get our ride to T.F. Green in Providence RI. Our flight back is later than I wanted but we’ll be able to take our time disembarking the Magic and it will give us some time for last minute shopping at MCO and maybe catch some lunch.
So there is a brief idea of our plans. There’s so much more to come. Hope you all will join me on our next journey. See ya real soon!
__________________
Last edited by duck addict; 12-12-2014 at 10:28 AM..
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.
You certainly deserve this trip and, as you know from your own experience, that eye will clear up in time. I remember people telling me that last summer when it happened to me and I didn't believe them, given how awful my sight was straight after it happened, but they were spot on. I hope it's the same for you.
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.
You two DEFINITELY deserve and need this trip. I'm so sorry to hear of your dad's passing. I'm so glad to hear your mom is doing better! Hope your eyes are getting better so you can take in all of those wonderful sights while on your cruise!
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.
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.
Definitely a deserving trip for a lot of reasons. Sounds like a great itinerary. Can't wait to hear more of your plans.
Thanks for joining in. Our plans are just starting. I can't wait for this trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mojjo
So excited!!! Love reading your TRs. Happy for Heather on the new job and can't wait for the PTR for the family Disney trip.
Thank you. Heather's new job is a done deal. She starts training very soon and I can't wait to tell you more about our plans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Sounds like a wonderful trip!
Thanks....it will be!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
You certainly deserve this trip and, as you know from your own experience, that eye will clear up in time. I remember people telling me that last summer when it happened to me and I didn't believe them, given how awful my sight was straight after it happened, but they were spot on. I hope it's the same for you.
Thanks Cheryl. My eye is clearing just like before. I am a bit concerned though that I would have the same thing happen to the other eye and only within four months. Good news is it was a tiny tear that was hit with the laser at minimum. Can't wait for it to clear up completely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great start! But, no parks? It's hard to imagine going to Orlando and not going to the parks.
Yeah I know what you mean. Don't get me wrong. We love the parks but at the same time I don't want to leave my mom longer than I have to. A weeks vacation at sea is better than no vacation at all. Hopefully both next year!
Well happy belated anniversary! Sounds like a much needed trip indeed.
Thank you and it is. It really is!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfamily1129
You two DEFINITELY deserve and need this trip. I'm so sorry to hear of your dad's passing. I'm so glad to hear your mom is doing better! Hope your eyes are getting better so you can take in all of those wonderful sights while on your cruise!
Thank you. My vision is improving with each day. There are so many wonderful sights to see. On the cruise and just everyday!
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmom
can't wait to hear more
Quote:
Originally Posted by TinkerbellJenn99
Joining in to read along. Sounds like both of you are much in need of this trip!!
I wish it was sooner than later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydeva
We share the same anniversary!!
Very cool! Well happy belated anniversary to you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilsEagles08
Sounds like a great trip! I'm sorry to hear about your parents. You deserve this trip with your husband!!
Thank you. We are really looking forward to this trip!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
Parlor Panther in 'stalking mode'
~ Jenn 
Linear Mode
