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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

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Old 03-14-2013, 11:41 AM   #166
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Loving your trip report! We just finished this same itinerary 23 Feb - 2 Mar. Looking at your pictures from Christmas on the Fantasy is making me antsy to get my Dec 2014 cruise booked!! We did Christmas 2011 on the Magic with the kids and thought that was incredible - can't imagine Christmas on the Fantasy. (We'll be nice and take the kids for this cruise on the Fantasy - we left them home this last time!)

I agree with the hours in "The District". We had the late dinner seating and generally wanted to head to the clubs right after dinner but they either didn't open or just didn't have anything going on until 10:30pm or later. By then we'd already been to the hot tub and the pool and were ready for bed!!

Wish they'd look into changing that up!
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Old 03-14-2013, 12:01 PM   #167
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Your room is beautiful! Much better than the little inside room we had on the Magic. I'll never stay inside again! : How odd about the muster drill. Good thing you spoke up though - that could have ended badly for you!
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Old 03-14-2013, 12:07 PM   #168
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Beautiful pictures of the ship! Can't wait to hear all about the cruise!
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:07 PM   #169
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Your room looks great! What a pain about the lifeboat drill! I'm glad we've been inside in air conditioning both times!
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:47 PM   #170
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your room/cabin looks lovely not nearly as small as i imagined. I guess i can't get ferries out of my head.
The rooms are pretty big on cruise ships these days. I guess if there were more of you in there, maybe it wouldn't seem so big, but for the two of us, it's perfect.
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:51 PM   #171
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That is an amazing shot of those two girls on the Aqua Duck ... very cool.
That is a very tiny verandah .... this is one thing that scares me about cruising is the size of the rooms.
The veranda was small, but the rooms certainly weren't.
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:52 PM   #172
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Great pictures of the stateroom! Sorry the drill was in the hot sun (we've had that in August)!
In August, I can understand, but December?
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:53 PM   #173
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Wonderful stateroom. My sister had one of the bigger ones like that and I think I want one next time. LOL
We're spoilt now - I don't think we could go back to a smaller one...
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:55 PM   #174
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The Fantasy looks amazing! On my cruise, I did the same thing - took a tour of the ship first thing. I definitely think it helped me get a feel for cruising and also helped me find my way around for the rest of the cruise. Sorry to hear the muster drill was so unorganized. They should have that down pat by now. Looking forward to more!
You'd think, wouldn't you?
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:56 PM   #175
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Loving your trip report! We just finished this same itinerary 23 Feb - 2 Mar. Looking at your pictures from Christmas on the Fantasy is making me antsy to get my Dec 2014 cruise booked!! We did Christmas 2011 on the Magic with the kids and thought that was incredible - can't imagine Christmas on the Fantasy. (We'll be nice and take the kids for this cruise on the Fantasy - we left them home this last time!)
I like your style - cruising on your own...

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I agree with the hours in "The District". We had the late dinner seating and generally wanted to head to the clubs right after dinner but they either didn't open or just didn't have anything going on until 10:30pm or later. By then we'd already been to the hot tub and the pool and were ready for bed!!

Wish they'd look into changing that up!
Let's hope....
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Old 03-14-2013, 01:57 PM   #176
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Your room is beautiful! Much better than the little inside room we had on the Magic. I'll never stay inside again! :
We've stayed inside before and we didn't mind it, but now I don't think I could go back to that...

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How odd about the muster drill. Good thing you spoke up though - that could have ended badly for you!
That was my fear!
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Old 03-14-2013, 02:10 PM   #177
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Your stateroom does look lovely and large! I'd have been furious at the safety drill as well. It's always so exciting to be setting sail!
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Old 03-14-2013, 02:16 PM   #178
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Another nice update - sorry about the muster drill but you are a take-charge sort of person. So you took charge and it worked out pretty well for you.
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Old 03-14-2013, 02:42 PM   #179
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Another nice update - sorry about the muster drill but you are a take-charge sort of person. So you took charge and it worked out pretty well for you.
I think I can safely be described as a take-charge sort of person. I really like that description!
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Old 03-14-2013, 10:07 PM   #180
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What a lovely stateroom! It is concerning that the drill was so disorganized. Now I'm thinking I'd like another cruise.
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