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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Forgive me if this has been asked but we are planning on a 2012 cruise and have been thinking about inviting my niece. I know for a fact that she doesn't have a passport so what would we need in order for her to sail with us? Would a birth certificate suffice? Would any other documentation be needed due to the fact that we are not her actual guardians?
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I highly recommend getting a passport or passport card for her travel. There is going to be a paper in your documents that you have to have signed from the parents prior to sail or they will not let her board,
Being that its in 2012 not sure what guidelines may change or start to be enforced but I would recommend getting her a passport just in case they start to enforce the passport requirement further then just a birth certificate. Plus if something happened and she or all of you needed to fly home from a foreign port for any reason you'll have the proper documents to do so.
If her parents are not going with you, you will need to have a letter stating that they give you permission to take their child out of the country, and make decisions on their behalf should anything happen and she need medical attention. I believe it needs to be notarized.
I just saw a special on the Oasis of the Seas and there were at least 4 families who all had children either neice/nephew or their own kids traveling with different last names due to either taking them as a gift, or divorce. They didn't have documents stating they were allowed to take them out of the country and they all had to contact the other parent or parents and have a letter faxed because of concerns of Child Abductions. So its best to be covered on all corners to make sure you aren't at the port frantic because they need it!
So I would recommend having the letter and a passport to make sure that your covered. But as of right now as long as your leaving from Port Canaveral and returning to Port Canaveral they only require a Birth Certificate but since regulations can and have changed in the past best to keep up to date as it gets closer to your sail date.
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I don't see the passport regulations changing in the near future. Creating the "closed loop exception," which relaxed the passport requirement specifically for cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port, was something that took a lot of hearings and lobbying effort. Unless something really bad happens as a result of this exception, it's not likely to change at short notice (and the way the government regulatory process works, 2012 would be very short notice).
I'm presuming your niece is under 18, otherwise matters of guardianship would not arise. A notarized letter from her parents is essential in this circumstance. Not only should it cover permission to travel with you out of the country, but should also include the power to authorize medical treatment and make similar decisions in the parents' absence.
While in theory, a birth certificate alone is fine for a minor on a closed loop itinerary (adults also need government-issued photo ID), it's only proof of birth, not proof of identity. It has no photo or other way to confirm the child's identity. When combined with a government-issued ID (or the ID of the parents named on the birth certificate), it is used for proof of citizenship (not proof of identity). The adults' proof of identity is used to confirm the child's identity. Additional proof (like a notarized statement from both parents named on the birth certificate) is important.
A passport helps greatly in eliminating possible complications, as it is a government-issued photo ID as well as proof of citizenship. While the adult(s) traveling with a minor still need a notarized letter to establish the child is traveling with parental permission (and that the guardian has the power to authorize medical treatment, etc.), a passport simplifies customs and immigration-related matters.
While not required by regulations, I'd recommend a passport rather than birth certificate under these circumstances.
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When I take my own kids out of the country without their father (to whom I'm married), I bring along a notarized letter stating that I have his permission to take them to 'wherever I'm going' and that we will be returning on 'specified date.' I've been asked for this by the border people every time I've travelled since I started travelling with them without my husband.
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