Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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04-12-2004, 05:44 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Our Royal Vacation!!! Day 7, Our last full day at sea!!!
Wow, you guys! I can't believe that we are already back from our wonderful Caribbean adventures, which, I have to say, are right up there with Disney vacations, in my book anyway!  I am still not done the laundry because we took way too many clothes with us and I have to take Chris to work in 15 minutes, but I couldn't wait any longer to start this report!! 
Let me start by saying that, as most of you know, I really needed this vacation. I used to not know what people meant when they said that because I have been lucky enough to have my health and love my job so that whenever I went away, I felt blessed to do so, but I have never truly felt as though I needed a vacation. Since my recent surgery and rough recovery, I truly needed to "get away from it all" and get refreshed. Boy, did I ever accomplish that! Anyway, we had planned to go on a cruise twice before but for one reason or another, wound up cancelling out both times. So, in essence, I have been promising the kids that we would take a cruise for a long time! My only regret in waiting this long is that Sean was unable to come with us, as he is in college and had his Spring Break in March. Otherwise, we picked a perfect time to go, as Chris, Mike and Katie were old enough to appreciate the vacation much more than they would have a few years ago! Anyway................
Saturday April 3rd!
Muffin was already in Atlanta and we were meeting him at 7PM via Delta airlines. We got up way too early this morning and spent most of the day sitting around waiting to go to the airport! Our flight was not until 5PM this evening and we had already packed our stuff up last night. Let's see- we played cards, went to CVS for batteries, candy, crayons and other assorted backpack stuff. Then we put our suitcases in the car and made a phone call to my in-laws, who would be getting our mail and feeding Celery (our cat) for the week. We had to make sure that Poppy knew where the cat litter and the cat food was- especially the cat litter! We didn't have to be at the airport until 3PM, but we had to stop first at Sunpark, which is one of those shuttle van services to drop off the car. We way prefer this method over airport parking not only because it is cheaper, but also they wash your car for you and pick you up and drop you off right in front of your terminal so that you don't lug any suitcases around! Anyway, it was 2PM and we simply couldn't wait any longer to begin our adventure! We took a vote on whether to leave or wait another half an hour and it was four-zip to go!!  We only got a little lost on the way to Sunpark, as I am not used to doing the driving and obviously do not pay enough attention to these matters. In any case, we still had plenty of time to make it to the airport to sit around for another hour and a half anyway, until we were allowed to board the plane. Our flight got off on time and without a hitch. And you guys, this may be a record for us- we only had one spill and one call to the flight attendant!!  The call was for pretzels because my darling daughter was *STARVING*!!! Anyway, we got off the plane in Atlanta and Muffin was right there at the gate. We had another hour and a half between flights, so we ate at the food court(one of my favorite airport food courts!) for dinner. I had Chinese, Mike had pizza, Chris had a hot dog and Katie had a sandwich. Muffin had already eaten, so he just got a yogurt and some tea. By the time we were finished, it was just about time to board the next plane to Miami. Again, no problem with the flight at all and we were on the ground by 10PM. We reached the Holiday Inn at the pier by 11 and we were all beat from the day of anticipation and travel. Of course, this does not mean anyone slept!! It also didn't help that we were all in the same room. We did have a beautiful view of the pier from here and when we woke up in the morning, this is the first thing we saw:
This is the beautiful Voyager of The Seas and believe me-this picture does not do it justice!
It took us about a half an hour just to stop staring at this vessel! The kids wanted so badly to go down to the pier to see it closer, but we went and got some breakfast first downstairs and promised as soon as we were done eating, we would all walk down to the pier. The breakfast buffet at Holiday Inns is always hit or miss and this one was terrific! They had a nice selection of food and great entertainment for the kids:
Katie and the clown
Mike
Mike, Chris and Katie-Aren't teens wonderful?!?!
Okay, you guys! I really have to go make dinner, but I'll continue this later! Thanks for reading! |
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04-12-2004, 05:56 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 328
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Great start. Wonderful pictures. I can't wait to hear more!
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04-12-2004, 05:57 PM
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#3
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: WI
Posts: 17,126
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Great start to your TR Tara! SOunds like you all had a lot of fun and relaxation! Can't wait to read the rest! |
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04-12-2004, 06:35 PM
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#4
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Great start Tara  Hurry back with more  |
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04-12-2004, 07:30 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 3,968
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
<font color="blue"> Tell us more ... love the pictures .... thanks for sharing. </font>
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04-12-2004, 07:42 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Connecticut Shoreline
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 8,250
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
I am looking forward to reading more of your trip report. Isn't cruising the best? I love it.
KathyL
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04-12-2004, 07:44 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Orlando, Fl
Posts: 5,517
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
I can't wait to read more!!!!
Kelly
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04-12-2004, 09:01 PM
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#8
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Wannabe Snowbird
Join Date: May 2002
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,137
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Oh this is going to be fun to read! Hurry up and get that laundry done and write more! 
You know, that picture with your three kids could so totally be a photo of my kids. Well, except that there's one too many! DD has that same "bored teen girl" look that Katie has (of course they're the same age, so that may have something to do with it), and DS could be either one of the two boys, depending on the day! |
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04-13-2004, 02:00 AM
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#9
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PassPorter Message Board Manager
 PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Great start Tara - I can't wait to read more! |
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04-13-2004, 07:44 AM
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#10
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Community Rank: Globetrotter
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Bethlehem,Ct 06751
Posts: 3,918
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Thanks for sharing Looking forward to the next installment! |
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04-13-2004, 09:10 AM
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#11
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: connecticut
Posts: 547
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Tara
I can't wait to hear more about your "Royal Vacation". The voyager of the Seas is our next choice. Where did you sail to? I have teens too. And I heard that the Voyager is a great family ship. Did they rock climb?
MaryJane
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04-15-2004, 04:19 AM
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#12
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 13,146
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
This is a great start Tara, can't wait to read more.
Karen
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04-15-2004, 11:24 AM
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#13
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Yeti Chaser
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Way down south
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 20,411
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
[ QUOTE ]
DD has that same "bored teen girl" look that Katie has
[/ QUOTE ]
Wait, my DD is only 12 and she has already perfected that look! Do teenage girls look any other way? Oh yes, I remember now, the "roll the eyes" look. I see that one quite often too 
Tara, I want to hear more about your cruise!! |
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04-15-2004, 04:35 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: North Central Ohio
Posts: 21,629
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Great start Tara!! DH and I also stayed at the Holiday Inn the night before our cruise last November. We went on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas which is a sister ship to yours. Awesome!! Can't wait to read more!!  |
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04-15-2004, 04:44 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 27,691
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Re: Our Royal Vacation!!!
Awesome. That ship looks beautiful.
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