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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am still sorting through my photos but I feel like I need to get this TR started before I completely forget everything!!
I would like to say up front that I don't think we will cruise again in March. It's just a little late for us and especially this year with the crazy weather we are having in Pa. We expected to come home to Spring!! Yesterday was free water ice day at Rita's and it was snowing and icing for the occasion!! Today we are supposed to get 8-12 inches of snow!!
We will next year, go back to January and cruising over my birthday. we have already booked another cruise on the newest RCCL ship, the Symphony of the Seas!!
All of the above being said, we had a terrific time on this vacation!! We ate great food, met wonderful people and won lots of cash, so without further adieu...................
March 3rd
We packed up some last minute items and I went to the nail salon to get a mani/pedi in a pretty Caribbean pink. It was very nice to leave later in the day, the main reason being we didn’t feel rushed and it gave us a chance to make sure we had everything we wanted to bring with us!!
Our flight was scheduled to leave PHL at 5:15 PM but was delayed until 6:45 PM. Other than the delay, it was uneventful and we got to the Orlando Airport Hyatt at around 9 PM. Strangely, we were awake and kind of hungry so we got out what we needed from our luggage and headed to the restaurant for a drink and some food. We didn’t feel like a full meal, so we sat at the bar which opens right out into the airport.
You could even see Goofy from where we sat:
I didn't take any food pictures but we each got a glass of wine and split some calamari and it was delicious and just enough.
I can't say enough nice things about the airport Hyatt. It is clean, comfortable, convenient and quiet!! It is a great place to people watch and plane watch!! Anyway!!
After our light meal, we both realized how tired we were and decided to call it a night!! We headed up to our room on the 6th floor and promptly crashed!!
Tomorrow: Is there anything like the first day of vacation?!?!?!
It must have been miserable to come back to that weather in March. I can understand you going in January for your birthday next year - let's face it, you expect bad weather in January.
Is there anything like the first day of vacation?!?!?!
I woke up super early this morning after a surprisingly good night's sleep. So I got up, showered, dressed and went for a walk. I first just explored the hotel:
This is a view I'm sure you all recognize from the outdoor pool area. It was very chilly this morning but there were two people swimming!!
The crazy people in the pool!!
As I said, it was a bit chilly this morning but you could tell it was going to be a beautiful day!! I went back to the room and Muffin was up and in the shower. While he was getting dressed, I went down to Starbucks, which is located right next door to the Hyatt and got some coffee for both of us and a Starbucks 'You Are Here' Orlando mug.
When I came back upstairs, Muffin asked where my brush was and I realized ( with horror ) I hadn't packed one!! I didn't notice when I got up because my hair is so thick that I have to let it air dry for a while before I style it. So, I went downstairs again to the airport shops and the only brush that I could find was a really small, really expensive brush but I had to buy it.
We hadn't unpacked much so it was easy to put our stuff that we had taken out of our suitcases back in. We attached our cruise tags to our luggage and set off to find the Royal Caribbean shuttle area. It was locate right next to the DCL area and I am so happy that we went to find it before we had to because we were able to sign up for the first shuttle to Port Canaveral which would leave at 10 AM.
We went back upstairs to gather our luggage and had to wait only 15 minutes for our shuttle. The check in desk gave us two tickets for the shuttle and we only had to take our bags out to the waiting area to be loaded.
Of course, I had to take a picture of this!
Then we were off!!
The ride to Port Canaveral took about 45 minutes and was very pleasant. When we got to the cruise terminal, we were able to get checked in immediately and right on the Oasis!! We would not see our bags for a while so we decided to eat, drink and explore!!
We went to the Park Café for lunch where I got a nice make your own salad with blue cheese dressing and Muffin got a Kimmelwick sandwich, which was roast beef au jus on a sesame seed bun. Both were delicious!!
Then we went to the Champagne bar where I met my friend Patricia! She was lovely. I ordered a nice glass of Moet and Muffin got a chardonnay and we chatted for a long while with Patricia.
That's a fake drink and it gets changed everyday!
Then we took off to check out the ship!! The Oasis is simply stunning!! I will never get over how huge and amazing this class of ship is!! We started out on the top deck of the ship and worked our way down.
I took these elevator photos every day for about half of the week
Some weird but cool statues
A view of Central Park on Deck 8 from Deck 16
I have never seen such giant bottles of liquor!!
By this time, it was around 1 PM so we were able to get into our stateroom. We had an ocean view balcony room on deck 7 and we loved the location. It was mid ship and very central to the stairs and elevators. Our luggage still had not arrived, so we unloaded our carryon bags and looked around the ship some more. Our stateroom attendant, Victor, informed us that our bags would be arriving before the muster drill at 3 PM and he was right!! We even had time to unpack before attending the drill; speaking of which.................................
