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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 will be booking the Magic 7 night western (verandah) this weekend and do not know if I should book port or starboard. Our last cruise on the Wonder, we had a port side room, which placed us looking at the dock at Castaway Cay. I think I would have preferred a view of the beach. Anyone remember how the boat faces for each of the western ports? (Key West, Cozumel, Castaway Cay.) I think I remember reading the boat tenders in Grand Cayman...so that matters less being out in the ocean. I also heard you can see the fireworks off of the starboard side. Is that true? Thanks for the help!
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I would book a room on the starboard side You'll have better views at CC (unless there are weather/maintenance issues preventing the ship from backing in). The fireworks do go off on the starboard side as well.
We were on the Western Caribbean itinerary with a Port side room. Grand Cayman is a tender port. Port side was facing out to sea--had a great view--in Key West and Cozumel.
We also had a Port side room for our Mexican Riviera Cruise and could see Los Arcos from our verandah in Cabo!
For some reason, we have had a Port side room for 3 Disney cruises so far, and will have another Port side room for our 4th cruise--which will be on the Dream.
Maybe we will do all the itineraries with a Port side room and then repeat with a Starboard side room! Wouldn't that be grand!?!
We were Port side on our Western. We were looking right at CC (not the dock) on our trip. Cozumel I think we were the dock. Grand Cayman didn't matter, you tendered in (we were away from the dock/tender side).
Guess I will be in the minority and say as long as I am on the boat the side of the ship to me doesn't matter. Any view is great, on the dock side I can people watch and when at sea the ocean is the ocean. On the non dock side sure I might see the ocean or the beaches but to me it doesn't matter that I see that.
I book a room based on its location to the activities I plan or hope to do most. We prefer Midship rooms close to the elevator so that its an easy trip up to the pool decks or down to the clubs.
We have stayed Port and Starboard. Both times we had the same view because we backed in twice and pulled in once to Castaway Cay. So I was glad I wasn't set on a "view" because the Captains seemed to have the choice of backing or pulling in.
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Guess I will be in the minority and say as long as I am on the boat the side of the ship to me doesn't matter. Any view is great, on the dock side I can people watch and when at sea the ocean is the ocean. On the non dock side sure I might see the ocean or the beaches but to me it doesn't matter that I see that.
I book a room based on its location to the activities I plan or hope to do most. We prefer Midship rooms close to the elevator so that its an easy trip up to the pool decks or down to the clubs.
We have stayed Port and Starboard. Both times we had the same view because we backed in twice and pulled in once to Castaway Cay. So I was glad I wasn't set on a "view" because the Captains seemed to have the choice of backing or pulling in.
Amy,
I agree!
How can you go wrong with either side? You're ON A DISNEY CRUISE! No complaints!
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OK... so this is going sound really dumb! How do I know which side I'm on? We have an assigned stateroom, but I never even thought of starboard or port! We just considered the deck and location within the ship!
OK... so this is going sound really dumb! How do I know which side I'm on? We have an assigned stateroom, but I never even thought of starboard or port! We just considered the deck and location within the ship!
Port is the left side of the ship (when facing forward-towards the front of the ship) and Starboard is the right side. An easy way to remember is that port has 4 letters, just like left
And I'm with Amy, who cares what side I'm on! I too pick my room for ship location, I prefer something more midship because I feel less movement there and it's convenient. In fact when booking my next 2 cruises (I know!) I ended up going up several categories because there were no midship rooms available in the less expensive categories. I'm sure I'll survive...lol
We were on the starboard side of the Dream on the inaugural cruise, and on fireworks night we had a letter in our stateroom saying to basically keep everything off the verandah, keep the door closed, and don't go out on the verandah during the show. That being said, I love having the view of Castaway Cay.
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You'll have better views at CC (unless there are weather/maintenance issues preventing the ship from backing in). The fireworks do go off on the starboard side as well.
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Aimee
I too pick my room for ship location, I prefer something more midship because I feel less movement there and it's convenient. In fact when booking my next 2 cruises (I know!) I ended up going up several categories because there were no midship rooms available in the less expensive categories. I'm sure I'll survive...lol
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