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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Dining on the Ship
We all enjoyed the food on the ship. Ice cream and pizza were available all day and evening at the pool deck, which was almost too convenient! I tried to eat a healthy breakfast each morning, usually at the buffet. We ate lunch in the dining room a few times, but Peter and Chris seemed to prefer the variety of the buffet, so that's typically where we ate lunch. Dinner was another story. We ate dinner in the dining room every night but one. I liked slowing down, relaxing, and being served at dinner, so the guys let me win that one. One day for lunch there was an Alaskan buffet on the pool deck. The crab cakes were amazing! Despite the fantastic and plentiful food, we were able to stay active enough that we didn't gain weight on the cruise. Believe me, we ate!
Running clothes, hiking gear, rain gear, fleece, swimsuits...all of this stuff took up a lot of space in our luggage. We decided that if we could fit formal-ish wear, we'd take it, and if it wasn't dressy enough for the two formal dinners, we would go to the buffet on those evenings. Thankfully, the clothing we squeezed into our duffel bags passed muster, and we attended the formal dinners. We were among the more casual of the formal diners, but we were not bothered by this, and no one seemed to care.
Skagway
Shore excursions can be really expensive. By the time we budgeted for plane tickets, the cabin near Denali, the cruise, and the rental car, there wasn't a lot left over.
We chose to take one shore excursion on the trip: zip lining in Skagway. We had a blast! The scenery was incredible, and it turned out to be the perfect family activity.
Juneau
In Juneau, we planned to climb Mt. Roberts, then take the tram down the mountain. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. Visibility was about 0, and a deluge of rain drenched the city for the entire day. We dressed in our rain pants, rain jackets, and waterproof hiking boots, but when we stepped off the ship we realized that a change of plans was necessary. Instead we walked around the city, did some shopping, and eventually went to the public library, where internet access is free!
I looked all over Alaska for the perfect shirt. I wanted something unique, attractive, and kind of cool. I found what I was looking for in a shabby, small, storefront in Juneau. A group of artists called Aurora Project formed a co-op. They create designs for shirts, and the customer picks the style, the shirt color, the design and the design color. I chose black with a subtle purple design - I'm wearing it in the photo below. I highly recommend this shop!
Ketchikan
Though a slight drizzle was falling, we decided to climb Deer Mountain. Up and down took us 5 hours. The trail was beautiful, but pretty wet. I think we only saw 2 other people during the hike. We took this photo of ourselves near the top. It stopped raining just before we took it.
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Rain in Southeast is pretty much typical. Know how a lot of places have "snow day?" Well, I've heard that Juneau and Ketchikan have "sun days."
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
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The Inside Passage
The final days of our cruise were spent sailing south, through the Inside Passage. We saw so much beauty throughout the trip, yet we were still astounded by the remarkable scenery of the Inside Passage.
The trip was amazing! I'm so glad we took the plunge and went to Alaska.
The only thing I would do differently: I would skip the final dinner on the ship. It was the only meal that was excruciatingly slow, and watching the wait staff prance around with baked Alaska just wasn't all that thrilling.
I highly recommend Alaska (land, sea, or both) to everyone who loves to travel. My son Peter ranks Alaska as his #1 favorite vacation destination!
I highly recommend Alaska (land, sea, or both) to everyone who loves to travel. My son Peter ranks Alaska as his #1 favorite vacation destination!
So very glad you enjoyed my home state and am very gratified that your DS ranks us so high! I am a little jealous....lived here 41 years and have yet to see Southeast. Keep hoping work will send me to the Academy or that I will need to go down to the Juneau or Ketchikan Posts to do some work on their evidence rooms. Also, I think it is wonderful that you saw more than just Southeast. So many people take cruises and that's all they see....there is so much more to this beautiful place.
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
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.
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
We're debating Alaska for next year or the year after, so this certainly helps me out! 
Deb
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