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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My question is: Should you do the water anything if you cannot swim , well that didn't sound right More specific, for example the banana boat excursion or the Atlantis Aquadventure Park. Do they offer life vests on all the excursions that are water related? DS is a swimmer and loves anything water, me on the otherhand likes nothing ocean or over 4 feet water related. I want him to have fun n the water, but I need my nerves to be ok at the same time. DS is 11 and I would never survive sending him to a waterpark or water ride out of my sight, but I don't want to short him on the fun because of me. What to do what to do. Any suggestions you have would help.
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Well, Castaway Cay will be fine. You can hang out on the beach or wade into shallow clear blue water. Just a little further out is a jungle gym of sorts that DS can swim out to and you'll still have a full view of him. There are lifeguards posted on the structure, so don't worry about that.
Regarding other things - most boat rides usually require you wear lifevests, however the swimming excursions are not known to me. Others who've taken those will be able to answer more fully on that.
I would consider finding excursions that he will like that don't require your having to go swimming (stingrays, etc); explaining to him that he will have this opportunity and that opportunity to go crazy in the water. At 11, he'll be able to understand compromise. After all, he's on a Disney cruise! It doesn't have to be all swimming all the time, does it?
AFAIK from reading up on our upcoming trip, you must wear vests. I am not sure what the swimming requirements are for each as we are all good swimmers. However, since we have never really snorkled before, we will probably not combine it with open water.
For pools and waterparks (like Atlantis), non-swimming adults will be fine - the water depths are typically four feet or less, and maximum depths (except in diving areas) will be no more than five feet. Maximum water depth in the pools on the ship is four feet.
Banana Boat rides require life jackets, as does any water sport where there's a chance of going overboard in deep water (sailboats, jetskis, etc.). The Banana Boat ride may still be scary for a water-shy person (it's kind of like riding a galloping horse in the ocean) - you may have a hard time looking after your child when you're worried about your own safety. You may want to distract him with other, less challen ging activities, like Castaway Ray's Stingray excursion. That happens in shallow water.
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, well that didn't sound right 
More specific, for example the banana boat excursion or the Atlantis Aquadventure Park. Do they offer life vests on all the excursions that are water related? DS is a swimmer and loves anything water, me on the otherhand likes nothing ocean or over 4 feet water related. I want him to have fun n the water, but I need my nerves to be ok at the same time. DS is 11 and I would never survive sending him to a waterpark or water ride out of my sight, but I don't want to short him on the fun because of me. 
What to do what to do. Any suggestions you have would help.
1DisneyMom
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