Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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08-28-2006, 07:33 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 7,150
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Discovery Cove
Hi everyone! Im not sure if this is in the right area or not, if it isnt please feel free to move it to where it needs to go!
Anyway, my question is...has anyone been to Discovery Cove? We are thinking about doing it and wanted to see if anyone has done it and if it is worth the money.
Thanks!
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08-28-2006, 10:10 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Navigator 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: TN
Posts: 6,206
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Re: Discovery Cove
I've only heard wonderful things about it. I can't wait til DD is old enough to go!
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08-28-2006, 10:20 PM
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#3
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Northern NV
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 12,516
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Re: Discovery Cove
It was absolutely worth the money, and I'm so glad my family and I got to experience it! We still talk about it often, and we went almost 2 years ago. The dolphin experience was absolutely amazing, the other animal interactions were incredible, and even the pool/river area were the best I've ever encountered. The grounds were lush and beautiful. Even the food was good! My only complaint was that it isn't Disney, so no Mickey bars were served[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] I consider it one of the best days I've ever had. Hope you get to go! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
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08-29-2006, 09:05 AM
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#4
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Community Rank: Wayfarer 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 154
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Re: Discovery Cove
We will go one day, we just missed it this time.
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08-29-2006, 01:32 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London, UK
Posts: 1,468
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Re: Discovery Cove
It was one of THE BEST days we've EVER had. Well worth the money. If you're wondering whether or not to go my advive is "DO IT, you won't regret it"
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08-29-2006, 03:58 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Wayfarer
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: New Forest, Hampshire, UK
Posts: 120
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Re: Discovery Cove
We did Discovery Cove, In May this year and it was AMAZING!!!!
It was worth every penny and more.
Here are a few highlights of our trip that made it extra special:
1.Once you arrive and check in, everything is included except aouvenirs, even your sunscreen.
2.I wear glasses, and rather than missing something, they issue you free of charge, presciption diving mask so that
you can see underwater as well.
3.The food is really good and there is a lovely selection.
4. The interaction isn't rushed, and you are in groups of 8 so not too crowded.
5. the video they take of your interaction is amazing and really worth the money.
6. The addmission is restricted so there aren't too many people for sun loungers etc.
The only downside:
Its not Disney!!!!!!
I hope this helps your decision, and you will have a trully wonderful time at Discovery Cove.
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08-30-2006, 12:34 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Wayfarer
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 117
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Re: Discovery Cove
We went 3 years ago, DH got me a trainer for the day package and I loved it! We have many dolphin interaction plus other animal interactions. It was such a nice place and we're waiting for DD to be old enough to take. We loved it there.
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09-01-2006, 03:50 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Wayfarer
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NE Montana
Posts: 185
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Re: Discovery Cove
We went in October 2005 and absolutely loved it! We planned our day for the middle of our Disney vacation, and it was perfect. So relaxing! In fact, the epitome of relaxing! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] The dolphin interaction, while too short (HA) was amazing. You just don't get to do that every day and it is a memory we hold dearly. The park itself it clean, quiet, friendly and so unique. We also really enjoyed the ray lagoon, and spent a lot of time in there touching and feeding the rays.
You get a locker for your stuff, and they give you a plastic necklace-thing that has your credit card scanned on it (if you want to provide it) so you only have to keep the waterproof necklace with you all day to make purchases etc. Everything was so convenient. All the pictures/video we bought were great! GO ... HAVE FUN!
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09-06-2006, 08:42 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 1,969
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Re: Discovery Cove
It's really worth every penny!!!! We did it 2 years ago and my kids beg us to go back. Some crticsize the dolphin encounter because it's not really swimming with the dolphin like some of the excursions in the Bahamas but we really enjoyed it. If I'm not mistaken, Sea World admission is included in the Discovery Cove admission and it's a wonderful park too. We go every year and I never feel rushed there. They have a Dine with Shamu buffet that requires advance resos which is good. There's also a nice restuarant at the shark pavillion called Shark's Underwater Grill. At Discovery Cove the buffett lunch was delicious too. It's not commercial feeling at all. There's only 2 places to get souvenirs. They provide everything including a speically formulated sunscreen by Panama Jack which is safe for the sea life. All you do is show up with swimsuit in hand. They have your choice of swim vests or short wet suits. They have the snorkels (which you get to keep) and masks. There lockers for your belongings and shampoo, soap etc. in the shower area. They even provide plastic bags to take home your wet stuff. Bring your own under water cameras though, theirs are pricey. Enjoy!!!
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09-07-2006, 03:30 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Wayfarer
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NE Montana
Posts: 185
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Re: Discovery Cove
Yes ... when we went in October, our Discovery Cove ticket included admission to SeaWorld for the 7 days prior to or the 7 days after our Discovery Cove day. And, I believe you could go to SeaWorld all 7 days if you wanted (but you might want to double-check this). We only went one day.
We also did Dine with Shamu at SeaWorld. It was fun, but we were a little disappointed because the whales were across the pool most of the time. They only swam by the tables once or twice, and the trainer didn't talk for too long. But, the food was good, and we were closer to them than during the Shamu shows, so we had fun.
And, I agree ... the food at Discovery Cove was top notch with lots to choose from!
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09-07-2006, 03:39 PM
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#11
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Philadelphia suburbs, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 5,262
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Re: Discovery Cove
We were there last Friday (we were supposed to go last Wednesday, but I called and moved it because Ernesto was to hit Orlando on Wednesday). It was the highlight of the trip - I absolutely loved it.
We swam with Hutch, and he is quite the lady's man - he had all the female trainers wrapped around his little fin.
Besides our time with Hutch, I especially enjoyed the aviary. A few birds even decided that DH's head looked like a good place to sit - it was quite comical. The birds are beautiful and quite tame.
Food was quite good, I was very impressed. The whole day was amazing! I bough the DVD so I could re-live our time with Hutch.
You also get a free photo (I think it's a 5x7) taken of your party shortly after entering the park.
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09-07-2006, 03:53 PM
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#12
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: New York
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 4,889
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Re: Discovery Cove
I went a few years ago and absolutely LOVED it!! They sent me a postcard recently with a discount code for return vistors to use or share with their friends. I don't remember the code but I think it was RETURN. If you book tell them about it and I think you receive $50 off. If I remember correctly it is good until the end of Dec 2006.
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09-08-2006, 05:38 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Wayfarer
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NE Montana
Posts: 185
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Re: Discovery Cove
We swam with Hutch too!!! Love the picture we got of my DD13 kissing him!
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09-22-2006, 01:10 PM
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#14
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 669
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Re: Discovery Cove
I have done it and it was worth it. My Ex didn't want to go but even he ended up have a good time. We loved swimming with the dolphins and I loved the stingrays. I think it is worth it. You don't feel rushed and at least when I went it wasn't the crowded.
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