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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I have been thinking about planning a Disney cruise/WDW vacation for 2009. My kids will be 4, 8, and 12. Do you reccomend the land or the sea part first? Here is my thinking and I can't decide. If we do the land part first with all its attractions and excitement will the sea part seem boring? I think for myself and hubby, the cruise second would be nice....relaxing after all the running through the parks. Soooo if anyone has any advice I would love to hear it. We have never taken a cruise of any kind, so this would be a first. Any other recommendations for fun on the cruise would be wonderful too!
I'd do parks first, then cruise. Last year, we did about 10 days parks, 4-night cruise, and then 3 days parks. I was glad we had done most of the park stuff before the cruise, because the cruise was just so relaxing (you're kids will keep busy - trust me) by the time we got back to Disney, we just took it slow and were still in "cruise" mode!
We too are cruising in 2009 (7-night), and I think we'll do just a few days before in the parks this time. We're going at the end of August, so hence no time after the cruise since school starts just a few days later!
Just got back from 3 day land/ 4 day Sea/ 3 day lan
We are at the Poly 3 days then Sea for 4 days then Wilderness Lodge for three days. We had a great time. I think either way you do it it is great! My kids are 15, 13, and 10. The cruise is totally different than the parks and give time to be together and time to be apart. The parks you are always together, so doing the parks and the cruise gives a nice variety.
There is no getting bored on the cruise, unless you just want to. As an Adult some boredom can be a nice change, but for kids and teens you can stay acitve all day till late at night if you wish.
These are the excursions we did and loved all of them.
The teens did the Wild Side at casatway cay.
My 10 year old and I did the Dolphin excursion in the Bahamas.
My husband did the Scuba Dive in the Bahamas and loved it. He saw a Lion fish for the first time.
As a family we did the Stingray adventure.
Lots to do on board and the food is fabulous. The deck parties are also very exciting with wonderful food and fireworks, and of course Mickey is there and flies in like Tinkerbell!!
It was all totally amazing!!!
__________________
Disney World 1976
Disney World with Grandparents and Cousins 1978
Disney World Senior year Spring Break 1986
First time at Disney with kids and Husband 2001
Port-Orleans Riverside Oct. 2002
Pop Century April 20024 with two friends
Animal Kingdom Lodge Christmas 2004 with sister and all 5 kids
I like ending a trip with a cruise, especially if it's a first Disney cruise! A cruise is definitely more laid-back than a WDW vacation but by no means boring and it's the perfect end to a vacation.
As we have the 2009 rates available, you might want to consider booking your cruise shortly. Rates will only increase as time passes - this is the best time to lock in your choice of dates and cabins. Plus you'll have lots of time to make payments! Cruises booked by 6/30/08 can also qualify for a $25 stateroom credit!
__________________
Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
I prefer parks first, then cruise. I tend towards overplanning (or at least over-researching), so I think if I cruised first, I'd waste a chunk of time contemplating and revising plans for what to do at the parks. Because I couldn't fully know the cruise activities ahead of time, I was able to relax and "go with the flow" for several days. As previous posters have noted, there are some many activities for every age and interest group that it is unlikely that anyone would find the cruise boring.
I also discovered that after several days walking around the parks, a foot massage and pedicure at the onboard spa felt wonderful.
I agree with most of the postings. We did 2 days on land, 4 nights at sea, and then 1 day on land this past spring. We enjoyed doing most of the trip on land first, then cruise. And if you can, keep the magic alive and do a "slow" couple days at Disney again. (Maybe hit some of your favorite attractions.)
When you take the cruise, you are off the boat by 9am sharp!! So to go straight home would kind of be a downer after all the magic. And the magic at sea is much different then the magic on land.
Whatever you do decide, think of what is best for your family and it will be the perfect vacation either way. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!
My vote would be for some time in the parks before and after the cruise. While I enjoyed the cruise, I also missed some of the land stuff. Do the majority of your land time before the cruise, then throw in a few days after. That way you can catch some things you might regret missing the first time around.
I too agree! Land first. It's much more relaxing that way. You also won't have to worry about getting to the ship on time. If your flight is delayed for some reason the parks won't leave with out you
There is plenty to do on the ship. It's definitely not boring!! So don't worry about that. It's just not as rushed as the land portion.
I'm planning the same adventure myself...first time cruiser too! I agree with you...land then cruise. We go full force in the parks. The rest would be nice on the ship. Although after reading the post I may add on 2-3 days land after the cruise.
Sounds like a plan!
We've done it both ways, one week cruise followed by 1 week land and the following year we did one week land followed by one week cruise. We agree with the others. Do land first and you can try to relax on the cruise. There is more than enough to keep you and your children busy if you want. You can also just relax and enjoy the ocean view. We have also done one week land, a 3 day cruise and 2 days back at WDW which was also good but we didn't do a lot the last 2 days, just a few of the main rides we like. Enjoy
Most people go for the cruise second to relax after visiting the parks. Personally I like the idea of cruising first to get some relaxation in before hitting the parks.
If you book the Land/Sea pkg. I believe you have to do the parks first (but this could change by the time you go). We leave on Jan 22 and we are doing the land/sea pkg-so we are at the parks 3 days, cruise 4 and then we are coming back for 8 additional nights at Pop Century! Only 24 days to go!
I agree also. For us, we are doing a 2010 anniv adult only cruise. It will be our first one. Dh can't be convinced to go on a cruise for less than a 7 day one so it will be land first, definatly! If we were doing a shorter cruise, I would do land-sea-land.
We love to do a "Cruise Sandwich"!
Since we live in MN and winter travel can be "iffy"at times,we always plan to fly into Orlando at least one day prior to the sailing.
with our APs we skip over to a Park for fun.
And actually-delays aren't always weather related,anyway.
Then we enjoy our cruise and spend a few more days playing in the Parks.
Our last cruise we spent on night at Vero Beach (DVC) in hopes of seeing a shuttle launch from there (it didn't go)-but did love the relaxed atmosphere of that resort and then went on to Saratoga Springs for a few day of Disney Christmas Magic.
I don't think you can go wrong no matter how you chose to do it.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
TOT hiding in Morocco
WDW then Cruise
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
