Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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03-20-2004, 01:44 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 2,929
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Discovery Cove
We would like to go to Discovery Cove during our trip in May. My question is would it be worth it to go, but not do the dolphin swim? I believe it is $100 more per person (added to the $150 admission)for 30 minutes with the dolphins. I'm not sure if it is going to be in our budget. My SIL and BIL really want to go to Discovery Cove, but they are not planning on going to any Disney parks. This would probably be our only full day activity with them. It is a dilemma, because I would really like to spend the day with them, and could swing it minus the dolphin encounter, but is it worth it ? Any advice would be appreciated.
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03-20-2004, 01:56 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Posts: 10,721
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Re: Discovery Cove
I would probably do it without the swim if I were you so I could spend some time with the family as the dolphin experience would be a small part of the day- and leave plenty of time to spend with them. It seems like you really want to be able to spend time with them so for that alone, I think it's worth it.
Barring the family time, if that weren't part of the picture, I would probably not do DC without doing the dolphin experience.
Hope it works out for you and you enjoy the day!
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03-20-2004, 08:35 PM
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#3
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: WI
Posts: 17,126
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Re: Discovery Cove
Yes! Do it! We loved it! We would like to go back and do DC without the dolphin encounter just because we could spend all day in the coral reef snorkeling area! We didn't even make it into the bird aviary much the day we spent there. Here's a link to my page on DC
http://hometown.aol.com/oneyodafan/DicoveryCove.htm
Lunch was good, we'd do this again in a heartbeat!
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03-20-2004, 08:36 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Annapolis, MD
Posts: 1,200
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Re: Discovery Cove
I work for AAA and we sell the Discovery Cove tickets at a pretty substantial discount- you can buy the swim w/dolphins or without. If you have a AAA Visa credit card, they'll give you an additional 1% off.
I'm not sure if I would swim w/the dolphins or not if I was you. On one hand, Discovery Cove is pretty expensive, so you might as well spend the extra and have the whole experience. On the other hand, it seems like a really nice park that you'd have plenty of fun at without the dolphin swim.
Maybe if its too expensive for your whole party to do the dolphin swim, you could just let the kids do it. Kids can get the dolphin swim ticket w/out an adult doing it. Either way, I think you'll have a great time. -Stephanie
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03-21-2004, 02:54 AM
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#5
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PassPorter Message Board Manager PassPorter Guide Author
Community Rank: Legend VIP
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285
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Re: Discovery Cove
I would do it without the dolphin swim Michelle - it forms such a small part of the day anyway. We also came away having enjoyed the general snorkelling with the stingrays etc. more than the dolphin interaction. There's certainly plenty to keep you busy during the day and if you're not doing the dolphin encounter, then you can video / photograph the encounter and maybe avoid paying for the official photos. That was an opportunity we wished we'd had - that we had someone with us to take photos.
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03-21-2004, 12:14 PM
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#6
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 2,929
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Re: Discovery Cove
Thanks guys for the advice! Denise, your pics are great . I'm pretty sure we're going to do it. I checked, and it appears that there are openings on two of the days during our trip. Does anyone know how quick this fills up? Also, what if it were to rain on the day we reserve?
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