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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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

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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
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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 09-16-2012, 10:14 AM   #121
rlb38
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A great last day, must have been wonderful to go to Castaway Cay twice. I obviously haven't had enough caffeine this morning because at first glance I thought your last towel animal was Mary Poppins umbrella
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Old 09-16-2012, 10:30 AM   #122
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What a fantastic cruise you all had together!!! I love how the kids really enjoyed their clubs and the adults had some nice adult time together! The beaches look beautiful and it sounds like you took advantage of the fun activities that were offered on the beaches as well Those cocktail drinks the bartender made up for you all looked delish So sad this cruie is coming to an end.
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Old 09-16-2012, 12:13 PM   #123
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What a great final day. I definitely need to spend some time in those adult bars on our next cruise..
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Old 09-16-2012, 12:57 PM   #124
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Great updates Jill! Kudos to you and Mary Devall for "braving" the Stingray adventure! I'm so bummed your cruise is over though!
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Old 09-16-2012, 02:58 PM   #125
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Sounds like a wonderful last day!!
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Old 09-16-2012, 04:14 PM   #126
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A wonderful last day! I really hope we can do this next year! After reading this it's made me so excited!
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Old 09-16-2012, 05:38 PM   #127
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What a great last day! I don't think I could've kept up with your bar hopping...instead of being the designated driver, I could've been your designated door opener!
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Old 09-16-2012, 05:45 PM   #128
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Two days at Castaway Cay? Awesome! Great times.
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Old 09-16-2012, 06:23 PM   #129
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Aww, it went by so fast! But your family all seems so happy, and like you had a fabulous time! I really need to try one of those Konk Koolers...
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Old 09-16-2012, 10:23 PM   #130
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What a great last day...and those restrooms are cool, I may have a photo or two of them in my cruise pictures also!
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Old 09-17-2012, 12:04 PM   #131
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Charlie and I had been given specific orders not to wake Macy and Gem. They had plans to sleep late while we went on a morning fishing excursion and they were going to meet us on the island shortly before their rescheduled afternoon parasailing excursion. Being the good obedient parents that we are, we quietly drank our room service coffee (with Baileys) and got ready for our day of fishing. We went up to Cabanas for a quick breakfast and then headed off the ship only to find that our excursion had been canceled. I think it was because it was too rough but I am not positive. As you can see from these pictures, it was a really nice morning:





We decided to head over to Serenity Bay and just spend the day relaxing. I had been to that side of the island once but Charlie had never gotten to experience it so I figured it would be a great way to spend our last day. We hopped on the tram:



We were taken half way and then had to hop on another tram that would take us to Serenity Bay. On the second tram, we met a really nice lady, Rachel, from Canada who worked in the spa. We chatted with her about our trip to Vancouver and the Alaska cruise we took last summer and even spotted Thom running the 5K.

It was pretty early so there weren’t many people out on the beach yet







We found some chairs, sun screened up and just relaxed for a while. We were both pretty bummed about not getting to fish but I had an idea . I told Charlie I was heading to the bathroom but instead made my way over to the spa checkin desk. I asked if they had any openings for a couple’s massage and lucky for us there was at 11 a.m. It was just before 10 so I had about an hour to convince Charlie . He considers spa stuff to be girly but Macy and I have gotten him to come with us for mani/pedis a few times so I figured it was worth a shot. This would be his first massage ever .

I made my way back to the beach and told him about my surprise. I am the one who ended up surprised because he agreed without much effort on my part . We sat for a bit longer and then decided it was time for some Konk Koolers so we packed up and headed for the Castaway Air Bar:







Notice the green umbrella in the picture behind me. We decided to sit there so we could hear the island music that was playing at the bar and enjoy our drinks.

At 11 we checked in at the spa desk, did the paperwork and were seated in a shaded waiting area. A few minutes later our friend Rachel from the tram ride earlier in the day came walking up and called our name. We laughed about what a coincidence it was and proceeded to Spa Cabana #1. The other masseur whose name escapes me now asked us both a few questions and what followed was a very relaxing hour that went by way too quickly and ended with the ringing of their little bell (although they did not make us hold hands). We were instructed to be sure to rinse the massage oils off and reapply sunscreen before heading back out into the sun which we did. Charlie was very happy with my surprise and agreed that he would happily do it again - he's a very smart man!

By this time we were quite hungry so we headed to Serenity Bay BBQ for lunch. Charlie’s second surprise for the day came when I told him they have ribeyes and lobster here on the buffet. To say he was a very happy man at this point is a major understatement! We enjoyed our lunch, got a couple more Konk Koolers and headed back to our chairs on the beach. I think Charlie could have stayed here forever:



Notice the bar in the background.


Macy and Gem called us a little after 1 to let us know they were off the ship and getting lunch. We agreed to meet them on the family beach in about an hour.

We met the girls on the family beach and played around in the water a little before it was time to take them for their parasailing excursion.





We ran into Maddie and Thom on our way to Marge’s Barges and they sat and waited with us until it was time for the girls to parasail.

Love these smiling faces








I decided to head back onto the ship while Charlie waited for the girls to get back. While he was waiting he met up with someone he knew and had not seen in years. He told me the story but I can’t remember who it was .

We had plans for a round of bar hopping before dinner with Jill and Thom since they had not made it to all the bars on the ship yet. Charlie and I had made friends with a few bartenders on the ship during the week so we also wanted to see them again before the cruise ended. Our favorites were Pia from Chile who worked at the Quiet Cove poolside bar during the day and at Pink in the evenings and Selami from Turkey who worked at the Skyline Bar. They were so wonderful to us during the cruise and even made sure to have beer on hand each night in their respective bars for Charlie who doesn't really drink anything else (except for Konk Koolers ). Charlie had also made friends with one of the ship's officers, Dean from Australia, who jokingly gave Pia and Selami a hard time for serving beer in the champagne and martini bars!

I think Jill covered our bar-hopping, dinner and girls night out so I’ll just say that we really enjoyed our last night aboard the Disney Dream and I was not looking forward to having to disembark in the morning .
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Old 09-17-2012, 01:37 PM   #132
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Oh wow - love your idea of a surprise, that's definitely a surprise I'd love! I was thinking of getting a massage at Castaway Cay and I'm still debating, but it helps to know that they tell you to rinse off the massage oils and reapply sunscreen, as I remember reading in my PassPorter that the oils make you burn more easily, which had worried me...
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My Previous Trips21 trips to WDW, 6 to Disneyland in California, 9 to Disneyland Paris, 1 to Hong Kong Disneyland, 1 to Tokyo Disney, 1 to Aulani, 1 to Hilton Head, 2 to Vero Beach and 13 Disney cruises on the Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy
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Old 09-17-2012, 01:51 PM   #133
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Sounds like a great day on Castaway Cay!!
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Old 09-17-2012, 04:43 PM   #134
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What a wonderful CC day! Serenity Bay is just a slice of heaven. I'm sorry this trip is about to end.
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Old 09-17-2012, 05:39 PM   #135
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What a fabulous, relaxing last day! I think I would be in heaven at Serenity Bay!
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