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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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.
After reading some comments about arriving a day earlier than sailing, I am getting paranoid that I booked our flights wrong. Our cruise is on Nov 10th. I had the option to stay 2 days before or after the cruise. I chose to stay afterward because the cost of flying 7 people was cheaper that way. Our flight leaves at 8AM Chicago time and arrives about 11:20 eastern time. Gosh, I hope there are no weather delays or other disasters that prevents us from getting there on time!
I always, always, always fly in a day ahead, because you just never know what might happen. I don't even live in a place where something like snow might sock me in, but I can't know if snow might affect the plane coming in that I'm flying out on. Plus, you have to remember that once you land, you still have to get your bags and whatnot -- that's at least another 30 or so minutes. Then it's a good 40-45 minute drive to the port. I'm not at all trying to scare you, but if you experience any delays at ALL on any portion of your trip, you might be in big trouble.
I would definitely check into changing your flights and coming in a day ahead of time!
-gina-
__________________
Disney Magic ~ '02, '03, '04, '08
Grand Princess ~ '06
Voyager of the Seas ~ '10
Mariner of the Seas ~ '12
Walt Disney World waaaayyy too much (according to some people!
Assuming all goes well and there are no delays, you will arrive in plenty of time. The ship doesn't leave until 4pm, so I would guess the latest you want to arrive at the port would be about 3pm. That allows for about 3 hours worth of delays, and that rarely happens at Ohare in the morning. Afternoon and evening flights are affected more, but morning flights usually get out close to on-time, unless it's weather related. I live in WI and usually we don't have big snowstorms in mid-November, so hopefully you'll be OK.
As far as changing your tickets, that can be costly. Fares are based on your outbound departure date, so not only will you be paying the usual $50-100 change fee per ticket, but the entire fare could change with a new departure date, and you'd have to pay that increase in airfare. (sometimes the price goes down, but you still have to pay the 50-100 change fee) Unless you just purchased them within the last couple days, then the airline may waive it for you, it depends. If you're really concerned, contact the airline to see how much money it will cost to change it. That may help you decide! Good luck!
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
That is cutting it a bit close for my comfort (looking at the time of year in Chicago). If it is too costly to change your flights or hotel reservations, I would at least look into travel insurance.
You can see some recommendations in the "Insurance" thread under Planning Your Trip.
At least if you are properly insured, should something come up such as weather in Chicago (or unforeseen circumstances in Orlando) you would be covered. If your flight is delayed and you miss out on boarding the ship, you will need to find transportation to meet up with the ship or forfeit.
I totally do not want to scare you, but it is worth looking into for some peace of mind.
If it were me, that would be cutting it way to close. I'd say counting time to get a shuttle or rental car and getting to Port you'd get there about 1 pm assuming everything is going *perfectly* (no airport, airline, baggage or transportation delays). For me getting there at 1 pm in itself would be stressful let alone the thought of things going wrong.
__________________
Sarah
2002- P.O.F.Q. & A.K.L.
2005- The Polynesian
2007- Disney Magic Western Carribean
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.
I'd be nervous too. We always came in the day before, just to have a minute to breathe. And pick up last minute things we forgot.
I'm also of the school of first in line, first to start my cruise. I know some like to leisurely stroll in at 1:00, but for me, boarding early means I am getting my money's worth. If for some reason you are late, as stated previously (weather, luggage, transportation from airport to port), You don't have a minute to relax and have to board, find lunch, find your room and then go to the boat drill. No checking out the ship, just go, go, go.
I think you should be okay, barring any unforseen delays/issues. The ship doesn't usually sail until 5:00 (not sure when last boarding call is) but I think you'll be fine.
I'm with Joan, and prefer to be first in line to get on the ship, to maximize my time on it
I would definately look into going the night before. My husband was flying to Bolivia last week and the weather was fine here, but not elsewhere and the flight was held up two hours. He missed his connecting flight in Miami and the next flight out wasn't until the next day. The airline wouldn't do anything to help him.
__________________
here, there, and going back
Disney World May 2001
Disney Land July 2001
DisneyWorld & Cruise September 2003
DCL Nov 27th-Dec 4th 2004
WDW & DCL Sep 12th- Sep 22st 2007
Which airline are you booked with (I don't think you said) -- if you are with Southwest - there are no change fees - you will either get the credit to your account if the tickets are less expensive or pay the difference if they are higher.
I ALWAYS get there a day early - as a prime example - my recent Med Cruise - what if your bags don't arrive? If you have a day to play with -- you can work on getting the bags back...
I am less worried now because United Airlines changed our flight to a 6:30 AM
departure that arrives at 10:08! That means We will probably leave our house at
3:30-4:00 in the morning!
I am glad I called them because I never received an email notifying me of the change. The ontime percentage is 80% for this flight direct Chicago to Orlando. I also contacted DCL and the vacation protection plan we have will cover unforseen problems in getting us there in time. Such as a major blizzard (rarely happens) that prevents us from getting there in time.
glad you have the "space" now - we flew from Des Moines last February - and dealt with delays - and by all accounts - we never should have left Des Moines : (Ice storm) We didn't have insurance and our arriving in Orlando 24 hours early ended up being just long enough for a short nap and breakfast before heading to the port.
The earlier flight is a plus. You should be okay. But, plan for contengencies. How many other flights are there that day? If weather or mechanical issues delay/cancel that flight you could be in trouble. At the very least, you'll be terribly stressed ... and that's not a good way to start a wonderful cruise vacation.
Should something happen, be sure to inform the airline you have a ship to catch. I'm sure they will do whatever they can to get you there. Oh, and make sure you have trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
I am less worried now because United Airlines changed our flight to a 6:30 AM
departure that arrives at 10:08! That means We will probably leave our house at
3:30-4:00 in the morning!
I am glad I called them because I never received an email notifying me of the change. The ontime percentage is 80% for this flight direct Chicago to Orlando. I also contacted DCL and the vacation protection plan we have will cover unforseen problems in getting us there in time. Such as a major blizzard (rarely happens) that prevents us from getting there in time.
Hmm, 6:30 am is "good" news? I guess. I can't sleep on a plane, at least not without my constant travel companion, my 1st gen iPod. (who's battery is now starting to wane, what was once 9 hours is now about 4).
Did you book your air through Disney? If not, then their insurance will not cover you, regardless of what you were told.