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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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Yikes! These boards don't make it easy to something! Had to go to pag 13 of this thread to find this.
I posted answers to your Jamaica thread, also mentioned there are several sites (that I've found, might be more) with threads bout this cruise: Dis Boards, Cruise Critic, Facebook. We're not the only ones on the ship - it just seems that way!
Yikes! These boards don't make it easy to something! Had to go to pag 13 of this thread to find this.
I posted answers to your Jamaica thread, also mentioned there are several sites (that I've found, might be more) with threads bout this cruise: Dis Boards, Cruise Critic, Facebook. We're not the only ones on the ship - it just seems that way!
Thank you! It really does seen like we are alone on this cruise. Lol!
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I post a lot on Cruise Critic - over the yrs it's been a very helpful source, and I've gotten a lot of Galveston info from it. Our thread on CC has 7 different posters for this cruise.
I don't do Facebook, but DW does, and there's a thread for this cruise on there. The Facebook thread seems to be the most active of the 4 threads I've found (here, CC, FB, Dis Boards). As someone who usually spends too much time posting on boards , I have a hard time adjusting to the pace of these threads!
How are you getting to Galveston? I'd be more daring if it was just DW & myself, but since we're traveling with our 4 yr old DGD, we thought Disney transfers from Bush International were our safest bet. We're flying United from Syracuse (hate United!); our flight choices from Cuse to Bush were United or US Air. If we flew into Hobby we could've used Jet Blue or Southwest, much better choices IMO.
We also booked the Hotel Galvez through Disney. There are at least 2 other cruise couples staying there.
PS: Do you realize you and I are the ONLY people to post on these Meet boards in the past 5 days? Passporter seems to be more occupied with pre-trip & post-trip reports.
How are you getting to Galveston? I'd be more daring if it was just DW & myself, but since we're traveling with our 4 yr old DGD, we thought Disney transfers from Bush International were our safest bet. We're flying United from Syracuse (hate United!); our flight choices from Cuse to Bush were United or US Air. If we flew into Hobby we could've used Jet Blue or Southwest, much better choices IMO.
We also booked the Hotel Galvez through Disney. There are at least 2 other cruise couples staying there.
PS: Do you realize you and I are the ONLY people to post on these Meet boards in the past 5 days? Passporter seems to be more occupied with pre-trip & post-trip reports.
It seems we are the only ones posting here, it's kind of funny!!!
So, here is how we are doing it. It just so happens that my DH is a Captain at JetBlue and we can fly for free. HOWEVER, JetBlue only goes into Hobby which would mean we would have to rent a car and drive to Bush so that we can take the Disney transfers and then repeat the process coming back. Since we are traveling with 6 other people, it is too much and doesn't save us money. So, for the first time in YEARS, we bought tickets on United, from NYC to Hobby. We are flying in the day before.
As for hotels, we are Hilton Honors members so we are using points to stay at one of the Hampton Inns by the airport. Not only is it free for us to stay but they provide a free airport shuttle so we an get back to the airport to meet our Disney transfer at no cost. So I look at it as sort of breaking even as we have to buy our airline tickets.
Did you say that you got your cruise documents already??? Our awesome travel agent doesn't get our documents for a few more weeks. I used to panic about that but this is our 3rd Disney cruise so I know we will be fine.
I am concerned about this ship. We have been on the Dream and Fantasy and might have been spoiled by the new and larger ships! My DS's are worried that the Vibe will be dull. Have you been on the older ships?
So, here is how we are doing it. It just so happens that my DH is a Captain at JetBlue and we can fly for free. HOWEVER, JetBlue only goes into Hobby which would mean we would have to rent a car and drive to Bush so that we can take the Disney transfers and then repeat the process coming back. Since we are traveling with 6 other people, it is too much and doesn't save us money. So, for the first time in YEARS, we bought tickets on United, from NYC to Hobby. We are flying in the day before. I LOVE Jet Blue! Does your husband ever fly into Syracuse? Not much there, although they've really expanded the Mal (Destiny USA) recently. Big time stuff for us, probably just what you're used to in the City.
