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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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How lengthy of a process is this, specifically in Grand Cayman? Also, is it passengers booked on DCL sponsored port adventures off first then everyone else? What about reboarding? How much time should you allow if the ship is scheduled to depart at 4:45? I'm looking at this way early here (we're booked on the Fantasy March 2013) and have come across 2 independent groups who offer beach horse rides which my DDs would absolutely LOVE to do in GC but I'm thinking there really won't be enough time. Knowing a bit more about the tendering process will help me decide if this is anything to pursue.
If you are booked on a DCL excursion they will usually dedicate a meeting place on the ship where you'll meet your tour guide and group and then you'll all go ashore together. That's how they were doing it on the Magic and Wonder so i'm assuming it's the same for the new ships.
Obviously the excursions offered through DCL are going to be certain to begin and end in time for you to get back onboard. I would recommend booking through DCL, better safe than sorry!
Disney really has the tendering process down pretty well. It's virtually painless on the Magic and Wonder and I can't report on the Dream quite yet b/c I'll be going on that in January (come on January!!!) It's very organized and easy and there are tons of cast members pointing you in the right direction of the gangways, etc. They will tell you to keep your watch set to "ship time" so you're sure to get back in time.
Often times different ports will have similar excursions so if you're worried about the time constraints for Grand Cayman you might want to see if that excursion is offered at another port as well, just to have a back up.
We really won't know how the big ships handle tendering until the Fantasy comes on line in March, as the Dream visits Nassau and Castaway Cay--neither ports require tendering.
When we were in Grand Cayman on the Magic, it was very easy to see the "Disney Difference" there, as the line for the tenders for the other ships in port that day wound down the street for blocks--even when it started to rain. Disney, had its own line--which was much shorter--and we were back on the ship in no time. There was even the trusty "towel basket" to return our towels on the pier before tendering.
I agree about booking excursions through the ship--better safe than sorry. Also, the group typically leaves the ship en mass on the tender so that the group stays together. Guests leaving the ship independently have to make room for the excursion people and get a seat on the tender if there is room or wait for the next tender.
Well, I've have to say that with the Carnival Magic (our ship, 3700 pax) and the Mariner of the Seas 3100) tendering was no sweat. There were dozens and dozens of tenders, with many sitting idle. Three years ago we were one of 5 ships in port, moving probably 8000 people total and the main delay our ship had was the lack of sufficient space for the tenders to tie up. So that will be the most significant area of concern, which "everybody" is addressing with new builds.
The tendering system is run by the Cayman Islands Ports Authority, so until you get back on the ship there will be no difference from one line to another.
The on-again/off-again/on-again cruise ship pier is once again off. A large fishing vessel ran aground about 1 km from the latest proposed location and even though there was no leakage, environmental concerns came up again.
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