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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm sure this has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything... my family has definitely decided to do Orient Beach (on our own) during our Eastern cruise in November My question is, how do you keep your belongings safe at your chair while you are "playing" in the ocean and maybe doing some of the fun things, i.e. big trampoline, etc. I will have a zippered beach bag, so do I just have $, cruise cards, etc. hidden in the bottom? Of course, I'll have my Sony digital camera too and will not always be taking pics... I plan on keeping the case in the beach bag, when not in use. I am just hoping and trusting that no one will touch the beach bag... should I place it on top of the chair or underneath, maybe, when we are in the ocean? Sorry for being a worry-wart!! I just want to know what you experienced cruisers do
Oh, another question, that has nothing to do with safety (LOL): Do you take beach towels from the ship (are they available?) or your own or do they offer them at the different beach clubs with the chairs?? TIA
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~Angie
Last edited by Belle*; 08-10-2010 at 10:10 AM..
Reason: newsletter08122010
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Do not count on keeping anything safe while it's unattended, regardless of the beach. Stashing valuables in beach bags and such is way too common a practice - if a crook is around, he/she is going to snatch, go, and look inside later on. Maybe he/she gets "lucky," maybe not.
For money, credit cards, ID... get a small, waterproof container (they sell them on the ship). A good camera? Plan to keep it with you, or make sure someone is watching your stuff while you're away. Note that sand is the enemy of good cameras, anyway. If you'll just be visiting the beach, bring something you're willing to lose, whether to theft, or to water and sand. An inexpensive waterproof case (some are like zip-locks on steroids) is a good investment, both to protect the camera from sand and moisture, and to make it easy to keep the camera with you at all times.
Yes, you can bring towels with you from the ship. For some excursions, they even keep a cart full of them handy as you leave the ship.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Thanks Dave Do you happen to know how much those waterproof containers are on the ship? And, where you can pick up a waterproof case for a camera? We just bought a Sony cybershot camera and spent over $400 with the accessories, etc., so I do not want to lose it or get sand in it, but do want to take it along on excursions. Glad to hear towels can be brought from the ship (which, funny, I just read that in my cruise clues (after I posted today) while sitting at the pool this afternoon) Thanks for answering, I really appreciate it!!
The waterproof case on the ship is around $8. The Witz cases in that price range at REI are similar, but they won't have the DCL logo on them, of course.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
I got a waterproof camera case from aquapac and it worked great. I was able to use my camera while it was in the case, so could take pics in the water. Aquapac US Store
Keep your belongings safe no matter where you are. We went on a Disney cruise in April 2009. My daughter was swimming with a group of teenagers from The Stack, the teen club, and got her shorts stolen. She was on the ship at the time. The shorts were an expensive pair of shorts (Roxy brand). So my point is, nothing is safe when left unattended, no matter where you are.
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I'm always nervous about this too. We bought 2 waterproof/disposable Kodak cameras for our day at Castaway Cay. I figured that nobody would steal them, as they really weren't worth anything to anyone but me. For all other adventures we used our good camera.
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
Idaho Disney Mom- I am definitely going to do that on our snorkeling excursion... there is no way I am going to take the good camera on a speed boat But, will probably still take my good camera to the beach (after I get one of those protective bags). Thanks for the advice!
Check out Solutions - Vacation Vault. You can buy a vacation vault that has a 3 digit combination lock you can set your own code. I have one and use it alot at waterparks. You can attach it to a beach chair or even to the strap of your bag. It can fit a more than you would think.
Vacation Vault
Portable safe secures your valuables while you play!
"Swimming at the pool, golfing at a resort, relaxing on a cruise ship...you'll be able to relax and enjoy the easy life when you're not worrying about valuables. This combination-lock safe secures to a beach chair, golf cart, closet rod...even a shopping cart handle."
We stayed at Orient Beach for about a week a few years ago and we did not have any problems, but then we carry only a small waterproof camera r
that my husband carries into the water with an mp3 arm band made for exercising. You may be able to find a similar armband for all your valuables. While not waterproof it will at least secure your cruise cards and cash. Another option is to check the pacsafe website, they sell all kinds of tamper proof bags for travel that can be secured to something ( like a beach umbrella) and have secure inner wire mesh pockets. Great for city travel too!
Also you didn't ask but Orient does allows nudity, but it is more "clothed " the more northerly you go...so Cocoa Beach will be more buttoned up so to speak than the beaches further south.
Have a great trip!
Thank you again That vacation vault looks pretty awesome and pricing is quite reasonable (it wasn't available on the solutions website, but I found other outlets to order from). I am going to show dh as soon as he gets home and most likely order (if our camera will fit in it... I think it will, but want dh to measure again!!). I would feel very comfortable then going swimming with all the family Thanks again to everyone!!
Also you didn't ask but Orient does allows nudity, but it is more "clothed " the more northerly you go...so Cocoa Beach will be more buttoned up so to speak than the beaches further south.
Have a great trip!
LOL, yep, did know this and have already talked to the kiddos about it... figure they are 10 and 12 and if we don't make a big deal about it, then they will hopefully not either!! I am just looking forward to seeing the gorgeous water!!!
It is a fabulous beach!! You can cab over and pick one of the resteraunt/ beach clubs, rent chairs and the " beach boys" while not officially watching your stuff, do keep an eye on who is wandering their zone.
I think your kids will be fine, it's not a hedonistic atmosphere at all. Very low key and laid back. We went sans kids, so it was not an issue for us, but when you mentioned family, I figured you might want a heads up;-)
Surfs great too for body surfing! Have fun!
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Keeping your belongings safe...
My question is, how do you keep your belongings safe at your chair while you are "playing" in the ocean and maybe doing some of the fun things, i.e. big trampoline, etc. I will have a zippered beach bag, so do I just have $, cruise cards, etc. hidden in the bottom? Of course, I'll have my Sony digital camera too and will not always be taking pics... I plan on keeping the case in the beach bag, when not in use. I am just hoping and trusting that no one will touch the beach bag... should I place it on top of the chair or underneath, maybe, when we are in the ocean? Sorry for being a worry-wart!! I just want to know what you experienced cruisers do 
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Pixie Dust
Angie
But, will probably still take my good camera to the beach (after I get one of those protective bags). Thanks for the advice!
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