Getting Ready for Another Awesome August Adventure! PTR - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Getting Ready for Another Awesome August Adventure! PTR LIVE
Hello and welcome to my Pre-Trip Report!
With only 3 weeks to go, this will be a super short PTR, but I haven't written one in awhile so I thought I'd try to squeeze it in! forgive me if I do the intros and get busy and never make it back!! That's how my life tends to go lately.
Let’s start with intros!
My name is Shelly. I am the wife, the mom, the ultimate Disney planner! I work full time as a Travel Agent, specializing in…… you guessed it – Disney Destinations! And I work part time as at Teaching Assistant at our elementary school. That job has become VERY part time with how busy my TA work has become. In my spare time I enjoy photography, shopping, and spending time with all my boys – DH & I have been married for 17 years and have 2 boys, 16 and almost 14. Plus a Sheltie named Captain “Jack” Sparrow!
DH has become quite the Disney fan himself! He didn’t used to like to admit it, but anymore he will tell anyone that will listen! DH works long hours as a Quality Assurance Inspector, so he really enjoys taking it easy on our Disney Vacations! In his spare time he enjoys spending time with the boys and being outdoors.
DS16 is our oldest. Hard to believe that he is just a few years away from being a man. He will be a junior in HS this fall. He enjoys writing stories, being with his friends, play video games, and archery. He is now in the working world and is learning lots working in the fast food industry! He is a thrill ride seeker and my WDW ride buddy! He still loves Disney and I hope that doesn’t change anytime soon. DS is very out-going and hilarious.
DS13 (will be 14 just after this trip) is our youngest, but is growing up quickly. He will be in 8th grade this fall. Hard to believe it's his last year of MS. He loves playing video games and hanging out with his friends. Most of all he LOVES soccer!! He has played since he was 4 and will be on the MS team in the fall. He also loves Disney very much and I can always count on him if I want to talk Disney!
Here we are at WDW last August:
We started going to WDW in 2005. DH and I never went as children. The kids were 6 & 4 then. We all fell in love instantly and have gone back so many more times since then!! Not to mention I have made a career out of it!
Our WDW trip history includes:
CBR Oct 2005 - First Trip!
POFQ May 2007
CSR May 2008
CBR Jan 2009
POR and OKW Nov 2009 - First split stay!
BWI Nov 2010
CBR and Poly Aug 2011 - Best Trip Ever!!
BC May 2012 + Side trip to Legoland and Celebration
GF and Poly Dec 2012
YC Aug 2013 + Side trip to Clearwater Beach
WL Jan 2014
GF and BWI Aug 2014
BLT Jan 2015 + Universal & Portofino Bay
POFQ June 2015 - Just me for a work trip!
So I guess this makes trip number 14 for our family, and 15 for me!
I LOVE our August trips!! Years ago I said I'd never go to WDW in the summer, but now we do it every year. It is HOT, but you just can't beat the low crowds and low prices at the end of summer. Plus, we don't start school until after Labor Day!
We will be at WDW August 29-September 6!! Can't wait!
Welcome to the PTR, hope you enjoy!
__________________
Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Last edited by Momof2Disneyboys; 09-01-2015 at 01:49 PM..
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Great start! I also can't wait to read more We will be there at the same time as you and I also love going in August. I never thought I would be saying that, but its been quite a bunch of August's in a row hahahaha
__________________
5/02 AKL*8/09 POR*10/10 ASMu*8/11 Pop*2/12 ASMu*8/12 POFQ*2/13 ASM*8/13 CB *4/14 AoA*8/14 AKL*8/15 CS*2/16 Disney Magic*8/16 Split stay! POR/BC*2/17 Disney Fantasy & OKW*8/17 Poly/AKL*1/18 ASMu*8/18 SS/?? split stay!
Great start! I also can't wait to read more We will be there at the same time as you and I also love going in August. I never thought I would be saying that, but its been quite a bunch of August's in a row hahahaha
Welcome! Congrats on your August trip!! Isn't August wonderful? I never thought I'd ever say that!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great start!
Thank you!
__________________
Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
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About This Page: 
That's how my life tends to go lately. 
DH works long hours as a Quality Assurance Inspector, so he really enjoys taking it easy on our Disney Vacations! In his spare time he enjoys spending time with the boys and being outdoors.
He will be a junior in HS this fall. He enjoys writing stories, being with his friends, play video games, and archery. He is now in the working world and is learning lots working in the fast food industry! He is a thrill ride seeker and my WDW ride buddy! He still loves Disney and I hope that doesn’t change anytime soon. DS is very out-going and hilarious. 
Years ago I said I'd never go to WDW in the summer, but now we do it every year. It is HOT, but you just can't beat the low crowds and low prices at the end of summer. Plus, we don't start school until after Labor Day! 
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