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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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This will be our first time flying with our 3 daughters (10 1/2, 7 & 2 1/2)and I was wondering if anyone had any words of wisdom for us. We would welcome any suggestions as to what extras to bring to make it a memorable flight. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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We are very excited about going also. Our kids have never flown before, so it will be a new experience for them. We are going May 7-14 and staying at the CBR.
We've flown a bunch with our now three-year-old and she's pretty darn good on plane flights. Just expect that the kids will be bored, stircrazy, and need some stimulation.
Do NOT give them lots of sugar, however, even if the sweets with the meal look delicious and you don't want to eat yours!
If your children haven't flown at all be prepared for first-time jitters. Be sure each has a favorite cuddly toy, pillow or blanket, just in case. Each can bring his/her own knapsack or carryon containing those all-important favorite toys. They really do want to be like the grownups.
Be sure your airline seating arrangements are to your liking. It can be tough to seat 5 together, but at least try to be seated in two groups - 3 and 2, so that one parent can be handy for each group. I've seen cases where one parent is seated several rows away from the rest of the family. Not the best arrangement. Check your reservations, and phone the airline to change the seating if necessary. If you're still widely separated talk to the flight attendants as soon as you board the plane. They'll do what they can to get things rearranged.
Have some games handy, too. Not just for the flight, but in case there are departure delays at the airport. Same goes for coloring books or regular books, depending on the child. Not everyone approves of hand-held electronic games, portable CD players and the like, as the kids may withdraw into their own world, but if you're ok with them, these, too can be a real help during a long delay.
The youngest ones may have trouble adjusting their ears to the changes in air pressure. Be sure you have some gum (or other chewable) handy, and be alert to the possibility discomfort.
Also, as airline food couldn't satisfy a flea these days, be sure to have a good supply of healthy snacks.
We have flown twice now with our 3 year old. I try to fly at his normal nap time as motion tends to put him to sleep and make him sick. If you have kids who get motion sickness, look for chewable motion sickness tablets and have them eat them an hour before the flight. We spent my son's first flight using all the bags we could find (and he was on our laps then)!
For times when he's not sleeping, I bring new small toys, small activity books, and I fill a small pencil case with new markers, crayons and colored pencils, and stickers. I also found that Michael's has a small packet of clay that fit in the pencil case. If you can't find the clay, those party favor sized play dohs will also work, but play doh is a little more messy. When they are new, they will be amused more than if you bring toys they already have. Extra outfits, juice boxes (or bottles), plenty of diaper wipes (good for hands and faces too) and cereal bars have all helped us to have great flights.
To address Dave's seating issue: Southwest has no assigned seating and preboards families with kids under 5, so sitting together was no problem for us.
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Last summer my sister-in-law took me along to DW to help with her three children ages 14, 9, and 7. I also took my 10-year old niece.
Knowing that my 9 & 7-year old nieces have the attention span of a lima bean, I took a bag of goodies to help me survive the 4 hour flight. The biggest hit was the small dry-erase board and markers ($5 at Target). The kids drew and played games to occupy themselves while I attempted to convince my sister-in-law that the plane was not going to crash.
The board is very easy to carry and it also came in handy to leave messages on in the hotel room.
[This message has been edited by Fortissimo (edited 02-23-2000).]
Our first trip to WDW was in 1997 when my girls were 11, 7, 6, and 2. We have been back each of the last 2 years it went so well!
We live in Mass so our flight is about 3 hours. We bring along books to read and color. Also plenty of gum to chew for takeoffs and landings to help prevent earaches (last trip we used "Earplanes" which are plugs that are designed to prevent the changes in air pressure from causing earaches, they seem to work).
We also went in late Sept (took the kids out of school, that's a different thread!)so the parks weren't as crazy as vacation time.
We set a reasonable pace, dictated by the youngest.
We made sure we let everyone feel like they were part of deciding what to do.
On my first trip to WDW I took my brother and sister, then 7 & 9. To prepare them for the flight, I set up an 'airplane' in the living room and did the stewardess introduction. I also made oxygen masks out of paper cups and string and did the flotation device explanation because I was afraid that hearing all of this would increase their anxiety. We laughed and had a great evening when I did this and they knew exactly what to expect when we boarded the plane. Unfortunately, I couldn't simulate takeoff so I still got both my hands squeezed! šoš
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It all began with a father with two daughters...
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.
our neighbors have 2 little girls (almost 5 & 3 yr). I wanted to do something special for them as it was their first trip to Disney via Plane so I bought:
coloring books
sticker books
crayons
stickers
Disney Beanie each
Sea World stuffed animal
Disney kids mini pocket book with pencils/paper
Animal Crackers
And put all the items in a Disney Gift bag that was about 8x11 in size. The kids loved the suprize bag! All the items I found on sale in various different locations.....
Our biggest supprise was when we found out that they were going the exact time we were! The items in the bag kept the kids busy in the airport as well as in the plane! Never hear a word from the!
Hopefully your kids will be so excited to be going to WDW and flying for the first time it won't be a problem. My 4 year old granddaughter has flown many times, but this will be her first flight to WDW. I will not be traveling with her and her mom, but meeting them there. I'm going to buy her a little care package and send it to her just prior to WDW-Day. In it I'm going to include some Crayola Model Magic, a Crayola Dry Erase Board that comes with markers in a zippered case and a book titled "My Mother and Me". It's a thin paperback memory scrapbook book, 8'x10', and mother & daughter can enter favorites, time spent together, etc, and it even has a pocket in the back for misc. - just like The Passporter
Also, when you board the plane, ask the flight attendant if the children can visit the cockpit.
I was on a flight a year ago from Charlotte on which a group of high school students were returning from WDW. The pilot let a couple of them make announcements prior to take off! They were on their way home, but still enjoying the adventure.
I'm sure your kids will travel just fine. Make it an adventure. Have a great trip!
That thing, bought on a whim, was a lifesaver on our trip to WDW last month... we had many delays coming back, but he was content to sit in the airport and play that thing. I think it helped that I saved it away until our trip, so it was totally new to him.
Just my (and my son's) two cents!
-gina-
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All-Star Music, Feb. 2000
Next stop, All-Star Movies, 2001!
[This message has been edited by Gina (edited 03-30-2000).]
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