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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to go on an Alaskan Cruise. I don’t know when it started, but I can’t think of a time when it wasn’t one of my dreams.
Last year, my DH turned 65. We’ve always joked about how old we are chronologically compared to how young we are mentally. He calls me a young whipper-snapper. I, on the other hand, always refer to him as being an Old F*rt……..closer to 80 than 50, or that no matter how hard I try, I will never catch up to him. You catch the drift. But he takes it all in and just laughs.
Anyhoo, for his Milestone Birthday, I took him on a Disney vacation…… a few days at POP, then a 7 day Disney Magic cruise, followed by a couple of days at POFQ. And, as the name promised, it was just that………Magic.
This year, well, I turn 60. And for my milestone birthday, he’s taking my on my dream cruise -- Alaska!!
It has been an emotional roller coaster, planning this trip. We originally had booked a 16 day land/sea tour of the Yukon and Alaska, but the touring company cancelled the trip due to not enough interest. I was not able to duplicate that itinerary on my own. So, nose to the keyboard, I pored over itineraries that suited us best and just put the finishing touches on our plans. I cannot tell you how excited I am. I got every single thing that I wished for !!
The players in this dream:
Me -- Cathy, turning 60 in November, retired since Jan '07
DH (sorta) Lorne, – 66 at time of trip retired since 1997 (lucky dog)
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Awesome! I can't wait to hear all about it. I've always wanted to take a cruise to Alaska. Only 71 more days, how exciting!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great start Cathy!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!
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Originally Posted by roaminggnome
Can't wait to hear more and really can't wait to see any pics you might post. From what I've heard Alaska is beautiful!
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Originally Posted by Kaileemb
That sounds like an awesome trip!!
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Originally Posted by alisonhinsley
How exciting, Alsaka is on my list of places to visit. Can't wait read baout it when you come back.
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Originally Posted by Disneybine
Aw, how exciting! I can't wait to hear all about it. I definitely want to see Alaska for myself someday
Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I will post some details as soon as they are organized. As for photos I'm taking 25G in memory cards, so I plan to take a few!!
Cathy - you are going to LOVE Alaska. I have lived here since 1969!! So pretty much my whole life. I am looking forward to seeing what you have planned to do. Are you going to be at the mercy of a tour company or will you being heading off on your own? Would love to hear the details of what you have planned. We had a pretty crummy summer last year, so we are hoping for a better one this year. However it is April and still below freezing in the mornings. I am headed to Kotzebue (a small town 53 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Western Alaska) for all next week for work. I was talking to one of the guys in the office up there and he said that it was 10 below this morning!! Don't worry, Kotz is not typically on any guided tour so I don't think you will have to worry about that!
Take care and I hope you love Alaska as much as I do!!
__________________
Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Oh Jennifer, how lucky to live in Alaska! Such a beautiful place, by all my research.
We were with a tour company for our original trip, 16 days of touring with the group. When they cancelled, I decided to just go independent with the excursions. I can't wait to get your opinion on what I chose.
Are you still coming up by cruise ship??
Once you hit Anchorage, you have lots of options for day trips or overnighters. You NEED to go to Denali National Park. If you can swing it - go by the Alaska Railroad - you get a great perspective/view of the wilderness that way. You can take the train (or drive) north towards Fairbanks or south to the Kenai Peninsula. Either way gives you a lot to do....if you love fishing and boats, go south to Kenai or Homer and go out on a charter for halibut or salmon. Down there you could also grab a glacier cruise (usually a couple of hours long to all day) out of Whittier (going through the longest tunnel - about 2 1/2 miles - in the US - I believe), but if you are coming up the Inside Passage, you will have seen lots of glaciers and hope fully lots of marine life. North towards Fairbanks has lots of lake or river fishing, sightseeing, gold panning, hiking and, of course, wildlife everywhere!!! (On my way to work yesterday, I had a moose in my neighborhood!! I live IN Anchorage and work a mile from home - so you know you will see wildlife!!) Denali (Mt McKinley) National Park is north towards Fairbanks and offers great tours and lots to do. You can even ride a dog sled (tricked out with wheels instead of runners for the summer). There is lots of flightseeing tours that people really enjoy or fly in fishing trips. Well, I'm starting to have brain freeze trying to think of what else to do so I'll stop for now but I'm sure I'll have more to add later. You might want to check out this site if you haven't - Alaska Visitors Center - Your Gateway to Alaska - it is for the Anchorage Visitors Center. They are a great place to start when it comes to what to do in Anchorage and Alaska!!!
__________________
Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Jennifer, yeah we are still on a cruise. The things you mentioned above were included in our original trip:
We were travelling from Toronto to Whitehorse, Dawson City, Tok of course with city tours and panning for gold. We had the Tundra tour in Denali, then Alaska railroad to Anchorage. Then traveling along the Turnagain Arm to Seward, ending our land tour. The cruise was Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Straits, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, and then Vancouver. Our excursions were Flightseeing in Juneau, White Pass RR in Skagway, Whale watchin cruise in Icy Straits and finally, land and sea tour of Ketchikan. The cruise company arranged everything, and I mean everything for the group. There would be NO out of pocket expenses, other than additional tips, if we wished. We literally could have left our wallets at home. It would have been a trip of a lifetime!! Sadly, they required 32 people to run the tour and only had 12. In these times, the almost 9000 pp (CND) was just too much for most people (including us, quite frankly) but my wonderful DH claimed he wanted to give me the best Alaskan trip money could buy
Alas, when they cancelled on us, I came up with a trip at a fraction of the cost, so the money we saved will pay for another trip......maybe even another trip to Alaska.
I will post the new plans soon.
thanks for reading and a special thanks for all the info.
I can only imagine seeing a moose on my way to work.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Oh Jennifer, how lucky to live in Alaska! Such a beautiful place, by all my research.
We were with a tour company for our original trip, 16 days of touring with the group. When they cancelled, I decided to just go independent with the excursions. I can't wait to get your opinion on what I chose.
That's the only way this Alaskan thinks it should be done. Cruise ships do not show off ALASKA.
are you interested in sled dogs at all? I can give you a few ideas as to where to visit.
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He calls me a young whipper-snapper. 
I, on the other hand, always refer to him as being an Old F*rt……..closer to 80 than 50, or that no matter how hard I try, I will never catch up to him. You catch the drift. But he takes it all in and just laughs. 
I pored over itineraries that suited us best and just put the finishing touches on our plans. I cannot tell you how excited I am. I got every single thing that I wished for !! 
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Pixie Dust
I'm taking 25G in memory cards, so I plan to take a few!!
I can't wait to read the TR!
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