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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Our nine-year old son will be learning to snorkel on our Western Caribbean cruise. Any suggestions as to which excursion (or trip on your own) is best for his first time? I'd love for him to have the experience before getting to Castaway Cay so that he can do it again there.
On a sidenote, I noticed on some of the snorkeling excursions that there are warnings for people with asthma. I guess it never dawned on me that breathing through a straw would be problematic for asthmatics. Duh! Does anyone have kids with asthma, and have they dealt with snorkeling okay? (I will, of course, consult our doctor -- I just thought I'd ask for some BTDT advice)
One thing to watch with snorkeling, especially with younger children and those just starting, is the depth of the water. Many of the tours feature snorkeling at a reef (especially Stingray City in Grand Caymen). While the reef is beautiful, the water will definitely be over a child's head, especially at high tide.
We did the Stingray City Reef Sail & Snorkel while in Grand Caymen. I'm an experienced snorkeler and found it very tiring after about 40 minutes due to the strong current. My DD (age 11 at the time) lasted only a few minutes as found it too hard to coordinate the swimming and the breathing. My father lasted even less - he has breathing problems (not asthma but uses a c-pap machine at night) and found it extremely difficult.
What I would recommend is an excursion based (or starting) on a beach or a sand bar. Two come to mind: the 'Discover Snorkel' excursion on Cozumel (starts on a beach) or the 'Island Tour & Snorkeling with Stingrays' on Grand Caymen (3-6 foot deep sand bar).
Snorkeling is a wonderful way to explore the ocean - so many interesting things you can see and learn about - but it does require patience when learning. You can't just put on a mask and go so you're doing well by planning this out before hand.
Another good idea is to invest in your own equipment. This way you can be assured that it will fit correctly and he'll be comfortable using it. Many come with their own backpack or mesh tote and it doesn't take that much room. It's worth the added cost to have good gear - nothing worse than snorkeling with a leaky mask! As silly as it sounds, you can practice in the tub. Becoming accustomed to the sound of your own breathing thru the snorkel ahead of time really helped my son. Now he's like the proverbial fish in water and can't wait to go back and snorkel on Castaway Cay!
Have fun - I hope he's able to try (and love) snorkeling! And pick up a disposable underwater camera, too!
__________________
Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
Lynn gave you some great advice! The only thing I would add is that Castaway Cay snorkeling can be a let down for some people. Visibility is often an issue. But it's a great place to learn to snorkel as you start out in very shallow water and gradually make your way into the deeper parts. I had a blast snorkeling on our last cruise in December but we did not see a whole lot of fish, etc. In fact, they had cancelled the snorkeling excursions that day as visibility was so poor.
I agree with what everyone has said before. You may also consider getting equipment before you go and having him get used to floating face down and breathing at the same time. You might consider looking up some resources online, like what is availble to the boy scouts about this subject. I for, one would not want to pay $$ and find out he can't or won't do an open water dive.
We've not too much advice on where to snorkel but 2nd the idea of having his own snorkel gear that he gets used to BEFORE you venture into open water. We had our 6 year old work with his mask and snorkel in our hot tub alot before we left for Grand Cayman last Oct. When we got out snorkeling in the ocean with his fins on, he just took off! We were floored. Mind you, he wasn't even what we would have called a "swimmer" at the time although he was by the end of the trip! The salt water just makes it so much easier to swim. Now, when he saw his first barracuda, we did have some major issues, until Dad told him: "It's scared of us, it swam away when I swam toward it". Nevermind that Mom had been saying nearly the same thing for 10 minutes!!!
We did do the stingray city/reef tour while there and had no trouble although it was high tide and the water was over his head. Current on the day or in the area we went was fine.
We've not too much advice on where to snorkel but 2nd the idea of having his own snorkel gear that he gets used to BEFORE you venture into open water. We had our 6 year old work with his mask and snorkel in our hot tub alot before we left for Grand Cayman last Oct. When we got out snorkeling in the ocean with his fins on, he just took off! We were floored. Mind you, he wasn't even what we would have called a "swimmer" at the time although he was by the end of the trip! The salt water just makes it so much easier to swim. Now, when he saw his first barracuda, we did have some major issues, until Dad told him: "It's scared of us, it swam away when I swam toward it". Nevermind that Mom had been saying nearly the same thing for 10 minutes!!!
We did do the stingray city/reef tour while there and had no trouble although it was high tide and the water was over his head. Current on the day or in the area we went was fine.
We are taking our first cruise, so we haven't 'done it all' yet but I think they also make everybody wear flotation vests when you snorkel, no matter what your level of experience.
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.
I can't remember if I wore a floation device. The kids did for sure. I got my own gear and gear for my whole family at Sam's Club and BJ's. We love love love snorkeling. Castaway Cay is a good place to learn before you spend $$$ on snorkeling excursions.
About This Page: 
Does anyone have kids with asthma, and have they dealt with snorkeling okay? (I will, of course, consult our doctor -- I just thought I'd ask for some BTDT advice)
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Hybrid Mode
