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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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DCL has cancelled the Costa Maya port on the double dip Westerns for the rest of 2008 and replaced the port with Grand Cayman. Lots of folks are disappointed on these sold out cruises. I'm OK, I just did Grand Cayman last Sept so I'll stay on the ship and do a spa day. We are sailing Sept 27th to Oct 4th, 2008.
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I'm confused - DCL website still shows Costa Maya as a port of call for the special cruises. How/where did you hear that Costa Maya was dropped as a port of call in 2008? We're booked on the Dec 20 special cruise and have not heard anything about a change in any of the ports of call (at least not yet).
Hurricane Dean did serious damage to Costa Maya and the area simply has not fully recovered. DCL did send an e-mail out to travel agents confirming this news.
I'm confused - DCL website still shows Costa Maya as a port of call for the special cruises. How/where did you hear that Costa Maya was dropped as a port of call in 2008? We're booked on the Dec 20 special cruise and have not heard anything about a change in any of the ports of call (at least not yet).
I booked directly with DCL and did not receive a telephone call. I did log on to my dcl account, pulled up my reservation, and the ports are changed on my reservation.
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Oh, I am super disappointed about this! I did book specifically for the Mexican ports. Well, we'll make the best of it for sure! Any ideas on what is the best thing to do with kids in Grand Cayman?
we booked this cruise on our western caribbean cruise last year just because it was something different than what we were just on.....and I was planning on staying on board while we were in Cozumel since we've been there....done that.....but now it looks like I might do the same for Grand Cayman. Although I MUCH preferred Grand Cayman over Cozumel, I still might want to stay on board now just to do something different.
Sabine, Dean beat the, um, snot out of that portion of the Yucatan. Right now the pier itself is capable of handling one large ship ("large" means something like the Magic or Carnival's Fascination), but the port itself is still a mess. Construction is proceeding, but the Mexican government is strapped for cash, with Dean coming "so soon" after Wilma. I put that in quotes because I'm hearing the same thing about another 'cane hitting NOLA "so soon" after Katrina. Damage at that level is really unbelievable, even after you've seen it.
we did the seven mile beach break last year when we were in Grand Cayman (DS was 7 and DD was 5) and absolutely loved it! i can't say enough about how great the water was and how uncrowded the beach was. it was just the perfect amount of time at the beach for the kids (we went with friends who have children the same ages as mine). so, in saying that, since we are now going back to Grand Cayman - we'll be doing the same beach excursion - which is fine with us because it was our second favorite port (after Castaway Cay of course!!)
We were not impressed with Grand Cayman on our first trip (not with Disney) so on the second trip with Disney we booked a room at the Hyatt for the day. We took a cab from the ship to the resort. We hung out there, used the room to refresh and keep our stuff, we used their pools, towels, beach chairs etc. Ate lunch there and had drinks. It was the best day. Even though we did not sleep in the room, the cost was well worth the ammenities that we gained. Our son had a blast and so did we! I would do it again in a heart beat!
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- DCL website still shows Costa Maya as a port of call for the special cruises. How/where did you hear that Costa Maya was dropped as a port of call in 2008? We're booked on the Dec 20 special cruise and have not heard anything about a change in any of the ports of call (at least not yet).
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