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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Having a hard time and need to decide quickly!!
Still trying to pick excursions for a family with 3yo and 10 month old.
For St Maarten has anyone done the "beach bash" or "beach rendevous", and how about the "sea world explorer" or "sea and see" or "butterfly farm and island tour"?
I have heard mixed reviews on St Thomas for the "coral world". Any comments? Is the "Magens bay" tour a good one?
I think the "paradise point" sounds good, but it looks like the ship is going to tender that day so we won't be let off right near it.
Since we have the kids we don't want anything too long, but would like to do something on the islands.
We did the butterfly and island tour. Loved the butterfly farm. Took lots of pictures. But the island tour was a little lame. They wanted to take us to the famous nude beach but no one on the bus wanted to go SO they took us to the other St. Martin (French Side) and dropped us off downtown for about an hour of shopping and then we headed back. So basically it was a bus ride with pointing out sights along the way. Coral World is great! First of all, youcan get up close and personal with baby sharks and iguanas and some other sea animals, there is a great aquarium but the best thing is the tower that lets you stand underwater with the coral reef all around you and you never get wet. It is out in the ocean and you walk out on a causeway that takes you to it. GREAT! Plus there is also a beach there where you can snorkel included in the price if you have time. Have never been to Magens Bay but our kids have and they say it is gorgeous but all there is is swimming and a bar and sunbathing. They said the sea was a little too open for good snorkeling. We would definitely do Coral World again. But don't forget to shop in St. Thomas . . . great stuff. Plus don't be afraid to eat here. It is an American territory so sanitation is much better than other islands and the food is very good. We went off the beaten path into a little back street alley and found a hole in the wall with fresh seafood! Yum! We did take a bus tour in St. Thomas once that went way up the mountain to a famous bar at the top where a very famous drink was invented (and right now the names totally escape me but trust me if you describe it to someone at the excursion desk they should be able to tell you). What a view! You could always take a taxi (open air jitney) to Paradise Point cause there are good shops there but the highlite is the incline tram up the side of the hill across the street. Again what a view and there used to be food and drink at the top. Hope there still is. All you have to do is flag down a jitney that looks like it has room and tell where you want to go. If they don't go there they will tell you where to catch the right one. I think for the money and having kids, Coral World would fit the bill for you! Nice relaxing day without any rush, rush when you get there and the bus ride is not too long. Have a fabulous time! Bigred
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we were going to do the Beach Bash but it was cancelled because on our cruise it was a holiday on the island and they weren't going to be able to run it. So we missed out. It was a good thing because we had gone on a tour of the island and by the time we made it back to the shopping district I was exhausted and that would have been too much.
But it sounded like fun.
Welcome to the boards! I loved the EC Cruise
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We'll be sailing with our 18 month old so I booked the Coral World tour excursion and the butterfly farm/island tour. I know he will enjoy those. He loves the zoo and aquariums whenever we have gone before. I booked the first excursion of the day (when offered more than 1 time) so we will have plenty of time to do the Paradise point tram and shopping on our own.
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