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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've only been on 1 other Disney cruise. It was about 3 years ago and a friend set everything up for everyone, so I feel a little unprepared. Should I be expecting something in the mail in the way of luggage tags? "Need-to-know" info? I'm mostly curious about when to plan on arriving to the terminal. Earliest vs. latest you should arrive...? I welcome any other information from you veteran cruisers as well
We received a package about 3 weeks before our cruise with luggage tags, boarding documents, etc.
We got to the terminal at 10 and they weren't allowing anyone in yet until 10:30. We found a pretty empty terminal gave easy access to check in and have our photos taken but we had to wait a bit to get on the ship.
On our next cruise in November we are planning on being there around 11 and that way we don't have to sit around for so long.
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Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust! Studying Hard to Make a Difference!
The ship typically starts boarding between 12:00 and 1:00 pm. I like getting there around 10:30 - 11:00, it makes for an easy check-in and then I can turn the cell phone off, relax in the terminal, and be in the first few groups to board. The closer it gets to boarding time, it seems to get busier in the terminal, so just sitting back and relaxing is just fine with me.
We had a TA, but she sent us all the info we needed, including luggage tags (DCL had sent it to her first). I went online and did our check-in paperwork ahead of time (it's all there when you login to the DCL site). We got to the terminal between 10:30 and 11, and it was perfect. We checked in after a very short wait, then waited to get our pics taken for our Key to the World/ID cards. After that we waited in line to get DD set up for the kids club. Altogether, those 3 lines took us probably 30 min. We waited another 30 min or so, and our group was called to board! I know that you can check-in/board up to several hours up to that, but we're the type that like to get up and get going.
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
We never got our luggage tags for our first cruise, so if they don't come, don't panic. We were fine, knew our stateroom number, so when the baggage handler took them, he put on tags with our stateroom number on them. We also like to get to the Port early (around 10:30) so we can be on the ship early! I hope you have a great time!
We stayed at the Hyatt in the airport the night before and then took the 9:45 bus they had to the terminal. We got there a little before it opened and waited in line. I liked getting there early and it allowed us the time to get checked in, take pictures of the ship, and relax before we boarded. It also allowed us to have a great lunch on board and look around the ship before we set sail, since this was my first cruise. I am so looking forward to doing this again.
They give you a number which means the group you will be boarding with. It is way better to be like a 2 than an 8. It takes forever to board if you are a later number, especially if you have impatient kids.
They give you a number which means the group you will be boarding with. It is way better to be like a 2 than an 8. It takes forever to board if you are a later number, especially if you have impatient kids.
or are impatient yourself!
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
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