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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 were up around 7:30 and finished our packing. We headed out of Kidani Village around 9:30 and instead of stopping at the Mara, like we had originally planned, we decided to just hit a Starbucks on the way. However, there is no convenient Starbucks on the way. We ended up at a McDonalds about 15 mins from the Port. We got there without incident. We were there around 11:30 but we spent a good 30-45 mins at McDonalds. All in all, a short drive.
Pulled up to the porters and dropped off our bags. Then pulled into the parking garage and got a very good spot. We made our way to the security area and silly me had to be "wanded" because I forgot to remove my bracelets. Oops. We then went to check in and we got boarding #9. They were already up to boarding #11 so we could just walk right on!
We omitted the boarding picture. Maybe next time we will do it. I just didn't want another "fat lady" picture. We took our carry on bags and picked a relatively quiet spot to wait for our room to be ready. We were just outside the Vista Cafe on the couches overlooking the main lobby. It was great people watching.
Even Duffy was excited!
Then around 1:30 the rooms opened up and we headed to find ours. Room 6690 aft.
Over the side of our verandah -
What a great view! There was a Cheese/fruit plate with Prosecco and chocolates that I ordered all set up.
So we hung out in the room and on the verandah having our treats, unpacking and Chuck took a nap until muster drill. Muster went smoothly then we went up to the Sail Away Party but we ended up going back to our room and watched as we left port from our verandah. We met our room steward, Albert and he asked if we had any special needs. I told him that I like to have ice water at night. He brought us some right away and promised to fill our ice bucket twice daily. We had a drink (we had brought some booze in our carry ons) while watching the sun go down and I almost fell asleep on the verandah. I wondered if it would be a waste if I just spent all our trip on the verandah and figured it wouldn't have been. BUT - that would make for a very boring TR. LOL.
I finally came in and Chuck watched Wall-E while I dozed. Then we got ready for dinner. Around 8 pm we decided to go find Enchanted Garden. It was easy enough to find. We were the first ones there but shortly we had table mates. Christine and Dale were newlyweds from Florida (2nd marriage for both). They were married on Sunday and this was their honeymoon. There were supposed to be 2 other table mates but they were a no show tonight. I think maybe because of the rough seas. Jermain and Francis were our servers. They were very attentive but quiet. It was a wonderful meal!
Lobster Ravioli
Prime Rib
Chocolate Mousse
I had ginger ale with dinner as I was starting to feel the motion. It was pretty rocky and even some of the crew agreed that the seas were rough. I wasn't "sick" but just feeling off. After a VERY good dinner, we decided to check out some of the shops. We didn't buy anything right then as I wanted to head back to the room. I was starting to feel sweaty and not good. I knew I wasn't drunk but I was walking like I was! It was going to take a bit for my sea legs. So we headed back to the room. Albert had already turned down our room and he was true to his word as we had a full ice bucket waiting for us! We also had this waiting for us.
We watched some more Disney movies after checking out the verandah at night (gorgeous!). Soon enough we were fast asleep from the excitement of the day or the pure exhaustion of the past 10 days at the parks or the rocking of the boat. Maybe a combination of all three.
Up Next: A day in Nassau - did I really almost lose my hubby?!
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Tracy (aka Coop)
Last edited by duck addict; 05-28-2015 at 10:20 AM..
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I always find it a bit rocky on the first night. I hope you get acclimated quickly. I see nothing wrong with spending the whole cruise on your balcony! The sea and sky is different every minute, although I do admit you might not have as much to say in a TR.
OH Man!!! Your room verandah!!! I could live out there!!! I think I may have opted to sleep out there a night or two :roll eyes: And your dinner looked amazing as well!! Sorry you weren't feeling well
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Great start to your cruise portion! Reading your update reminded me of that weird feeling I had that first night aboard, not exactly sick, but not exactly right either. Love the view from your verandah.
Great start to the cruise, except the rocking and queasy feeling. I sure hope I don't encounter that on our Anniversary Cruise in 2016. I love your/our room pictures (we will be in the same cabin ). I am so excited to hear about the rest of the cruise!
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. Jenn
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Great start! Everything looks amazing! Your room, the food, the ship, all of it! Sorry you were feeling a little off, hope you were better the next day.
Glad to see you made it to the ship and had such a great first day. Hint 2 Bonnine the night before you get aboard, 2 more on the way to the ship and should be okay for the day If things still rocky cut back to 1 every 10 hours or so
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We took our carry on bags and picked a relatively quiet spot to wait for our room to be ready. We were just outside the Vista Cafe on the couches overlooking the main lobby. It was great people watching. 
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Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
Jenn
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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