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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 going on AK cruise June 6 2016. I've been scouring the board, Pinterest, Google, anything I can find out about the excursions. I'm on a budget so I'm trying to narrow down what are "must do" excursions and what are "nice but not a "call home to mom moment"experience". I'm a flight attendant and used to figuring out things on my own because that's all I do on my layovers, and I feel comfortable booking some things on my own vs. cruise line, however having done that in the past it's always such a pain figuring out the transportation part and all that other junk. Help me narrow it down to 2 or 3 please. I feel overwhelmed with the choice. We are gold level cruisers so I will have to sign up for all my choices around Feb. 20 or so. Also if anyone has done this cruise before what night did you do Palo??? I'm feeling rather newbie ish because it's not like any of the other cruises we have done. Love Alaska and can't wait to show my family
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Location: South Dakota - not too far from Mt Rushmore!
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In Skagway we did two fun excursions through the same company (got a discount for booking 2). The grizzly falls ziplining and dogsledding (on dirt track). I'm not in the best shape but absolutely loved the ziplining and would highly recommend it. The dogsledding was fun too and playing with the puppies was my daughters favorite part.
We did a whale watching trip through rum runners charters in Juneau which was fun
In Ketchikan we did a helicopter tour through Ketchikan helicopters which was the highlight of our trip. We landed at a creek to watch salmon and look for bears, saw mountain goats and Eagles. Can't recommend enough!!
For us, the train trip in Skagway was amazing and I'd thoroughly recommend that. You can just explore Skagway by foot, if you're not worried about seeing the scenery higher up, and that's at no cost.
In Juneau, we had to do the whale watching, as DH loves whales. We've done it twice and had better luck with sightings the second time.
In Ketchikan, we did flight seeing on our first visit and that was a great experience, but very expensive. The second time, we did a nature walk and both excursions also included the crab feast at George Inlet Lodge - oh wow, if you like crab, you'll love this. Ketchikan is another place you can just explore by foot and see a lot of sights. We did that on our first visit.
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In Skagway we hired a guide who was able to take us up out of town, saw gorgeous scenery, saw dog sled puppies, Emerald Lake, etc, and then train back to town. HIGHLY recommend it. We used Beyond Skagway Tours, run by a local. Our guide, Jay, was FANTASTIC, and a professional photographer to boot!
In Juneau we did a private whale watch with Capt Terry. He is an airline trainer in the "non tourist months" but does this in the summer. EXCELLENT people skills. And we found being on our own boat so much better than being on a bigger boat with lots of people.
You can read about all our tours in my trip report from Alaska - link in my signature.
ENJOY!!!
Okay...I have never been on an Alaska cruise (unless you count the short 4 hour tours I've done playing tourist), I do live in Alaska and I have a couple bits of advice.
#1 - Wear layers...weather here is very unpredictable!
#2 - Take a rain coat - everywhere - see #1!
#3 - If going on a walking tour/hike - wear good comfortable hiking/tennis shoes - and see #1 and #2.
#4 - BUG REPELLANT!!! We have vicious mosquitos here!!
#5 - Expect rain...you will be traveling in an area that is technically a rain forest.
I hope you enjoy seeing Alaska. One of these days I will get to Southeast (where the Disney cruises go). HOWEVER...if you have the chance, in the future, you should try to see more of the state. There is so much you will miss by just doing the cruise, but it's a great way to "get your feet wet."
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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
I hope you enjoy seeing Alaska. One of these days I will get to Southeast (where the Disney cruises go). HOWEVER...if you have the chance, in the future, you should try to see more of the state. There is so much you will miss by just doing the cruise, but it's a great way to "get your feet wet."[/QUOTE]
I work for Delta Air Lines. ANC is one of my favorite layovers. However that flight is so STINKING full there is no way my family of 4 would ever make it on one flight on our passes. Hence why I choose the Disney Cruise. I love love love AK. Beautiful state. If I had to put top 5 airport layover cities they would be ANC, ASV, EYW, PWM and JAC International PRG is by far my favorite
I work for Delta Air Lines. ANC is one of my favorite layovers. However that flight is so STINKING full there is no way my family of 4 would ever make it on one flight on our passes. Hence why I choose the Disney Cruise. I love love love AK. Beautiful state. If I had to put top 5 airport layover cities they would be ANC, ASV, EYW, PWM and JAC International PRG is by far my favorite
Trust me....I know. And the only way to get out of here and not use up all your vacation time driving is to fly! So we are kinda stuck! Hope you can make it some day.
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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
We've done 2 Alaska cruises and are doing our 3rd the week after you!! In Juneau I really love the whale watching tours. We did our first through the cruise line and our second time with Harv and Marv http://www.harvandmarvs.com They are an excellent company and will pick you up at the pier and return you there afterwards. On the way back from the tour, they give you a brief 20-30 min. stop at Mendenhall Glacier as well. We were on a small boat (6 passengers) and it was amazing. Of course, seeing the whales is hit or miss, although you generally will see some, just can't be sure how active they will be.
I, too, recommend the train in Skagway. I would take a tour that takes a bus up to the train station (In Frazier, I believe) and then return by train, or vice versa. The train goes up and back on the same track, so if you take it both directions, you see the same views. We did this through the cruise line the first trip and through Chilkoot tours https://chilkootcharters.com the second time. They are a very good company and will also pick you up and drop you off at the pier.
We've never done anything special in Ketchikan, simply walked and explored the town. There are a lot of totem poles there and it is a very interesting and different place to explore.
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Ketchikan is another place you can just explore by foot and see a lot of sights. We did that on our first visit.
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