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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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We were thinking of the May 9th cruise on Magic but it would help us out in a gazillion ways if we wait and cruise on the 16th same itinerary....
BUT we HAVE to have a shot at merchandise from SWW so
we know we have to be packed from a 1 night stay somewhere and ready to leave from Hollywood to drive to the port...
we know we will be in line at 2 am to get better spots in line than last year...
but we know we will be on the We are finally at Disney and going on our first cruise Adrenaline wave too (as far as tired factor)....
Can we shop and do business at HS till say 10 am then leave to board the Magic and not have any problems? I know it takes about an hour to get to port... and the term parking doesnt open till 9:30 -10 right?
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That should work fine, assuming you're awake and stable enough to drive. Boarding will start sometime after 11:30 (probably closer to 12), so leaving Hollywood Studios at 10 will give you plenty of time. We left Animal Kingdom at 10:30 a few weeks ago, and arrived in the terminal just as boarding was starting.
Boarding continues for several hours, so even if you run into traffic issues, you should still be OK.
Staterooms on the ship may not be accessible until 1:30, so be prepared to carry around any of your purchases that you don't want to give to porters when you arrive at the terminal (as well as anything else that you may need before dinner, as it may be several hours before luggage arrives by your cabin).
You have a fair amount of leeway for balancing priorities. Most cruisers try to get on board as soon as possible. Especially on the shorter cruises, the hours between around Noon and 3:30 (when facilities start shutting down prior to the safety drill) are "golden" - more time to relax by the pool, a big lunch, touring the ship, etc.
However, there's nothing wrong with arriving at the port at 2:00 pm if there's something else you're dying to do ashore. I wouldn't plan to arrive much later than that, just to give yourself some leeway in case of car trouble or some such.
In your case, if you can manage to leave Orlando by 10:00 am you should be able to board in time to both get a bite to eat and take a nap prior to safety drill - eat between boarding time and 1:30pm, then head down to the stateroom once it's available.
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Thery've announced a ticketed event for the 15th that is supposed to get you some swag plus options to purchase the SWW merchandise so maybe you could look into that.
You have a fair amount of leeway for balancing priorities. Most cruisers try to get on board as soon as possible. Especially on the shorter cruises, the hours between around Noon and 3:30 (when facilities start shutting down prior to the safety drill) are "golden" - more time to relax by the pool, a big lunch, touring the ship, etc.
However, there's nothing wrong with arriving at the port at 2:00 pm if there's something else you're dying to do ashore. I wouldn't plan to arrive much later than that, just to give yourself some leeway in case of car trouble or some such.
In your case, if you can manage to leave Orlando by 10:00 am you should be able to board in time to both get a bite to eat and take a nap prior to safety drill - eat between boarding time and 1:30pm, then head down to the stateroom once it's available.
NAP is good!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Thery've announced a ticketed event for the 15th that is supposed to get you some swag plus options to purchase the SWW merchandise so maybe you could look into that.
Well have you seen the price tag? We bought 1 ticket at $250 but theres no way Id pay $750 for our family. So the plan is for DH to do the event on 15th while DS and I run around getting other items for store at parks and DTD and a ride hear or there. we will spend night of 14th and 15th at the Hampton near DTD and then be loaded up and be in line at about 2 am on 16th. We have a sleeping bag so DS and I can sleep. If we are able to gauge everything we need for store on 15th - maybe we wont have to but I doubt it.
I think we will be able to do it and we are excited! Thanks for help.
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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