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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Great update! I hear ya trying to do a TR around the holidays!!!
Okay.....what is a kinder egg???
I think maybe the water in Cozumel is just generally cold? When we were there in April we thought it was quite chilly then too - even though it was hotter than blazes that day!!!
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What a gorgeous island! And the color of that water is just amazing. Too bad it wasn't a bit warmer for swimming. It does sound like a wonderful day in port, although the water trampoline was a fiasco. They need to re-design that thing!
Again, you and Toni looked so nice for dinner. From your descriptions, the crew and servers on your ship could give the fabulous DCL CMs some real competition.
The crew and servers were fabulous. I have nothing bad to say about them! And yes, they definitely need a redesign. It's not user-friendly!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great time on your excursion! And how great they had Kinder Eggs there! Who knew?
It was so exciting to find those eggs! LOL!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like a nice relaxing day on the island. I could sit in one of the hammocks right now! That water looks amazing, but I'll pass if it's cold. The water trampoline sounds like a lot more trouble then what it was worth!
It was definitely more trouble than it was worth. And I'll grab a hammock right beside ya! I could so use a great hammock nap!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDolphin
Sounds like a nice relaxing day on Cozumel. Dinner sounded very nice (garlic soup... interesting).
Yeah the soup was definitely interesting. Not bad, but... interesting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
We did an excursion to someplace in Nassau - Blue Lagoon? - and they had a full water "playground" with slides, trampolines, etc. My kids made scampering up on all of it look so EASY, so I gave it a try. Not so easy! So I feel your pain, and agree, it can be mortifying. My DS was the one pulling me up - and pulling my arms out of their sockets, I think! Otherwise, sounded like a great day! I could go for a hammock with that view right about now! But Toni had a better drink choice, imho!
I went to Blue Lagoon Island about 18 years ago. There wasn't a water playground then, though. LOL sorry that you had to experience the "joy" of getting yanked up on one of these, too! And yes, in retrospect, Toni's drink surpassed mine!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great updates - and how funny, we can see a Senor Frogs from our stateroom right now!
I love that you could see one from your stateroom as you read that! Heck I love that you are IN a stateroom right now!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Great update! I hear ya trying to do a TR around the holidays!!!
Okay.....what is a kinder egg???
I think maybe the water in Cozumel is just generally cold? When we were there in April we thought it was quite chilly then too - even though it was hotter than blazes that day!!!
A kinder egg is something I discovered in Germany. It's a chocolate egg, but in the center is a toy. The last time I was in Cozumel (Dec 2001) we didn't go in the water - we did the ruins. But I'll note this for future reference!
Quote:
Originally Posted by num1DVCfan
What a nice relaxing day. I want to crawl up in a hammock right now! That truly looked like paradise.
Oh when we went to Senor Frogs in Cozumel, they told us the same thing about prepackaged ice. We never got sick either, so it must be true.
I'm guessing that I can take them at their word, since it worked for you, too!
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I can't find my notes from today, which is annoying, but I'll go from the photos and my rotten memory, and between those two things, it should be fairly accurate, I guess! I hope, anyway!
I don't know what time room service was delivered, but I had a Skype session with Meri this morning, so I'm guessing that we had it delivered around 930am'ish. We got our usual... lol...
I know we went out on the deck today probably somewhere around 1030am... We were back up on Deck 12, enjoying some sun
This morning they had a fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation. You could pay $10 and get a tshirt and do a few laps around the track with the crew. I didn't do it, but I wish I had.
The tshirts
At this point we could see gray skies and rain ahead. We decided to go in and get some Starbucks and hang out on the promenade a bit. But on the way in, we paused for a photo-op!
I don't think I mentioned before but this was a Dreamworks Cruise, and so the Shrek characters, as well as those from Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda were around for parades, photo ops, etc throughout the cruise at designated times / places. Meri would have loved that, I must say!
Shortly after I took this photo, the rain poured down, so we had good timing!
We stopped at the room to drop off our bags, and then went down to the Promenade. We hit the Cupcake Cupboard at 11:51am. Toni got a red velvet and I got an orange creamsicle. It was $3.00 even ($1.50 each) for the mini cupcakes.
Then we walked across the way to Starbucks and got coffees. Toni got a caramel machiatto ($3.25) and I got a regular latte ($2.75). They made her drink cold and mine hot. We sat with our cupcakes and coffees and relaxed for a bit. I found mine to be far too rich for my taste, but it was very good.
After that, we did some shopping and browsing in all the stores along the Promenade. I got a few things... 5 post cards (.50 each), a pen that has a floating ship that moves up and down ($3.95), a dolphin bracelet for myself ($6.99), a magnet ($5.95) and two thinsg of taffy ($10 each). Then we headed back down to the room for a bit. It had stopped raining at this point so we went up to the top deck to see if the rock wall was open. It wasn't open until 1:30pm, and it was only 1:10pm, so we watched the Flow Rider for a bit.
