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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Our cruise next year leaves on a Sunday, and since it is cheaper (and more snity saving) to fly in the day before we are looking for hotel recommendations. Someplace either near the hotel or near the port would be preferable. I dont know how much, if any, sightseeing we will be doing that day.
There's a hotel right across the street from the port - Sheraton Old San Juan. But it may be a little pricier than you want. http://www.sheratonoldsanjuan.com/
We just got back from a cruise sailing out of PR. We stayed at The Hotel Miramar. It was an older hotel, but the room was spacious. I booked it through Hotels.com and got a good rate on it. We would stay there again if necessary. It was about a 20 min. ride from the airport and maybe a 5-10 min. ride to the port. Be prepared for a slow boarding process. It seems the 2 times we sailed from PR, both on Royal Caribbean, the boarding process was slow. It just seems to be one of those ports! I've also heard that many of the cruisers are from PR, so don't feel the need or urgency to leave the ship in a timely manner, despite the urging of the ship cast members. I don't know how much truth is in this, but....
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Our cruise next year leaves on a Sunday, and since it is cheaper (and more snity saving) to fly in the day before we are looking for hotel recommendations. Someplace either near the hotel or near the port would be preferable. I dont know how much, if any, sightseeing we will be doing that day.
What date are you sailing? We may be on the same cruise. We're booked for 4/30/17.
We took the Southern Carribbean out of PR this past Feb. we booked the Hyatt Place directly across the street from the port Disney disembarks out of. We loved the hotel. Very clean and spacious rooms, great helpful staff. The taxi was $15 for the 2 of us and took approx 10 minute drive. BE aware Disney sails out of Port Americana, NOT the old town port. Confusing because when Disney ships visit PR as a one day port stop on other cruises, it comes into Old Town. We sailed with friends who didn't realize the difference and got their hotel in Old Town and had a long taxi ride to correct port the morning of departure. There was not much to do around hotel but we loved viewing the ship from ore window! Hyatt comes with free delicious breakfast incuding omelet bar. We would stay there again in a heart beat. Hotel got us a taxi across the street on departure day and it was there in 10 minutes. I think it cost $5 or $7 don't recall. One other thing to note, these hotels very near the port are usually fully booked on nights prior to cruise departures. When they say 3 pm check in they mean it. We waited in the lobby 4 hours before we could get into a room because our flight landed early that morning. Don't expect to check in early!