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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Wondering if anyone has done this excursion on your own. The Disney trip is $92 per person. We have a family of 5. It looks a lot cheaper to just buy tickets through the park for $45 each and then get a 20 % discount. It says it includes transportation back and forth. But the times are like 9:45 and return 1 p.m. The Disney excursion is longer than 3 hrs more like 4.5. Has anyone been there and would the shorter time be enough? We plan to see everything there and snorkel. Thank you!
We went, but did it through Disney when we stopped in Grand Cayman. There are two fresh water lagoons. . . one for swimming and one for snorkeling. The snorkeling one can get a bit murky, but you can take the snorkel gear to the swimming lagoon and use it there. You can leave the snorkeling gear anywhere.
This was our 8 year old son's first snorkeling experience.
We loved the birds and the huge iguanas that roam freely. Be sure to hold the turtle from the turtle tank and have someone take your picture. (It looked like some tours had to buy their own photo and weren't allowed to take photos--based on what we saw in the shop.) The husband picked up a big one, me a medium, and the boy a small one. Great fun!
Lunch is included with the Disney port excursion.
And, while we were their several hours, we could have used more--we didn't get to see the shark feeding.
Note: There are two shops on the way out of the park. One with souvenirs, jewelry, etc. There's more of a kids type shop just to the right of the exit from the first store. It can be a bit tricky to find.
Tendering is required to get from the boat to the shore in Grand Cayman. The lines for tendering back to the ship can snake around the port for yards and yards, except where the Disney passengers are waiting to tender.
My sister in law and mother in law cruised on another cruise line and went to Grand Cayman. Even they noticed the difference in service with Disney, while not even cruising with them.
While the price might be a bit more, the peace of mind knowing that all the details are taken care of may be well worth the price difference.
Not to mention that if you book it on your own and are late or delayed for some reason the boat will not wait for you.
I did this port adventure through Disney in October and it was okay. There was a lot of green algae floating in the snorkelling lagoon but you could still see and take decent underwater pictures. I will say most of the fish hang out all the way in the back near the shark viewing area.
After I snorkelled I ate lunch and there are basically 2 selections, mine were jerk chicken or a hamburger. The food itself though was pretty good.
I didn't see the shark feeding or walk the nature trail. I did walk through the aviary which is nice, lots of pretty birds.
The swimming lagoon is HUGE and very nice. I would recommend it if you have small children who have never snorkelled before and you are worried about taking them out into open waters.
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