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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I am thinking about booking a last minute cruise for my 30th birthday. I read last night on the Disney Cruise Line website that passports are not required for cruises until January 1, 2008. Is this correct? It would be great if it is. Should I need a passport, do I still have time to get one?
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Erin
"Don't let your heart be filled with sorrow, for all you know tomorrow, the dream that you wish will come true."
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That's correct -- passports for cruising won't be required until January of next year. I'm not sure when you're thinking of cruising, but there are ways to get your passport sooner than the couple of months it's generally taking. You can go to the State Dept. website on passports at http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html and get all the info you need.
Passports are definitely the way to go, just in case, but don't sweat it if you're sailing before next January.
Hope this helps!
-gina-
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Disney Magic ~ '02, '03, '04, '08
Grand Princess ~ '06
Voyager of the Seas ~ '10
Mariner of the Seas ~ '12
Walt Disney World waaaayyy too much (according to some people!
That is right you do not need it for the cruise but if for some reaseon you have to fly home from another port you do need a passport to get back into the USA. So I would say get one and to be safe.
A passport does take 6 weeks about and it cost 97.00 dollars. If you get an expedited one it cost 157.00 dollars but it is processed in 3 working days. I hope that helps.
We did get out passports in like four weeks but that was months ago.
Passports are taking about 6 - 8 weeks right now according to the Passport processing center near us (we just applied for Ryan's) but expedited passports are right on schedule and are being received within a week of application. It's pricey but potentially worth the investment!
I was worried also about the passports. We don't have any. I spoke with the reservationist at Disney and saw on their website that they are not necessary until January 08. But I just recieved our vacation planner for the cruise as we are paid in full and it says that we need passports. Could this book just be outdated??
Yes, the vacation planner booklet may be outdated. Congress modified the law late last year, essentially pushing some things (like passports for land/sea entry from the Caribbean) back a year. January 2008 is now the earliest passports can be required for land/sea entry from the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada. However, passports are required right now if you're flying in from any of those places. As someone else noted earlier, if for some reason your cruise is interrupted and you have to fly home, you'll need a passport. There are emergency procedures for re-entry by air without a passport - just don't expect it to be fast and easy. Of course, in an emergency, fast and easy is what you'd want. For this reason and more, I really encourage folks to get a passport now, rather than wait any longer. You'll need one soon enough for any travel across the US border, so the time you spend now obtaining the passport will quickly start paying dividends by simplifying your travel.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
You may not NEED a passport, but you probably WANT one even if you don't know it. The passport greatly streamlines check-in and re-entry (and not just on the cruise). Maybe its just psychological, but I really like having that iron-clad proof of citizenship when abroad.
I live near Buffalo NY, and DH and I got our passports for our honeymoon cruise in Dec. 2005. It is now amazing how much quicker the border crossing is driving into Canada. It is always better safe than sorry.
An issue that our travel agent brought up is that currently there are no immediate threats. If some sort of terrorist event would occur and security levels are heightened not having a passport could create some problems. We got them for a Royal Caribbean cruise we just took. We paid for expedited service at the post office and had them in less than two weeks...that includes getting a call from Harrisburg and needing to fax additional documents. Being that they are good for 10 years (for adults-children are 5 years) the investment is really not so bad. We could have gone without them but we had peace of mind once we had them.
I do have to say though...those are five of the worst pictures are family has ever taken!! Do your own with a digital camera
[QUOTE=
I do have to say though...those are five of the worst pictures are family has ever taken!! Do your own with a digital camera[/QUOTE]
State has some very strict rules on digital pictures. They have a whole page on their website on what to do and not do. Also note that wallet sized pictures are too big, so you have to scale them.
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