Wipeout!
We were a little worried about the clouds ahead...
I was second in line to climb the wall when it opened... wanted to make sure I got up and back before it rained! We had to wear pants and socks, so I threw capris on under my cover-up (over my suit) and then had a pair of socks in my bag that I used.
They gave me an easy wall, thankfully. Straight up!
Ringing the bell!
I got a cramp partway up, but I pushed through and did it! Phew! Right after, we decided it was time to hit Johnny Rockets!! Had to celebrate!!
We sat at the counter and watched the kitchen!
They brought us an appetizer without us even asking!
I got a Fanta (which of course I was charged for).
For you veggies out there... you can eat here, too!
My cheeseburger
After we ate, we settled up the bill ($4.95 for each of us for a cover charge, plus $2.25 for my soda) and walked back towards the main pool area.
We ran into our travel agent at the bar, and she bought us drinks! We both got the berry colada and it was absolutely FABULOUS!!
It is totally going to be my drink of choice going forward.
After hanging out for a bit with Denise, we headed over to some chairs to lay out. We ran into Matt and Warren and hung out with them for a bit.
They were showing football games on the big screen. The Packers played first vs the Vikings. I rooted for the Packers, of course. We watched a waiter walk around with a rum bottle on his head, which was pretty funny.
We relaxed in the sun for a while. Warren went to go climb the rock wall before it closed, and Toni and I went into the pool (which was FREEZING to the point of awfulness) and then went into the hot tub for quite some time, to warm up.
After Green Bay, the Steelers were on. I like both teams, but I rooted for Pittsburgh.
We watched the game for a bit, and then it was time to go down and get showered and dressed. We were all meeting in the theatre at 6:15pm to watch the show before dinner.
Everyone showed up and we grabbed seats on the side of the theatre.
We weren't supposed to take photos, so I only took a couple, lol.
After the show, we still had time to kill, so Matt, Warren, Toni and I went to get a drink at The Hoof and Claw pub. Weird name but... lol. I got a white zin, which Matt generously paid for.
Finally it was time for the last dinner! I have to apologize now, I took a shocking lack of photos tonight!!! I have no idea what got into me! I didn't photograph the menu at all! *doh*
Yes, another shrimp cocktail! Yum!
I got two more appetizers, but darn if I recall what they were!! And this time I had 5 dinner rolls! Oops!
Dinner was rigatoni in a cream sauce
It was VERY good, but Hilda was very worried because I didn't finish it. Of course... I had eaten 5 rolls and 3 appetizers so... DUH! LOL! I reassured her that it was perfect good, but that I was incredibly full!!
The servers did another special song and parade before dessert, which prompted many jokes from us at the table... because our desserts were piled up on the cart right behind us... and we were dying to get our hands on them! We joked about just grabbing them and enjoying them!
Cheering for Hilda!
At this point I handed my camera across the table... because we had a surprise for Matt... he was sort of the butt of a few jokes because he was a bit clumsy and had wiped out on a scooter in cozumel and had broken a deck chair, and some other crazy things... so to add to the amusement, we told the server it was his birthday! Now, it sort of counts because his birthday IS in December (at the end of the month)... but still...
My dessert was key lime pie
We took some pictures with Hilda
After dinner we stopped at the Schooner Bar again for more singing along!
Warren and I sat up by the piano player for a while. He had a ledge around his piano (for drinks and snacks) so you could hang out and talk to him and sing along up close and personal!
Then it was time for 80's night in the Catacombs! It started at 11pm, so we headed across the way into the club, and downstairs to our "usual" section. We pulled some chairs over to the table and got situated, and waited for the good tunes!
Unfortunately... the DJ seemed to be unaware of what 80's music was, exactly. He played music from just about every era EXCEPT the 80's! And when he DID hit an 80's song correctly, he would make it a techno version, which was no fun. We were all a little annoyed because we were there to hear 80's music... but oh well. We still had fun. We got some drinks (I got a fuzzy navel for $6.25) and talked and laughed.
At around 11:45, we decided to head up to the hot tub for a while. I wanted to go in the one that went out over the water, so we headed to our rooms to change, and then it was up to the hot tub!
By the time we got to the elevator to go up, it was after midnight... and therefore the dreaded Monday... the day we depart! The horror!
We sat in the hot tub laughing and talking for about an hour, and then headed back to our rooms.
I swear I have a bathing suit on! That was a big joke, of course, lol.
The last photo of the night was me with the big dog statue, lol.
We finished packing and went to bed around 130am... setting a wake-up call for 7am. Yuck!
Last day already? It sounds like a great day, though, with one last meal at Johnny Rockets and a great, fun night in the dining room, clubs, and hot tub. Oh, no-- a 7am wake-up call, and I imagine no room service on debarkation day.
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I have to apologize now, I took a shocking lack of photos tonight!!! I have no idea what got into me! I didn't photograph the menu at all! *doh*
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