Yes, I'm a spoiled brat, but the anticipation is half the fun, isn't it? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Yes, I'm a spoiled brat, but the anticipation is half the fun, isn't it?
We sail on Sunday. I'm not ready. I've only had 3 weeks' notice. I'm not even close to being packed, don't feel like I've done everything I need to do to prepare. There are some things I wanted to do beforehand (door magnets, etc) that simply are not going to get done. I am VERY grateful for the cruise, I really am, but I'm just feeling discombobulated about the whole thing right now. I've usually scoured Navigators and made plans, but this one is seat-of-pants. I can do WDW that way, but NOT the cruise! Please tell me it will be OK even without all of the usual trappings and trimmings and plannings!
Oh most definitely. It will be a wonderful trip even with very little planning. Just read over your daily "newspaper" (as I like to call it ). Take highlighters with you in different colors for each of your daughters and mark a few important things you want to see and do.
We just went on our first cruise Jan 31st for a 4 night. I didn't feel I got to plan all that much. DH and DS went on one excursion in Nassau (they were the only ones to do one in our 16 member party). Everyone still had the best vacation ever! It was relaxing yet exciting still. I worried and worried (cause I'm a planning freak and everyone was looking to me for daily plans). Once we got on the boat it was easy peezy. We missed some stuff but still it was a vacation to remember.
2 tips...order room service. It was great!!!! And get on Castaway Cay early. You get the best pick of chairs!
I find I do much less planning for a cruise than for the parks, and I enjoy the vacation just as much. There's time each night to look over the next day's Navigator and decide what you want to do, if you feel the need to plan. As long as you've booked any excursions and Palo meals you want, you should be fine (and if you haven't, you can take care of that once onboard).
As far as packing, you need a birth certificate or passport and medications -- anything else essential that you forget can be purchased onboard (although it will cost way more than it would onshore). Of course, you'll want to pack as you normally do for a trip, but it wouldn't be a disaster if you forgot something.
you little A.R. planner you (he he...i KNOW you know what that means.....) knowing you as i do, my advice is to relax and let it happen, girl. i also know THAT advice will fall on partially deaf ears...and the last thing i know for sure is that you and the girls are going to enjoy it beyond belief! congrats on this milestone in your life...i am so proud of you, friend!
Some of the best trips are those with little pre-planning. Just go with the flow and let the magic happen. That's the beauty of the cruise, little to plan.
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.
speaking of stuff to do to get ready for cruising.....
I'm also a super-planner and love it. Can anyone tell me where to find that website showing the colorful stateroom door ears? (which you would put onto magnets)
I found it once when I didn't have a printer, but need it again, so I can print me some now! Can't remember what/where the site was..........
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.
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). Take highlighters with you in different colors for each of your daughters and mark a few important things you want to see and do. 
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speaking of stuff to do to get ready for cruising.....
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