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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Since this is our first cruise we have to wait till 75 days out to book all our "stuff". I really want to do a certain spa treatment and we want to get Palo on our last night. What are our chances of getting what we want? I'm afraid all the people on our boat will be castaway club members and will get the times we want..... Anybody felt this way before but still lucked out?
I felt the same way Melissa! And to top it off, I had tons of trouble logging on to the DCL website on the night that I was first able to book our stuff. I gave up trying at 1 a.m. and went to bed knowing we would never get what we wanted. The next morning I tried from work and was able to log on and book everything we wanted. We didn't try for Palo but I did go in and look at what was still available and there was a whole bunch of times on all days. I booked Charlie and Justin on a fishing excursion in Castaway Cay, the hot stone massage for myself and the stingray swim for Macy and I - all at the times we wanted. Don't worry yourself too much!!
If you can't find what you want online, remember that they hold back a number of reservations to book onboard. Just get yourself to where they're taking reservations (usually one of the lounges) as soon as you can (check your navigator for exact time and place).
There have been sailings that even as a Castaway Club member I've not been able to get my preferred day or time with Palo. It's always fine in the end, though.
This could be an incentive to book the Romantic Escape at Sea package... you'd get to book at 105-days!
__________________
Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
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You're on a shorter cruise, right Melissa?? I had no problems when booking our 4-night cruise at 75 days out I was up at 3 AM (they've now changed it to midnight) and got both Palo dinner and brunch, the excursions we wanted, and the kids into the clubs
You're on a shorter cruise, right Melissa?? I had no problems when booking our 4-night cruise at 75 days out I was up at 3 AM (they've now changed it to midnight) and got both Palo dinner and brunch, the excursions we wanted, and the kids into the clubs
This is what we are planning to do. Is it calculated from your boarding date, or your check-in date (we have the land & sea package)?
Thanks guys!! Lynn, we are seriously considering the romance package.... we've listed the pros and cons and right now the only con is price....but it might be worth it, especially since it's an anniversary
We took the 4-day cruise in December and I was booking for 2 staterooms at the same time! I didn't have any problem with Palo, however my m-i-l and I couldn't book a massage for similar times, so I opted not to do one, rather than have us spread out so much. I didn't go for any excursions, since most excluded our son (he was 3) or would be boring for a 3yo.
I'm not sure how much Land & Sea affects check-in times (for example, for WDW, it's from the date of the check-in, even if the reservation is for something 6 days later, except for Victoria & Albert's). I would guess they would go by sailing date, though. The "safe" thing to do would be to check on the date 90 days from your vacation beginning and if you can't get in, then it's 90 days from the sailing date. That way, you're safe rather than sorry.
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I was up at 3 AM (they've now changed it to midnight) and got both Palo dinner and brunch, the excursions we wanted, and the kids into the clubs 
Lynn, we are seriously considering the romance package.... we've listed the pros and cons and right now the only con is price....but it might be worth it, especially since it's an anniversary 
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