As for hotels, we are Hilton Honors members so we are using points to stay at one of the Hampton Inns by the airport. Not only is it free for us to stay but they provide a free airport shuttle so we an get back to the airport to meet our Disney transfer at no cost. So I look at it as sort of breaking even as we have to buy our airline tickets. We tend to go Marriott, but again, because of our DGD, we chose to book through Disney. Did you know they offer the "amazing" choice of one hotel (Galvez) in Galveston?
Recvd our docs Thursday. I usually book through an online TA but booked this one directly through Disney - saw the price, put a hold on a GTY 7A, showed DW when she came home, and the price had jumped $800; we were able to book it for the lower price because of the hold.
I am concerned about this ship. We have been on the Dream and Fantasy and might have been spoiled by the new and larger ships! My DS's are worried that the Vibe will be dull. Have you been on the older ships? We did the Dream in December (4 day#. Outside of the Aqua Duck, I think the ships are pretty comparable from what I've seen. Your kids look like teenagers both? Somewhat of a tough age for cruising. We've cruised about once a year for the past ten years, mostly Royal Caribbean #also Princess, Celebrity once each). We've done all size ships and our kids, when they were teens, enjoyed them all. I do know, from the FE exchange thread on Facebook, that there will be at least several teenage girls aboard, so that might interest your sons!
__________________ Fish Exchange: we did this on the Dream and DW is preparing for it again. The person in charge of it this time seems a bit disorganized; right now we have something like 35 adults and 35 kids, but people are participating at different levels, people are still being added, she's talking about splitting the group - confusing.
Cruise Critic: Do you ever post on, or read Cruise Critic? We've gotten a bitmore active over there, and people are sharing ideas on excursions and activities. By the way, sounds like your kids will have the best fun doing excursions. Been to Jamaica (and Cozumel) before. My fav Jamaica excursion was a horseback ride in the ocean - unique.
PS: Don't know what your kids are like. Our daughter (24) is kind of a wallflower. Our son (25) is fearless and will do anything. When we cruised on Celebrity the average age was about 80. One night for Karaoke very few people showed up, so he sang 17 out of 20 songs.
I am afraid that being at the mercy of Disney might put us on the ship late too. That's why I really like going out of Port Canaveral...I can set up my own transport.
I believe you've only cruised on Disney ships. As someone who always tries to be helpful, I thought I'd fill you in by letting you know what you might be missing by trying other cruise lines:
Ten Ways To Know You're Not On A Disney Cruise
1. At check-in you're given a choice of weapons to have in your cabin
2. When you walk onto the ship, instead of having your family name announced, they just mumble, "Welcome, whoever you are".
3. You find out the mirror in your cabin's bathroom is a 2-way with the cabin next door
4. The only entertainment on the ship is two Red Sox players having a catch
5. The movie theater popcorn tastes like movie theater popcorn, not the good stuff Disney has
6. When you go to the Dining Room in cut-off shorts and a tank top, the Maitre 'D tells you you're overdressed
7. The menu highlight on formal night is a McDonald's quarter pounder
8. Instead of the ship's horn playing Disney tunes, it sends a constant SOS signal
9. Instead of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, you have photo sessions with Rickey Rat and Suzie Seagull
10. The mouse ears in the hallway are on a real mouse
I heard this happened on a cruise ship recently, but I don't know if its true:
A man was standing on the rail on the top deck of the ship late one night. Another cruiser sees him getting ready to jump.
Cruiser: Don't do it!! Don't jump!!
Jumper: whaddhayou care?
Cruiser: it can't be all that bad. Where're you from? I'm from New York.
Jumper: Really? Me too.
Cruiser: Don't jump. Think of all the things you'll miss - football season, New York's great restaurants. Hey, the Yanks still have a chance to make the playoffs!
I just hung up with Disney, they said that the Halloween festivities are set by the ship and there will be no advance warning. It won't take away Pirate night, it's in addition to it and we will know when we see the navigator on the 1st night.
I believe that my son will be the professor but I can't wait to see your costume!!!!
As for formal night, I wear a cocktail type dress, Sam and the boys wear sports jackets. We like the family portrait that they take on the ship so we go for it.
We will be at the adult pool and would love to meet up and commiserate over the Yanks season and what looks to be a dismal Giants season as well! Wine that comes in a plastic bottle and screw top...awesome
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10/19/13 Wonder 7 night Western Caribbean
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, I have a hard time adjusting to the pace of these threads!
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