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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're doing Western Caribbean on 7/25 and we really want to do one of the dolphin shore excursions. It is offered in 2 of the ports (I think) - Cozumel and Grand Cayman. My daughters (7 and 4) will probably particpate, while my DH will be an "observer"!
Which port would you recommend for this excursion? This is our first Disney cruise (and our first cruise in 11 years!). I would like to consider the quality of the dolphin "experience" as well as other excursion at a specific port that may be better than the dolphins. Also, we will be spending an additional week in Orlando, so should we just bite the monetary bullet and do Discovery Cove instead? (I know the little one won't be able to do the dolphin swim there, but she is not as excited as the older one about the dolphins anyway.)
Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!
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1973 - My 3rd Birthday - Polynesian; 1982 - Travelodge at Disney Hotel Village; 1986 - Hilton at Disney Hotel Village; 1988 - Offsite; 1991 - Offsite; 1993 - Offsite ; 1995 - Wilderness Lodge; 1999 - All Star Movies; May/June 2004 - Offsite/Contemporary; Sept. 2006 - Polynesian; Jan. 2008 - Wilderness Lodge
I'm curious to see if you get any opinions. We are going Western in October and right now, through desire for other excursions, we MAY do the kids experience in Cozumel. My in-laws want to do the cooking excursion in Cozumel and we all want to do the fully submerged submarine, which means we'll do that in Grand Cayman. So, that leaves the 4 of us (kids and DH and I) with Cozumel for dolphins. Since it is something DD really wants to do, I think we may "give in" and sign up for it.
I intended to do the fully submerged sub in Grand Cayman too, but then I saw it got fairly poor reviews (rated 6 out of 10). The semi-subs, on the other hand, got 9s. Now I have no idea what I'll be doing in Grand Cayman! In Cozumel I intend to check out Mr Sanchos, where I can do tequila tastings, lunch, beach, etc. It's not a DCL excursion, but I'm comfortable going off on my own.
We just did a Western Caribbean cruise in March. It was not on DCL. But, I wanted to share that in Cozumel, me and my girls did a dolphin encounter at Dolphinaris. It was really well organized and we really enjoyed it. I have pictures, but they are on a disc and I haven't yet figured out how to get them on my computer. They don't allow you to take your own photos (which I have heard is true in just about every dolphin encounter).
We learned alot about dolphins. We did a hug and a kiss with the dolphin. My girls were too young to do the swim. But that looked like alot of fun too!
Let me know if you have questions. I'll try to help you out
We did the Dolphin Swim at Dolphinaris on Cozumel. We absolutely LOVED it!! It was one of those "Life Moments"! There is nothing like swimming with dolphins. I see you already made a decision, though.
I ended up booking the Dolphin Discovery/Turtle Farm Combo in Grand Cayman. Basically because we want to do one of the eco park excursions in Cozumel!
You will just love the turtle farm in Grand Cayman! That was my favorite part of the day. There are huge, medium and smaller turtles. You get to hold them, and pet them and call them george if you want to! I think you will really have fun there and I hope your dolphin encounter is fantastic!
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In Cozumel I intend to check out Mr Sanchos, where I can do tequila tastings, lunch, beach, etc. It's not a DCL excursion, but I'm comfortable going off on my own.
They don't allow you to take your own photos (which I have heard is true in just about every dolphin encounter). 
*Ginger*
I think you will really have fun there and I hope your dolphin encounter is fantastic!
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