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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm feeling really stressed about all the choices aboard our 3 day cruise. It's only 3 days and I'm afraid I'm going to miss out on something. Should I do a spa treatment? Should we do Palo and ditch the kids for dinner or miss a show? And how do I know which night to book it? I don't want to miss out on Triton's or Animator's Palate, but I don't know which night we'll be scheduled for. What about shore excursions? I feel like there is too much. So, tell me, in your opinion what is not to be missed? I keep telling myself that we can always go again...
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I remember well that stressed-out (in a good way!) feeling before the 3-day. Just face up to the fact that you WILL miss out on some things. There's just so much to choose from. I decided to skip Palo so that I could sample all three of the regular restaurants. I stayed on-board for the Nassau day and did a spa treatment (got completely hooked on the rainforest room and missed dinner at Lumiere's because I was sound asleep on the heated stone chair!) and lounged at a nearly-empty pool. At Castaway Cay I did the Stingray adventure (recommended) and the glass-bottomed boat (not recommended). I went to the DVC get-together and one of the pin-trading sessions, but did no other organized activities on board. Went to the shows every night and loved them.
I'm glad I didn't try to do more because I got to just enjoy the ship. I highlighted lots of activities I wanted to do in each night's Navigator, but never did any. By the end of the first day I knew I'd have to cruise with Disney again some day so I'd have another chance at all the fun.
Whatever choices you make you'll have a fabulous time!
Keep stressing and you'll miss everything!!! Laurie posted some great advice above. I'd recommend skipping Palo's also and experiencing the others as a family, too. They are all so different and fun. I wouldn't miss any of the shows at night either - you'll all enjoy them. And yeah - the heated stone chairs - you've GOT to experience those at least once!!! Enjoy your trip - stress free!!!!
I hear you so well - I remember thinking the same thing before we took the three night cruise. I can thoroughly recommend the Tropical Rainforest - the hot stone chairs are out of this world. I wouldn't miss any of the shows, they're all great and if you don't get a chance to do Palo, don't worry - there's always the next, longer cruise after all!
Leave the stress at home and enjoy. No matter how much or little you do, you will have a great time. And, as everyone else has said, that's why you go again. We did the 4 day cruise and planned our days based on what looked appealing to us in the Navigator. I agree with the Rainforest Room. The spa treatments while nice are overpriced in my opinion so we didn't do any and that was fine. While Palo is probably very nice, we did the dinners as a family with the same thoughts as above, the dinning rooms are each different, the menus are a little different etc. The shows were great and as a family we really enjoyed Studio Sea. Enjoy!
A three nighter is over before it begins, so it's definitely not the time to try to squeeze "everything" in. If you know for sure you don't want to spend much time ashore in Nassau, then you could consider a spa treatment for that day. You won't want to take time away from your time on Castaway Cay, and between meals and shows, your evenings will already be quite full. Save the spa treatment for a local day spa when you're at home (it's a great mini-vacation when you really need it). I'm with everyone else, don't worry about Palo. While Palo is a great experience, all three of the main dining rooms are also worth experiencing. If you think you're likely to cruise again, don't worry too much about enhancing the first experience - you'll have a better idea of what enhancements you may desire once you know what the "basic" experience delivers (and you can't call any DCL cruise "basic").
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If you think you're likely to cruise again, don't worry too much about enhancing the first experience - you'll have a better idea of what enhancements you may desire once you know what the "basic" experience delivers (and you can't call any DCL cruise "basic").
If you've never been, then I wouldn't worry about all this extra stuff. Just go and enjoy being on the ship and seeing what there is to offer so you can add something new for the next time.
Thank you for asking this, Holly. I was wondering the exact same thing (our honeymoon 4-night cruise next April will be our first cruise ever). We already decided not to do Palo because we don't want to pay extra for it (we'll do a nice romantic dinner at WDW later in our trip instead). We're most likely not gonna book any spa treatments either because that's something I can do at home (probably cheaper, too). I figured that there'll barely be enough time to explore all the "free" stuff the ship has to offer (and ever there we'll have to sort out! ).
It definitely helps a lot to hear about what you guys who have cruised before did on your cruises!
Don't stress....That would make it work not vacation.
My husband and I have our own little cruise tradation. We eat at Palo the first night on board. Our son is usually so wound up and excited he would rather eat with his new friends the first night anyway. It also gives us a chance to slow down and have a relaxing start to the trip.
Enjoy....and remember there is a discount if you book your next cruise while on board.
I would skip the shore excursions (except for maybe something at CC - definitely get off the boat for that). Don't get off in Nassau and just enjoy the ship
Thank you all for the great comments. I'm feeling much better about letting it go and just enjoying myself! It's nice to have permission to do nothing.
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I can thoroughly recommend the Tropical Rainforest - the hot stone chairs are out of this world. 
I wouldn't miss any of the shows, they're all great and if you don't get a chance to do Palo, don't worry - there's always the next, longer cruise after all! 
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