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It must have been miserable to come back to that weather in March. I can understand you going in January for your birthday next year - let's face it, you expect bad weather in January.
Great start to your trip!
It is really, really gross outside right now and I wish I could teleport back to Jamaica!!
January seems like a good time to cruise as hopefully you miss some of the bad winter weather. The airport hotel sounds very convenient for staying the night before a cruise.
Muffin’s roast beef sandwich looks delicious.
Yay, you're there! I can't believe how many people were already on loungers in one of those photos. Obviously they knew exactly how they wanted to spend their boarding day.
We also love the airport Hyatt.
They couldn’t make you one of those super-sized drinks!?
The weather here today is awful!!
Kelsey works at a Rita’s but didn’t work for free ice day yesterday, as it was her 18th birthday.
January seems like a good time to cruise as hopefully you miss some of the bad winter weather. The airport hotel sounds very convenient for staying the night before a cruise.
Muffin’s roast beef sandwich looks delicious.
March was okay but January really breaks up the winter blahs for us. The airport Hyatt is awesome and Muffin's sandwich was really delicious!! I may have had a bite or two!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Yay, you're there! I can't believe how many people were already on loungers in one of those photos. Obviously they knew exactly how they wanted to spend their boarding day.
Oh there are definite lounge chair cruisers! It was a beautiful day as well!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
We also love the airport Hyatt.
They couldn’t make you one of those super-sized drinks!?
The weather here today is awful!!
Kelsey works at a Rita’s but didn’t work for free ice day yesterday, as it was her 18th birthday.
The airport Hyatt ROCKS!! That would have been lovely to have a drink that large but I probably would have needed a nap!! to Kelsey!! I don't imagine Rita's was very crowded yesterday. I have off today thank goodness but our office is closed anyway. I don't think tomorrow will be busy at all.
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What a great start to your trip. You now have me getting ready to go check on booking the Hyatt for our pre cruise night in a few weeks. I'm still determined to sail on the Oasis or one of the other larger ships one day. We almost booked one for next winter, but Wade decided he wanted a different itinerary. We are now booked on the Freedom (which is a step up from the Adventure & Navigator that we usually sail on).
Updated to Add: I just cancelled the Comfort Suites and booked the Hyatt Regency1 I blame it on you, Tara!!
What a great start to your trip. You now have me getting ready to go check on booking the Hyatt for our pre cruise night in a few weeks. I'm still determined to sail on the Oasis or one of the other larger ships one day. We almost booked one for next winter, but Wade decided he wanted a different itinerary. We are now booked on the Freedom (which is a step up from the Adventure & Navigator that we usually sail on).
Updated to Add: I just cancelled the Comfort Suites and booked the Hyatt Regency1 I blame it on you, Tara!!
You won't be sorry!!! And you will love the Freedom!!!! Well, if Wade poops out entirely, you are more than welcome to join us on the Symphony from 1/19/19-1/26/19!!
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Well, it is still snowing like nuts outside so I think I will push ahead with one more installment today, you lucky townsfolk!!
Our muster station was in the Jazz Club, which we would visit many times this week!! We hate what they've done to the muster drill! You watch a stupid video now with fake spies and it is over the top ridiculous, not to mention I am still not sure what it had to do with the muster drill!!!
I SAY BRING BACK WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!! At least it was mercifully short! By this time, it was around 4 PM and we were getting ready for sail away.
Muffin and I scurried up to the top deck and watched the Pilot boats rev up:
Then we went back to the room to grab some sunglasses and this was our view from there:
We decided to next check out the Royal Promenade. For those of you that don't know, the royal Promenade is on Decks 5 and 6 and consists of shops, bars, Guest services, Next Cruise and is set up like a mall. In the middle, there are kiosks for selling lots of junk, a Starbucks and some beautiful sculptures.
Oh yeah, and a car!
We went down to the Casino on Deck 4 to check it out and the bar was open, so we got a nice pre dinner drink there:
Now, it was time to head up to the 16th floor and our meal at Chef's Table!!
Which I will tell you all about in the next installment!!
The snow has made you a busy beaver with the updates. Great start to this cruise! I love all the photos from around the ship. Kind of makes me feel like I'm on board, too.
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Today we are supposed to get 8-12 inches of snow!! 
we have already booked another cruise on the newest RCCL ship, the Symphony of the Seas!! 
It is a great place to people watch and plane watch!! 
Anyway!!
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I can understand you going in January for your birthday next year - let's face it, you expect bad weather in January. 
She was lovely. I ordered a nice glass of Moet and Muffin got a chardonnay and we chatted for a long while with Patricia.
I'm still determined to sail on the Oasis or one of the other larger ships one day. We almost booked one for next winter, but Wade decided he wanted a different itinerary. We are now booked on the Freedom (which is a step up from the Adventure & Navigator that we usually sail on).
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