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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 are planning to fly into Orlando and stay at the MCO Hyatt on the night before cruising, then taking ME to the ship the next morning. I know that we will have to claim our luggage and take it to the room, but I also understand that the Hyatt has a relationship with Disney and will help handle our bags to the ship.
Has anyone ever done this? What do we do with our bags once we get them to the Hyatt? Does a Disney CM really meet you in the hotel lobby in the morning, and if so, what time should we be in the lobby if we want to be on one of the first buses to the port? (DS, age 10, is very anxious to be the "first one on the ship!")
Hey dre... you might want to look at the Raddison at the Port... is a VERY nice place to stay and has a great bar/pool/restaurant.... PLUS is only 10 minutes from port...
We did the Radisson at the port for that very reason. Although we were not first, we were the 10th family on board. I don't like waiting for Disney transportation. I feel like I had no control over getting there.
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Thanks!
Isn't there a free shuttle from the Radisson to the DCL terminal? Is that something you book in advance?
What's the best way to get to the Radisson from MCO? Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 7:30pm, so we really won't have much time at the hotel. I'm not sure I'd want to deal with picking up and dropping off a rental car. There are four of us. Are there any shuttles from MCO to the Radisson?
There are no shuttles to the Radisson, but all the town car services go to the Radisson. And yes there is a shuttle to the port from the Radisson. You can make that reservation when you make your reservation for the room. We took the first shuttle over around 10:00 am.
On our first cruise we relied on Disney transportation and got to the ship around 1:15ish, and walked right on. However, we did not get a chance to look around the terminal, get our "bearings". I felt we rushed right on and rushed through lunch and got to our room around 1:45.
The second time we planned better and got to MCO around 4:00, got to the Radisson around 6:00 (luggage and rental car took up a lot of time). We checked in and then went to dinner next door at Kelsey's.
The next morning we got up, drove the rental car to Walmart to get some last minute things, looked around Port Canaveral, saw the ship from afar, and had breakfast at the hotel. We caught the first shuttle (ooh, that's a tricky word to type many times - I kept putting in an "i" instead of a "u" and have been correcting myself throughout!). Got to the ship by 10:20, got the luggage dropped off and we were inside by 10:45. We weren't the first family, but darn close. We finally got to see the terminal and all the theming, the kids got to watch some cartoons, we regrouped our carryons, plotted out what to do first on board, bought water in the snack shop, got some lanyards too. Very relaxing instead of rushing. Got onboard around 11:59, got the photo taken and went right to lunch. Loved it!
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