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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

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Old 04-25-2011, 08:10 PM   #1
RogersDA
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Disney Magic Completed

We just got home from our seven day Magic to the western Caribbean. It was our second Disney cruise and fourth overall.

I have to say it was great with a few exceptions. The stateroom was great as was the hostess. It is always great to get 12 or more chocolates on your bed instead of the normal 3. The weather was great the entire trip. For the first time ever we never dined in the formal dining rooms. We ate dinner at Topsiders or had room service. That was great as Topsiders was never full, was generally quiet, and we got to know the wine steward quite well. We took the daughter on her first jet ski ride at Key West which she loved. She had a blast going 50 mph and jumping into the water during the occasional stops. We also took her on the submarine excursion at Grand Cayman. She thought that was so cool being down to 125 feet and watching the fish and other sea life. As soon as we hit the beach at Castaway Cay she was in the water and didn't come out except for a few mandatory breaks.

The wine steward at Topsiders was very helpful and friendly. He helped get deck chairs ready when we got to the pools. He was at Castaway Cay and made sure our daughter had a bucket of Chips when we showed up. He made sure I had my mandatory mojito ready for sipping.

There were some bad things, too. The Oceaneer's Lab smelled. A lot. My daughter refused to go in. I confirmed that the odor was there. Also, there was a lot of maintenance happening during the day. The crew was busy resanding and restaining many of the cabinets on deck (the ones for holding towels, trash, etc.). It was not pleasant to sit on deck and smell those nasty fumes or hear that noise. The arcade, where we let our daughter go once on an at-sea day, had many broken games or games that would take the credits but not let you play. There was not much chance in seeing a cast member there to help fix the lost credit problem, too. We hate San Miguel at Cozumel. So many stores selling the same junk.

Pin trading didn't seem all that popular as it was on the last cruise. The daughter was a bit disappointed that so few people were trading pins.

I will post a few photos in a bit.
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Old 04-26-2011, 12:50 AM   #2
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Another thing I forgot to mention.

The Castaway Club gift was a black and red shoulder beach bag with a metal Disney Cruiseline keychain and two aluminum water bottles. The bag was great for the beach.

And, carrying an iPad with the Passporter book in iBook was a GREAT help. It was nice to have that for reviewing excursion opinions while at sea.

And I can't share photos yet. I am too new here.

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Old 04-26-2011, 01:49 AM   #3
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Welcome to the boards!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts - what a shame about the Oceaneer's Lab. In general, it sounds like you had a wonderful cruise.
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Old 04-26-2011, 08:59 AM   #4
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Thanks for sharing your review!
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Old 04-26-2011, 11:25 PM   #5
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Here are just a few captures from the trip. The last one is the sunset from the balcony, and it was exposed for about 15 seconds.

EDIT: If you click on the images you can see them larger!








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Old 04-27-2011, 01:29 AM   #6
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Awesome photos!
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Old 04-27-2011, 09:58 AM   #7
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Great photos and thanks for sharing. Hope to see more pictures.
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Old 04-27-2011, 11:52 AM   #8
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Awesome photos!
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Great photos and thanks for sharing. Hope to see more pictures.
Thanks...I didn't get to take too many photos. It's hard running around with the daughter.
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Old 04-27-2011, 12:32 PM   #9
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Great photos - sounds like it was a great trip overall, but what a shame about the smell at the kids club and the maintenance going on during the day. Welcome to the boards as well
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Old 04-27-2011, 07:59 PM   #10
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Great photos - sounds like it was a great trip overall, but what a shame about the smell at the kids club and the maintenance going on during the day. Welcome to the boards as well
Thanks for the welcome!
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Old 04-29-2011, 12:24 PM   #11
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Sounds like overall it was a great cruise! We're doing the Western next year on the Fantasy. Can't wait!
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Old 04-30-2011, 01:01 PM   #12
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Sounds like overall it was a great cruise! We're doing the Western next year on the Fantasy. Can't wait!
It was great. We are already planning another for next year. We want to get our daughter out to Europe so we are thinking a Med cruise.
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Old 04-30-2011, 08:44 PM   #13
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Great photos! Thanks for sharing!
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Old 04-30-2011, 09:48 PM   #14
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Welcome to the boards. Your pix are great. Cruisin' sure looks like a lot of fun.
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