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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hello. Does anyone know if it is possible to take a taxi to Atlantis to look around and not pay for the shore excursions? We are finding that are budget is getting tighter by the day, and our kids have high hopes on visiting Atlantis (they know we won't be doing the slides). Is there a beach close by Atlantis that is free to the public and pretty safe? We were thinking about visiting the aquarium as well, but not if it is too costly. Any budget saving tips would be appreciated.
Yes, you can take a taxi and generally save some money over taking the shore excursion. You'd still have to pay admission to the aquarium, but you'll still come out ahead paying on your own.
Visitors cannot use any part of the pool complex, though - not just the slides. If your kids want a water play day, Atlantis will not be the place to do it unless you you shell-out for an excursion. There are no public beaches on Paradise Island that I'm aware of.
Cheapest swim time is to stay on board the ship and use its pools.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
You can get a day pass at the British Colonial Hilton. It is within walking distance of the ship and you and use their pool and they are on the beach. I think it was $15 per person. I emailed them and they were very nice. They said you can purchase the day you get there.
Of course I go through all the trouble of researching this and my family decidedd to go to the Pirate Museum instead.
Also when you get off the ship, there are tour guides who will offer to take you on a 2 hour tour of the island and bring you to Atlantis for a quick tour. Our guide was Dan the Man and he originally offered $25pp but we weren't sure if we wanted to do this and he dropped it to $20. So we saw the Fort and the Queens staircase. He drove us around some neighborhoods pointing our some sights and finally he took us to Atlantis and we went inside and saw a small part of the aquarium, went thru the casino and outside again. We had time to take pictures. It was a good tour if you don't have much time to spend. Just make sure that they are wearing the badges that signifies them as real tour operators.
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Yes, you can take a taxi and generally save some money over taking the shore excursion. You'd still have to pay admission to the aquarium, but you'll still come out ahead paying on your own.
Visitors cannot use any part of the pool complex, though - not just the slides. If your kids want a water play day, Atlantis will not be the place to do it unless you you shell-out for an excursion. There are no public beaches on Paradise Island that I'm aware of.
Cheapest swim time is to stay on board the ship and use its pools.
I think I've convinced my girls not to go to Atlantis. There would be no point unless we were going to use the pools, slides, beach, etc. They seem more excited to go to a nice beach now. Thank you for your input. :-)
You can get a day pass at the British Colonial Hilton. It is within walking distance of the ship and you and use their pool and they are on the beach. I think it was $15 per person. I emailed them and they were very nice. They said you can purchase the day you get there.
Of course I go through all the trouble of researching this and my family decidedd to go to the Pirate Museum instead.
The Hilton sounds like a great idea! Thanks for the tip.
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