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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Two questions:
1. Other than swimming amoung the stingrays with the snorkel equipment, is there anything to see? (We've never snorkeled so anything would be good for us to see. ) I had read that water can get stirred up as the day goes on. If we do the stingray adventure at 10 a.m., it shouldn't be too bad yet? Any comments from anyone who has done this would be appreciated!
2. If we do the 10-11 a.m stingray adventure, is it close enough to the jet ski rental area that we could make it to the 11:15 jet ski rental appointment?
We did the 10 AM Stingray and the water wasn't too stirred up at this point. I don't believe there is anything else to see in that area, other than stingrays. I don't recall looking for or being told to look for anything else.
Don't know where you pick up the jet skis!! Is it down where they do the parasailing at the main marina (Marges Barges)? If so, I don't think you'll make it for 11:15. It's quite a distance and you'd have to be running. BUT, for the CC adventure, the first 30+ minutes are where you're getting the instruction and feeding the rays, the last 20+ minutes is basically the free swim/snorkle, so you could cut that short in order to get there in time!
BUT, for the CC adventure, the first 30+ minutes are where you're getting the instruction and feeding the rays, the last 20+ minutes is basically the free swim/snorkle, so you could cut that short in order to get there in time!
I'm not sure where we pick up the jet skis. Would we feel like we are missing something by cutting it short? Is that last 20 minutes swimming with the rays or is it just time in the water?
Also, will the water be warm in August? We were at CC in April in 2004 and it was too cold for me to want to go in the water, but kids did go in for a SHORT period. I'm trying to decide whether I'll do the rays. It doesn't really thrill me nor does cold water! If I didn't go in, is it close enough to shore where I could take pics? If not, I'll do it just for the photo op of the family with the rays! Gotta have those pics for the scrapbook.
Will the water be warm? Close to bathtub temperatures.
Can the "free swim" part of the stingray excursion be cut short? Yes and no- yes if you weren't turned on by the preceding activities, no, if you can't get enough of the critters.
The stingray area is a sandy-bottomed area, so there's little to see underwater besides the rays.
15 minutes would be just about enough time to get from Ray's to the jet ski area, so if you cut the "free swim" period short by 5 or 10 minutes, you'll probably be fine.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
We were at CC in April in 2004 and it was too cold for me to want to go in the water, but kids did go in for a SHORT period.
The water at CC was COLD in April??? Uh oh. I was under the impression that the ocean would be nice and warm in the Caribbean in April... How cold exactely is it, then?
I guess it depends on what folks mean by "cold."The ocean surface temperature in April is typically in the mid 70s, and it'll be a few degrees cooler below the surface. If there's been a prolonged sunny and warm spell, it'll be even warmer. It doesn't seem that wonderful on an overcast day, or after a storm when the cooler water below is mixed with the surface water. We go swimming at Castaway Cay in December without problems. It's a whole lot warmer in December than the Atlantic along the NJ shore is in August (according to this Jersey boy).
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
SO excited about this excursion for my kids...decided to do this one b/c no additional costs for transportation and lunch there is free - YAY...besides reports are positive! Kids ages 7 and 5 looking forward to it...can dh be the adult for both or will I have to go too (1 adult per child?)
We just did it last week and it was really great. They start off with a brief talk about stingrays which seemed to be about 10 minutes or so, maybe 15. Then you head down to the lagoon for the feeding at the stations. We spent about 15 minutes feeding and the rest of the time was left for snorkeling. It seemed to be a well balanced hour. The jet skiis are at the first area of the beach taht you pass when you get onto Castaway Cay. The rays are way down at the other end. I think a brisk 15 minute walk would get you back in time though. We were doing this around 11 a.m. and the water was clear.
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Thanks for all your input. Maybe we'll plan to jet ski first, then eat, then it will give us time to do the rays after that, rather than rushing from rays to jet skis. I don't like to be hurried on CC!
And as far as the water being cold, we were at CC the last day of March and sailed home on April fool's day, so let's call it March and not April. And, I am a weanie about water temperature. I like it like bathwater, so according to Dave, sounds like I'll be in business in August!!
An update to my own question of can we do stingrays at 10 and jet skis at 11. I booked reservations online and it wouldn't allow me to do that. I had to choose noon or later so evidently Disney doesn't think we could make it.
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) I had read that water can get stirred up as the day goes on. If we do the stingray adventure at 10 a.m., it shouldn't be too bad yet? Any comments from anyone who has done this would be appreciated!
Michelle
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Is it down where they do the parasailing at the main marina (Marges Barges)? If so, I don't think you'll make it for 11:15. It's quite a distance and you'd have to be running. BUT, for the CC adventure, the first 30+ minutes are where you're getting the instruction and feeding the rays, the last 20+ minutes is basically the free swim/snorkle, so you could cut that short in order to get there in time!
If I didn't go in, is it close enough to shore where I could take pics? If not, I'll do it just for the photo op of the family with the rays! 
Uh oh. I was under the impression that the ocean would be nice and warm in the Caribbean in April... How cold exactely is it, then?
). Me, however - not so much. 
And, I am a weanie about water temperature. I like it like bathwater, so according to Dave, sounds like I'll be in business in August!!
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