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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 really confused about what happens on debarkation day!
So...we have to be out of our stateroom at 8am, right? Then, we have to go through customs? How long does this take?
And then, if we are taking Disney motorcoach, what time will they pick us up at the cruise terminal? How long of a ride is it back to the airport?
I'm trying to figure out a good time to schedule a return flight...
The rule of thumb for return flights is not to schedule anything before midday. Part of what time you leave on your final morning will depend on whether you're on main or late seating for dinner, as main seating eats breakfast first and can then leave the ship.
Usually we have a rental car and we're usually on the road pretty quickly after clearing customs and getting our cases. I don't remember what time we got back to Disney after our cruise on the Dream, but we had the early breakfast, and I'm going to guess we left the ship somewhere around 8am.
Exiting the ship, getting through customs, and on a Disney bus to MCO typically goes very smoothly. You can retrieve your own luggage from your "zone" assigned with tags you will be given the day before, or you can use a porter. Or, you can carry your own bags off the ship and go through customs. Have your completed customs forms handy along with Passports for everyone in your party. You'll also need your KttW card scanned to get off the ship.
After going through customs you'll be directed to Disney transport. You may have to wait for the bus to fill up before leaving the port. . . and that can take a while.
Your longest wait of the morning is likely to be the security line at the airport.
You eat breakfast and immediately afterwards should be able to exit the ship - figure you're off the ship between 8:00am and 9:00am.
Locate your checked luggage, proceed to customs line - approx. 10 minutes.
Stand in line for customs - 10-15 minutes.
Walk to bus - 1 minute
Buses are constantly loading and departing, so as soon as your bus fills, you're on the way to the airport - allow 15-20 minutes, but it should be less than that.
Bus ride to MCO - allow 1 hour
Regardless of this time clock, the cruise line recommends against (and we agree) a flight departure time prior to Noon. We just got off the Fantasy Preview Cruise a few weeks ago. We were on the early breakfast seating (breakfast at 7:00am) and had a Noon flight (exactly). It worked very well. The wait at the airport was not all that long, but there was enough leeway in case of delay that we had a relaxing morning. Why re-enter the stress of the everyday world sooner than necessary?
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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 echo what everyone else says, but you can also participate with the onboard airline checkin, which means the cruise line checks your bags through to the airport so you don't have to pick them up before customs--luggage is transported directly to the airline and checked-in to your destination.
We did this this morning and we were prepared for long waits, but everything went very smoothly and Dave's right...our longest wait was at the airport security.
On our only other cruise, we waited until after breakfast to leave. On our next cruise, we are thinking about using room service for breakfast, and then leaving. Can you leave at any time after the doors open, our do you have to wait if you have second seating for breakfast?
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Online Airline Check-In is only available on certain airlines:
Available to Guests flying out of Orlando International Airport on domestic flights (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) on AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines and US Airways.
I tend to fly Southwest, so I've never gotten to use it.
To answer a couple of questions, there is no room service on debarkation morning, you can skip breakfast, and can leave any time after the doors are open. Our regular service breakfast was at 06:45 and half the tables were empty. Some of those folks might have gone up to Cabanas, which was also open for breakfast.
On our only other cruise, we waited until after breakfast to leave. On our next cruise, we are thinking about using room service for breakfast, and then leaving. Can you leave at any time after the doors open, our do you have to wait if you have second seating for breakfast?
Right, no room service on debarkation morning, but you can get "coffee and" quite early up at Cabanas. Once the ship has been cleared for debarkation, you can leave as soon as you're ready to go.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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