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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We decided late to book a cruise for next month. There are a couple of excursions we definitely want to do this year. When I called to book the cruise, they couldn't/wouldn't tell me if the excursions were still available. They said I had to book first before I could see availability. Does anyone know if excursions typically sell out? We are interested in the Cast Away Cay 5K and the Atlantis waterpark. Any advice would be appreciated.
Last edited by Belle*; 07-05-2016 at 08:39 AM..
Reason: newsletter07072016
Excursions do sell out. But they also have last minute cancellations. The availability of excursions usually isn't open "to the public" so I can see that dilema. Is there an additional phone number to excursions you can call directly? The reviews of the selected excursion may help reveal the transportation and capacity of the places you want.
Last minute pricing is very smart. Both your choices sound fun!
They do book the excursions ahead of time but don't bill them until you board, this helps with last minute cancellations, etc. You should go to the Port Adventures desk when you board and inquire about your options. Sometimes they can put you on a list and notify you if someone cancels. Or if there is an abundance of people requesting a particular excursion they may add one on.
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I can't picture Atlantis selling out, perhaps you just need to book online a bit closer to your cruise? We did the aquaventure deal at Atlantis. But since my guys have done Big Kahunas in Destin several times, they weren't all that impressed with Atlantis. I thought it was pretty, but our favorite part was the aquarium there.
We are interested in the Cast Away Cay 5K and the Atlantis waterpark. Any advice would be appreciated.
The Castaway Cay 5K doesn't have advanced sign-ups prior to the cruise. You sign-up onboard and I don't believe there's a limit -- or at least I've never heard of anyone "shut-out" of running the CC5K. There is an age limit and kids under 10 cannot register, however the course is open so anyone could actually run/walk it just without a bib or medal.
While the Atlantis excursion may sell out, there are other ways to do this. You can book it privately, or many people book a dayroom at the resort and then use a taxi for transport. You can always ask to waitlist an excursion onboard if it is sold-out.
The Comfort Suites Paradise Island Hotel gives you full access to the Atlantis waterpark. You have to book a room for every 4 people. The day you get to Bahamas, go to the hotel (you can take a taxi at the port), go to the hotel and tell them that you don't need the room (so you don´t have to return to do checkout), just need the passes to the waterpark. Pay the room (if it not prepaid), get the passes and you can walk to the Atlantis. At the Atlantis you can take a taxi to return to the port. It's cheaper than pay the cruise excursion, for the price of one room (depending on the day they have rooms from $115+tax and fees) up to 4 have full access to the Atlantis waterpark. That worked for me 5 years ago.
I have never heard of anyone not being able to do the 5K. You sign up the morning of the last 2 times I did it. It isn't really even officially timed so it shouldn't be an issue.
If you can't get the Atlantis water park you could probably just go there and pay. But I doubt it would be full as there are a lot of other things to do there.
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I thought it was pretty, but our favorite part was the aquarium there.
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