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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 planning a trip in April to Florida. We would like to go to Discovery Cove. I went online and they don't have the prices for April/2009 yet but from what I see it looks like $289/pp. Does anyone know if there are discount tickets anywhere for Discovery Cove? I do have the Entertainment booklet not sure if that is an option. That is a bit expensive but we are not doing the WDW parks this vacation this may be our only park for the week. Also, is it worth the price? Anyone been there???? Thanks!
It's a wonderful day, and one we still talk about often (and we went 4 years ago). If you can afford it, it's definately worth it. We were able to get a discount code through an Orlando radio station back then. I found out about the discount on the Discovery Cove Website, and then did some research on the radio stations.
Discovery Cove is absolutely worth the money. Discovery Cove is a part of Busch Entertainment Group which was aquired by InBev when they bought out Anheuser-Busch. Rumors are strong that they are going to sell that group whether it be as a whole or as individaul parks remains to be seen. With that in mind, the park will still be there but what the price structure will be etc. is uncertain. I'd still keep it on your to do list. Our kids still talk about Discovery Cove and the dolphn they met.
Currently, it's limited to roughly 800 or 900 guests, mostly advance resos. You just need to show up with your swim suit and towel. They provide the sunscreen (they prefer theirs as it's formulated by Panama Jack to be friendly to the sea life), wet suits, the snorkel equipment, lockers, shower facilities, bags to take your wet stuff home in, lunch. You feel as though you're on an island for the day. There seemed to be plenty of lounges to set your stuff at but just took ours with us. The dolphin encounter starts off with a short video presentation about safety to the animals in the wild etc. You then head to the dolphin area in groups of 8 for your encounter. Everyone takes turns interacting with the dolphin and getting it to do tricks for ice or fish. You stand on a "shelf" in the dolphin's area for this. At the end you walk to the end and get a tow ride with the dolphin back to the shallow area. No camers allowed though. For your camera's safety (they don't retreve dropped ones), for your enjoyment (they want you to focus on the experience vs. taking pictures) and for the animals' safety. They do have photographers taking pictures and videos which you have the option to purchase. Pricey but worth it. I recommend doing the disc with as many pictures as you want. Then they're yours to download at home and do whatever you want with vs. buying the 5x7's etc. I know some folks don't think it's worth the money but we definitely felt we got our money's worth!
Haven't been but from reading the website the price also includes your lunch and a 7 day pass to either busch gardens or seaworld. Sounds like a good deal to me!
__________________
Love, April
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass;
it's about learning to dance in the rain.
We loved it. We ate a continental BF, fabulous lunch and many snacks. Everything is included, even towels. I spent an additional $200 on pix and videos, but they are amazing. The photographers are all over the park; we have quite a few pix from the string-ray tank. We hope to go on our next trip. I would recommend it.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Haven't been but from reading the website the price also includes your lunch and a 7 day pass to either busch gardens or seaworld. Sounds like a good deal to me!
WHen I went, the lunch was quite good, actually! Like sit-down restauraunt quality at WDW.
I do some work with Discovery Cove - the park is limited to 1000 guests, so make sure you make reservations to visit early! Also, a ticket to DC is all-inclusive - all you can eat or drink (including alcoholic beverages), including breakfast, all the snacksnack bars, and a full lunch. You also get admission to either Busch Gardens or Sea World, usable within fourteen days of your visit. It's one of the most unique experiences in Orlando you can find - definitely check it out, if you can.
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