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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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02-09-2005, 11:06 AM
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#1
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Mooresville, NC
Posts: 1,985
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Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
I'd love any feedback from anyone who took this cruise. I thought it might be nice for my Dh when we go in May. Last 2 times, we didn't get to see Illuminations...in August because DS(now 8) hates thunder & lightning and wanted to be back in the room every night for fear of a thunderstorm and last October just because we didn't get a chance. How would we go about splitting a cruise with another family? Anyone want to split an Illuminations cruise somewhere betweeen may 19 & May 22nd?
TIA
Elise
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02-09-2005, 11:17 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Berwick, PA
Posts: 2,931
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We did this in July. It was great. I assume you know how to go about getting one booked?? We had a problem with the weather and almost didn't get to go, and I was so disappointed, but then, at the last minute, we got to go! We all enjoyed it, but it's not something we'll do every trip!
Paula
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02-09-2005, 12:17 PM
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#3
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Dopey's biggest fan!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: China Spring, TX
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 26,975
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We did one with 4 other Passporters the first week of January!!!
It was a great vantage point for IllumiNations . . . we all had a great time!!! The boat left the Bayside Marina at the Yacht Club Resort at about 8:15-8:30 --- we cruised over near MGM just "to look" then we went near the Boardwalk . . . finally parking under what many call the "English Channel bridge" between the UK and France (at the International Gateway) at Epcot --- it was GREAT!!!
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02-09-2005, 01:15 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: BURLESON TX (near Ft. Worth)
Posts: 5,589
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We loved it!
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02-09-2005, 01:41 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Mooresville, NC
Posts: 1,985
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We are going for 4 nights in may & then again in August & again in December. Which month would be best?
Elise
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02-09-2005, 01:53 PM
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#6
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Wannabe Snowbird
Join Date: May 2002
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,137
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
I've done the IllumiNations cruise in December and that's the one I would recommend. The seasonal addition at the end of the show was absolutely breathtaking! Don't worry about being cold at night - bring a coat, gloves and your Mickey Santa hat to keep your head warm; they supplied blankets free of charge.
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Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95. |
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02-09-2005, 02:28 PM
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#7
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,386
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
First off, the IllumiNations cruise is well worth doing because it's absolutely wonderful.
[ QUOTE ]
We are going for 4 nights in may & then again in August & again in December. Which month would be best?
[/ QUOTE ]
We did our IllumiNations cruise in August and it certainly is lovely weather for it - a nice spin around the lake and then a stellar viewing spot for the fireworks. Although I haven't done the IllumiNations cruise in December, we did do a Wishes one then and just about froze our bottoms off. The temperatures can sometimes drop into the low thirties at WDW at night in December so that is a factor. Yes, you can bundle up but it can still feel mighty cold when you're out on the boat. All that being said, the special holiday finale for IllumiNations is breathtaking and I imagine it would be spectacular as viewed from one of the fireworks cruise boats. So I guess it comes down to what sort of weather you prefer for your fireworks cruise and whether or not a potential cold snap might turn you off a bit.
Joy
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02-09-2005, 03:00 PM
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#8
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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: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We've been lucky enough to do this four times now - and trust me, it is the way to see Illuminations. It's worth every penny and we love it!  |
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02-09-2005, 03:17 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Trailblazer
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Houston
Posts: 5,162
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We did this and loved it. It also turned out to be not very expensive because I filled up our boat (there were just 4 of us and it holds 10) with internet friends. If you can't get enough passporters together, the Diz has a very organized message board to coordinate things. This is how I did it, and met some really nice Disney friends. One of the couples invited all of us on our boat back to their OKW villa after the cruise for drinks! Fun! Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=560160 |
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02-09-2005, 07:07 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Jetsetter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 2,476
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
Melanie beat me to it.   |
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02-09-2005, 07:43 PM
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#11
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Community Rank: Trekker
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: NY (just north of NYC)
Posts: 1,269
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We were very fortunate to share the Illuminations cruise with the extremely generous Chezp along with her husband Mark "the Candyman", Statelady01 aka Maureen and her hubby Kevan on December 20, 2004. Not only was watching Illuminations awesome from the perspective on the boat, but we got to meet 4 great Passporters which really made it extra special. Just too bad it was so cold we kept covered under blankets and didn't get a chance to chat that much.
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02-10-2005, 01:07 PM
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#12
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Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 34,171
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We love it-so will you!
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Sponsored links
Check out the many e-books by PassPorter. The e-books are free to download if you have a PassPorter's Club pass.
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02-10-2005, 03:13 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: In the state of Disney Dreaming!
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 10,572
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We did our very first Illuminations Cruise the week of Christmas and had a blast! DH was  and says that it was the greatest! He's right. All of us loved it! Was it cold? Yes. But that made it even more fun! My Dteens huddled together under blankets and DH 'n I snuggled together. It was perfect! If we're ever lucky enough to get another reservation - we definitely won't think twice!
Just to give you an idea of how much my Dteens  it...DS#1 was in charge of giving the driver a tip (I gave him the money in advance). DS#1 not only gave my portion, but added some of his very own money in because "the cm was so funny and goofed around with us the whole time".
A teen parting with $$$, now that says it all! |
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02-13-2005, 09:49 AM
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#14
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Magic Happens!
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: E. Stroudsburg, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 29,184
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
We are doing our 3rd one in May. These cruises are awesome and spoil you for any other view of Illuminations. Do you know how to get one? There are only 4 on the pontoon boats a day, plus I think 1 on the Breathless (speedboat). Post or PM if you need to know how to try for one. We did our first one in December, and it was nice, cool, but still nice. Both times, we filled the boat with fellow Passporters. It's alot of fun, and the CM's that pilot the boat are always a blast!!  |
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02-14-2005, 04:27 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Globetrotter 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Mahopac, NY
Posts: 3,460
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Re: Illumniations Cruise......have u done it?
Hey there!!! We too r doing our first one in May!!!!! (Sue.....we are on the other boat with the rest of the passporter gang!!) We can't wait b/c I don't think we had a great view for it when we stood and watched last Nov!!!!
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Sponsored links
Check out the many e-books by PassPorter. The e-books are free to download if you have a PassPorter's Club pass.
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