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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Your cabin with its balcony looks lovely. Good luck with packing.
Thanks! I haven't had a balcony with Meri yet, so it will be nice to finally get to watch the world go by and the breeze on my face!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Your room looks lovely.
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by Pris
It's almost time!! The cabin looks perfect.
It'll definitely do!!
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Originally Posted by lauriep
The room looks very nice! I like having the beds at the back of the room with the desk and sofa in front. Gives you a bit more space when you enter than on DCL with the reverse arrangement.
It's funny, at first I looked at it and thought I'd prefer the sitting area by the balcony, so I could sit on the couch and watch out the window... but you're right, there's much more entry room this way. And there's laying in bed and watching the world go by!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
The room and balcony look great!
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Room looks great! Nice that the bed is right by the balcony! I always thought that was a bit of a rip off on DCL - I pay for the cruise, but my bed is furthest from the window? My kids like that set up, though....
Good luck finishing up all you need to do this weekend!
That's hilarious! Meri definitely loved the set-up on the Magic - she loved laying in bed looking out the window!
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Well, we finally selected a tour for Belize! Friends of ours just got off of a cruise yesterday that was the same itinerary as ours is (different line, I think), and they HIGHLY recommended a private tour company. After looking them up on TripAdvisor, I was sold. I don't think I've ever seen so many glowing recommendations! Plus, I trust that my friends know what they're talking about!
I reached out to the tour company tonight via their website request form, and amazingly got a response back within half hour! Even though it's short notice AND during a busy holiday week, we're booked for a private tour (just the three of us) to go cave tubing (and we don't have to carry our own tube - plus we three will be in a private vehicle instead of a tour bus with dozens of others) and then to the Belize Zoo (which is really more of a rescue / animal sanctuary, they said).
They're very familiar with cruise visitors and so they will be great about getting us to and from the port in plenty of time. I'm holding them to that, lol. Otherwise they'd better drive me to Cozumel!!!
Anyway, I really look forward to a private tour for the three of us. Cave tubing is "the thing to do" in Belize, apparently, and so what the heck. It looks fun and interesting, and the drive to and from the river will allow us to see much of the city and countryside, so we can truly say we've seen Belize.
So, all ports are booked. Meri's clothes are all picked out. The car is cleaned out (just needs a good vacuuming). All gifts are bought. I just need to go up into the attic to get stockings and holders, and some gift bags / tissue paper / wrapping paper. Then I need to run to the store to pick up batteries, and probably a few pairs of comfy, dressy pants. Unfortunately with this desk job (and my bad eating habits, I admit), I'm outgrowing all of my favorite clothes. Tomorrow afternoon I will be trying on my "nice" clothes, and then probably heading to a few places to see if I can fill in the gaps with some new pants. *sigh* The casual nights I'll wear jeans and a nice shirt, but for formal nights and for Christmas Eve / Day, I'd like to look a little fancier.
Oh, I also need to get out the shovels. I have a couple of pails packed, but I need to throw a few shovels in there. We will have time in Roatan to relax at the beach, and I'm sure Meri will want to build a few things.
I can't believe it's coming up! One week from right now I'm going to be asleep (at least I hope so) in New Orleans!!!
Thanks for letting me think out loud on here for just one more week! I feel like my brain is absolutely full! But fortunately, I'm pretty much done with all of my "have to's" with the exception of one meeting on Monday evening, so I'll have time in the evenings to finalize all packing. Phew!
That sounds like a great excursion. I feel you have no worries when booking a reputable private company. There business is very much fueled by the cruise industry and if they mess up just one time getting people back in time, there business will pay big time. In today's internet world, word spreads really fast. I get worn out just watching your schedule these days. You and Meri are busy from sun up to who knows when every day it seems. I think you really need the relaxation of this cruise, and I know what you mean by the slightly expanding waistline.
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I'm so glad you were able to get your Belize excursion sorted out - and it sounds like a great choice too!
I'm excited that it's just the three of us going, with a private guide! It really sounds like it will be a cool, but low-key, adventure. I like the idea of seeing the country a little, and not just staying near the port, and I like the relaxing part of hanging out in a tube, lol.
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Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Definitely like the sound of the excursion in Belize!!
