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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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OK, so we will have a four and five year old with us. We are planning on taking a taxi on our own to Coral World and were wondering if we need to worry about car seats? THey are both just in booter seats, but I was not sure about the taxi thing. The last time I went, many years ago we were in some kind of open air bus thing so any suggestions would be great. Also what about ST Marteen, if we decided to go to a beach away from the pier. Thanks
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I would not plan on it. Most of the Caribbean (other than Puerto Rico) should be considered "rustic". Not third world, but not with all of what we call necessities.
While St. Thomas does come under US expectations (booster seats, etc.), there's an overriding reality - booster seats are generally not required in taxis and other public transit.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a child restraint is required for ages 5 and under, but adult seatbelts are adequate for children 3 and older.
I wouldn't call St. Martin rustic, but that's another case where, regardless of other local regulations, they won't be required in taxis. They weren't even offered as a rental car option (through the agency we used, at least). We brought our own safety seat for Alexander, but the car didn't have Latch anchors (not built to US domestic requirements, in other words).
According to one St. Martin car rental site, "Children under four-years-old should be in a child safety seat. Older children should ride in the back seat."
If you have the backless boosters, they're easy to carry and easy to use. So, if you want that protection, bring it with you.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Yeah, I admit, "rustic" probably wasn't the right word. But "third world" or "backwoods" certainly don't apply, either. The reality, I guess, is that other parts of the world are different. In fact, other parts of the US are different. That's part of the fun of traveling.
OK, so we will have a four and five year old with us. We are planning on taking a taxi on our own to Coral World and were wondering if we need to worry about car seats? THey are both just in booter seats, but I was not sure about the taxi thing. The last time I went, many years ago we were in some kind of open air bus thing so any suggestions would be great. Also what about ST Marteen, if we decided to go to a beach away from the pier. Thanks
My sister used to work for Carnival so we cruised w/ her when dd was 2.5yo and 3.5yo. I'm also a certified car seat tech so having my children use car seats when riding in vehicles is very important to me.
For both trips we flew to the cruise using dd's car seat. That is a non negotiable for me at that young age. If dd was over 4yo at the time and we definitely didn't need car seats at our destination, I probably wouldn't bring them... but that is where my comfort level is, YMMV.
When dd was 2.5yo, we didn't do anything that involved needing a taxi (and ergo a car seat). Any excursions we did were through the ship and on their buses (no seat belts or car seats).
When dd was 3.5yo we rode in a taxi once from Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman back to the ship. I was a nervous wreck the entire time. We did have dd's seat on the ship, but we spent the day at the beach and I couldn't envision us dragging the car seat along for the entire day so we placed her in the center of the taxi (an SUVish type vehicle) and put the lap/shoulder belt on her and hoped for the best.
My sister thought I was a freak (and still does) because I was so worried ...but it's my "thing" so I'm a bit more hyper about it than most.
I can't even tell you what I would do in your place...it is such a personal decision to make when it comes to using child restraints. Good Luck!
All I can say is that' I'm uncomfortable in taxis where I can't buckle up. Which has happened to me in Denver and San Diego (California???), but only once in Cozumel, when four of us tried to pack ourselves into a car that was supposed to seat five, but you know how those go. So the car seat thing would have me sweating, too. OTOH, I never rode in a car seat and other than a concussion from hitting the front seat when my mother got rear ended, I was okay. Hmm, if that doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement for car seats, I don't know what does.
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