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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I was curious about when you dock at the ports of call roughly how far you are from the good beaches. Is it walking distance? We are looking at mainly, St. Thomas and St. Croix/St. Maarten/Tortola. But info about Key West, Grand Cayman, Nassau, and Cozumel is more than welcome.
We were just trying to figure out what kinds/how much transportation we'd need at each stop. We'd like to go on the trip with as little as possible or without renting a car. Not for any financial reason, but just because that is our nature. Part of why we love WDW is once we are on property, we never have to worry about getting a cab or anything.
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"I'm doing this because I want to do it better" -Walter Elias Disney, on creating Walt Disney World
We did the Western Caribbean cruise last December (Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay) and we booked our excursions through Disney - so the transportation was taken care of - we didn't have to worry about anything.
In Key West - you can walk just about anywhere.
In Grand Cayman - we did the 7 Mile Beach Break - and it was terrific. We (all the excursion-ites) met and got into a van with our "guide" who drove us to the beach - it was maybe a 10 minute ride with a very informative driver - he told us what the rates were for every hotel along the way!!!! In fact we just found out that our "Magic" cruise is going back to Grand Cayman this December (instead of Costa Maya as previously scheduled for) we're going to do this beach excursion again!!
In Cozumel - we did the Cozumel Beach Break and didn't like it at all!! The beach was rocky....the water was rocky and it seemed like all the cruise ship people who were there were roped into a teeeny tiny area that was too small for the amount of people.......we ate lunch (that was included in our price) and then paid a cab driver to drive us back to the port to get back on the ship.
Hope this helps!!!
I can really only speak to the Western ports. Realistically, there are no beaches worth speaking of on Key West. There is one small beach, but I really don't care for it much. KW is more of a walking around kind of place. On Grand Cayman, you "can" walk to 7 Mile, but I'd rather take the bus or a taxi. They aren't all that much. On Cozumel, I'd take a taxi to one of the beaches. They're much cheaper than the excursions, either cruise line or through an independent provider. Just watch the time and allow plenty to get back. There are taxis at all the popular beaches, so you rarely have to wait for one. Figure $15 one way max. Cars are 4 passengers, vans usually 6 or 7.
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"I'm doing this because I want to do it better" -Walter Elias Disney, on creating Walt Disney World
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