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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My sister just got a job on DCL and is awaiting her shipdate We are so excited to visit her & take our 1st Disney Cruise next year. Our DD(3) of course will be joining us and she doesn't currently have a passport. Friends we know just took a carnival cruise earlier this year with their kids and they said they used their birth certificates for the kids. Is this true for children? Can we use her birth certificate to board the DCL?
It depends on the itinerary. For "closed loop" itineraries, which depart and return to the same U.S. port, birth certificates will be fine for children (though passports are still better). Adults need a minimum of government-issued photo ID plus proof of birth/U.S. citizenship - kids only need proof of birth/U.S. citizenship. For the vast majority of DCL cruises in 2012 you'll be OK: Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, California Coast, the Hawaii specials... A-OK.
It gets stickier for other itineraries. Any cruiser visiting Canada will require a full passport or Passport Card, regardless of age (even newborns). As the U.S. has been beefing up its border-crossing scrutiny, Canada has reciprocated. Even though you don't need the passport to re-enter the U.S. as long as it's a closed-loop (Seattle to Alaska, Victoria BC, and back to Seattle, or New York to Halifax, Saint John, and back to New York), you'll still need it for Canada. If your cruise starts in California and ends in Vancouver (or vice verse), if you're starting in Vancouver and ending in Seattle or starting in Seattle and ending in Vancouver - passport or Passport Card.
And... if you're flying between the U.S. and Canada as part of the trip - full passports only, regardless of age. Passport Cards aren't valid for international air travel.
Now, isn't that as clear as mud? It's simplest when you go whole-hog for a regular passport. They're good for 10 years for adults and 5 years for kids, so it's a reasonable investment.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Congrats to your sister, and to you for your first Disney cruise! Which ship is she going to be working on? You'll have to tell us all so we can harass her when we're on-board Happy planning!
I would also recommend getting a Passport. Its a lot easier to carry around than a birth certificate. Margaret got her first when she was 4 and her second when she was 9. Also, you get the old passport back when you get a new one and its a fun keepsake, especially if you get it stamped at some of the ports.
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Margaret and I got to see the Cubs play in October. They won!
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We thought long and hard about getting passports for our kids but many on Passporters made us realize that if an emergancy occurred and we needed to fly home for some reason, the kids would be unable to fly without passports. Hmmmm, we decided that we didn't want to risk anything like that happening so we all got our passports. Now, no worries!!
Personally, I would just get the passport and have piece of mind that no matter what, you'll have what you need.
I got my some his passport when he was 2 months old. Ridiculous? Yes....he's almost 11 months now and in no way resembles his "baby" picture and it's good for 3 yrs!!
Have a great cruise.
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