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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Hello,
We are going on the Wonder in Sept. I have heard get to the port Early to enjoy?? I'm not not sure how well a 4 and 5 year old will do with waiting for 2 hours or more. Any suggestions?? Also has anyone tried the stingrays at Castaway Cay with a 5 year old? I'm thinking on trying it for her.
Thanks 95 days till we leave for Our Disney Trip!!
I guess the hard part is timing it right. Try to board fairly early as you can eat and swim and explore while others are boarding, so have what you need in your carry-on.
We got to the port around 10:30 with a 4 and 7 YO. Between checking in, getting their wristbands and pager for the labs, and walking around the terminal, there wasn't too much downtime They do have TVs and couches so you can watch Disney Classics. As well, Mickey and Minnie came out for pictures. We were in group 2 and started boarding around 11:45. Which gave us more time on the ship
ETA: Sorry, forgot about your second question. We did the Stingray adventure at CC and had a great time. I'd highly recommend it. It was me and DD (7) but they actually let DS "tag along" (he was 4) and he spent his time going back and forth between my DH who was on the beach taking pictures of us and me. They let him feed the stingrays and one of the CMs actually carried him out into the water where DD and I were snorkeling. It was a great piece of Disney magic by a very thoughtful CM
Marnie, how do they go about grouping you for boarding? Do you know? Just curious
You get the boarding card when you go thru security at the port (at least that's how it was done in August 2006). They'll start calling boarding groups as it gets closer to noon. The suites board first (group 1) and actually have their own seating area near the Mickey Ears that is all roped off. I'm pretty sure they called groups 1 and 2 together, but can't tell you what they did after that as we were already on the ship
We cruised last month. Got to the port about 10:30 or 11 a.m. - and everything slowed up at that point! Had to wait in line to drop off luggage, wait in line to park, wait in line for terminal security - all of this is managed by port employees/systems (not Disney). One of the employees did say something about "seems everyone arrived early today," so maybe our experience was unusual.
I'd guess that we got to the check-in desk by 11:30. Walked right up, registered very quickly, and were given our boarding card. If memory serves, we were group 6. But, really, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it sounds. They were boarding group 2 as we were checking in. Minnie was posing for pics. Some folks were milling around while others were lounging on sofas. (We were travelling without kids.) We waited not more than 30 minutes, TOPS, before we boarded. And I'd guess that only a couple hundred folks boarded before we did. Getting lunch and a spot at the pool were a breeze.
Even with the waiting, I would do it the same way again. If we had arrived an hour earlier at the port, we would have boarded 30 minutes earlier. If we had arrive two hours earlier at the port, we would have boarded 30 minutes earlier.
I would recommend arriving by 11am so you can be one of the first 2 or 3 groups to board...And as mentioned before, not much down time, especially if you are waiting in line for pictures with the characters!
thanks for your input everyone. I called the Radisson we are taking the 10am shuttle to the port. and dropping the car off budget before. so we can go as a group.
I think the arrival time is a personal preference... we like to get to the port prior to 10:30 so we can be in the call for group 1/2..... But then we do wait... but we get on the ship first and go up on deck and and get a chair by the pool.... plus no one else is at the pool at that point.... like I said... all personal preference....
Generally you can't enter or even approach the terminal until 10:30. Any advantage you might get out of getting a slightly lower boarding group number is offset by the extra time you spend waiting in the terminal - the crowd that builds up in the terminal waiting to board usually boards within about 20 minutes, so, for example, arriving at 10:30 rather than 11:30 may only yield a 15 minute advantage at boarding time. For many, that 15-20 minute savings seems worthwhile (what else can you do with your morning?). Note, though, that the tradition of arriving so early began back before you could make Palo and spa reservations, and sign up for the kids clubs, online. While folks who couldn't get reservations online (or want to make modifications) still will want to get on board ASAP, most folks boarding early these days are just making a beeline for lunch. Staterooms are generally not available until 1:30pm, and soon afterwards the pools start to fill up.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
For our first Disney cruise (4-night) this past April, we got to the terminal early (since I was so excited to FINALLY go on that cruise ). I can't remember what time it was exactely but I think it was before 10 am. We were allowed to drop off our luggage at the curbside drop-off location and then park our car (at the parking lot on the opposite side of the street). Then we waited about 15 minutes for the security checkpoint to open up. When we got inside the terminal, we again had to wait for the check-in counters to open (which I think was around 10:30am???). Of course we got group 2 boarding but then had to wait (again ) as they didn't start boarding till 11:45 am, I think.
Upon boarding, we were led directly to lunch at Parrot Cay. When we were done with that we started exploring the ship a bit but basically just waited for the ropes to be taken away so we could finally get into our stateroom. Of course then you have to wait another few hours till your luggage arrives!
As you probably figured by now, I didn't like the whole "arriving early experience" at all. When we go on our next cruise, we'll try not to be at the terminal before noon. There was just too much waiting last time!
From what everybody is saying about the downside of early arrival, maybe we will go to the beach or Ronjon first, if we get an early start on our trip!
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I'm not not sure how well a 4 and 5 year old will do with waiting for 2 hours or more. Any suggestions?? Also has anyone tried the stingrays at Castaway Cay with a 5 year old? I'm thinking on trying it for her.
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They do have TVs and couches so you can watch Disney Classics. As well, Mickey and Minnie came out for pictures. We were in group 2 and started boarding around 11:45. Which gave us more time on the ship 
) as they didn't start boarding till 11:45 am, I think. 
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