Thanks! We were so wary of sitting in a bus for nearly 3 hours (round trip) but in a private van, where we can (and will) stop periodically and see things and stretch our legs if need be, or use a rest room, or whatever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
That sounds like a great excursion. I feel you have no worries when booking a reputable private company. There business is very much fueled by the cruise industry and if they mess up just one time getting people back in time, there business will pay big time. In today's internet world, word spreads really fast. I get worn out just watching your schedule these days. You and Meri are busy from sun up to who knows when every day it seems. I think you really need the relaxation of this cruise, and I know what you mean by the slightly expanding waistline.
Exactly what I felt after reading the enormously positive reviews of this company (plus getting the personal recommendation from someone I trust). I really do need the relaxation - I am so burned out that I'm pretty sure the ends of my hair are singed, lol!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
The Belize excursion sounds wonderful! with packing as you countdown these last few days.
Thanks! I definitely need packing pixies, lol!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on the private tour!
Thank you!
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Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Thank goodness I got here before you left! How fun to celebrate your birthday and Christmas relaxing on vacation! Everything sounds just wonderful!
Yay you are here!
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Originally Posted by Coop
Sounds like you are going to have a great trip! Happy Birthday!
Today was the longest work day EVER, let me just tell you! I was up until 2am packing and knocking out some accounting work for the bbq place, and then I got a whopping 4 1/2 hours sleep.
At 345pm, my boss came into my office and said, "Get out of here and get on the road before the rush hour traffic hits." He didn't have to tell me twice!!! (Ok, he actually had to tell me 3 times before I felt ok about leaving, but whatever).
We hit the road at 4:55pm, and while we did get stuck in SOME of the traffic, of course, it wasn't at all bad. Thanks to my fabulous boss, we hit the road early enough that we decided to go all the way down to Hammond, LA instead of stopping south of Jackson, MS (our initial plan).
So here we are, settled in our hotel in Hammond, less than an hour north of New Orleans! Tomorrow morning we'll leisurely get moving, grab breakfast in the hotel, and then hit the road. We will get to New Orleans before lunch, and my thinking is that we'll check into the hotel, drop our stuff (if the room is ready) and head to grab lunch at Market Cafe before hitting the aquarium, perhaps. Although there's an outlet mall right in front of our hotel soooooooooooooo... who knows???
As if I have ANY more room in my suitcase as it is.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a bigger, more interesting update!
We had a wonderful, relaxing night at our hotel in Hammond, and then we got up today, lazed around, got room service breakfast, watched a movie, and then finally got going around 1030am. It was so nice! We just somehow got sucked into this movie ("Why Did I Get Married?" by Tyler Perry. It was good.
Breakfast (mine on the left, mom's on the right - Meri had Froot Loops)
We arrived in New Orleans at our hotel at around 1130am, and our room was ready, so we got settled in. Our view is gorgeous!
We booked / paid for a city view, as opposed to a river view...
But somehow we lucked out and got both!
After we got settled in, we headed over to the French Quarter to eat lunch at The Market Cafe, where they have amazing gumbo! Meri ate a shrimp po-boy, mom had a Greek salad, and I had a huge bowl of gumbo and an entire loaf of French bread. LOL!
My gumbo
Meri's lunch
Mom's Greek salad
After a nice long walk through the French Quarter, browsing shops and just meandering along, we went back to the room. Mom and I snoozed while Meri played on her iPod for a while.
Then Meri and I sat and watched a couple of hours of The Weather Channel (top ten biggest storms, etc). Finally we decided we'd better go ahead and get something to eat... we were feeling so decadently relaxed, and didn't want to go far, so we headed down to the hotel lobby bar.
The server was amazing, and she won Meri's heart with this Shirley Temple, lol
I wasn't hungry, so I shared with Meri.
Mom's burger
And last but not least, the beautiful night view from our room!
Now Meri is all showered and in bed. Mom is laying in bed watching the Democratic debate, and I'm about to take a hot bath and read a book.
Meri has her alarm set on her iPod for 545am, in hopes that we can watch out the window and see the Dream (Carnival, lol, not Disney) come back to port in the morning!! Crazy kid.
I'll hopefully post from the Carnival Dream tomorrow night!!
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Good luck with packing. 
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Pixie Dust
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with packing as you countdown these last few days. 
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