PTR: Spring Break in the Bubble (Updated 4/10/15) - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Well considering this trip is coming up fast, I guess I better get this PTR started!!!
Sorry for not much creativity in the title, but this trip is coming so fast and we have been so busy here at home, that's what I got for ya!!!
This trip came to be when we returned from our last trip (July 2014) and of course we were sad to return home, but knew having annual passes we would try to return before they expire! When the school calendar was released and I realized that spring break was an entire week AFTER Easter, I thought it could be bearable!!! I checked the predicted crowd calendar and it was showing moderate to low crowds for our week!! Okay - we'll take it!! So Scott and I started looking at specific dates, and points (DVC) and knew we wanted to do just a studio in a low point resort (we are also doing a trip in August for our daughter's 16th birthday!!!). So with that, this trip quickly blossomed! Then sitting at happy hour one Friday evening with one of my best friends and her fiancé, she asked when we were going back - I told her both dates - and she said she and her daughter would like to go in April also. So we explained to her that we were doing this budget friendly, low point friendly - as we were splurging in August! She understood and was all good with it. If you have read my TR's in the past, this is the same friend who introduced us to DVC and Disney, as well as the same one who "rents" her extra points to us (since her divorce, she only goes to Disney every few years now). So I was the lucky one to wear the planning crown and plan most of this trip!
Now for some of the details:
When: Sunday, April 12th through Sunday, April 19th (although my friend and her daughter will leave on Friday, April 17th).
Where: Each family will have a studio (hopefully very close to each other) at Saratoga Springs (my home resort)
Cast of Characters:
Myself - Lisa, 40-something Disney ADDICT!!! Love all things Disney!!! Especially Disney trips! Favorite characters are Tinker Bell, Stitch, & Goofy!
Scott, (DH), almost 46 (will probably celebrate his bday as it is next month!), also that kid that refuses to grow up! Can't wait for retirement, as he would really love to move to Orlando and be a bus driver or monorail driver!! His favorite characters are Tigger and Captain Hook.
Emily, (DD), 15 (will be 16 in August!!! ). Another huge Disney fan - especially trips to Disney! She is also an avid dancer, and has even been able to tap dance with Mr. Penguin with Mary Poppins watching! Her favorite characters are Stitch, Ariel, Anna, Elsa and the Frozen gang, and Flynn, Rapunzel, Terrance, etc. her list could go on forever!!!
Joie, (Best Friend), 40-something. She loves Disney, especially Eeyore! We have known each other since 1988. We became super close when we were both planning weddings around the same time, then ended up pregnant at the same time! And since the birth of our daughters, we have become like sisters, as well as our girls. It's a bond that is so strong - going through first time parenthood together, both being married to firefighters, and both being working moms!
Caitlin (Joie's daughter), also 15, turning 16 in September! Caitlin is an avid swimmer, and lives in the pool! She made varsity team in Freshman year! She loves visiting Disney and is super excited for this trip, as it's been a few years since she has been. Her favorite characters Stitch, Belle, and Nemo. Caitlin was born 18 days after Emily, although she was not due for another 4 weeks, but apparently she was a bit impatient to meet her lifelong friend! Em and Caitlin met officially the day that Cait came home from the hospital! And they were pretty much inseparable through infancy, toddler and preschool years. Then of course, as they got older their interests change and both are very involved in their activities, but when they get together, watch out!!! They are still very much like sisters and love each other to death and are looking forward to having each other for a week!
This is a photo of the 5 of us on our last trip together in 2010!
UP Next: Day 1 Plans
__________________
Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Sounds like a lot of fun will be had with such good friends going. Having just finished your other TR the other day, I'm looking forward to reading this one too.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
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.
What a great start....I wish the girls had the week after Easter for their Spring Break, the crowds are much more bearable then. Every time I think hey we will go for Spring Break I think of the crowds and I cringe (their Spring Break always falls from Holy Thursday and then the week following Easter - so no Spring trips for us.
So great that your friend can join you and that Emily will get to spend time with Caitlin on 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: 
). Another huge Disney fan - especially trips to Disney! She is also an avid dancer, and has even been able to tap dance with Mr. Penguin with Mary Poppins watching! Her favorite characters are Stitch, Ariel, Anna, Elsa and the Frozen gang, and Flynn, Rapunzel, Terrance, etc. her list could go on forever!!!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I am very much looking forward to reading your new adventures!! 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Us 
Linear Mode
