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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So, I was debating this even though my DDs are older, gotta make it fun though, right? When are these calls made: Close to the sail date? In the evening? etc. Thanks!
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So, I was debating this even though my DDs are older, gotta make it fun though, right? When are these calls made: Close to the sail date? In the evening? etc. Thanks!
You can pick the date you would like the call. You can have Mickey or Goofy call. I think it is one of those fun little extras.
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You get to pick the date and the time, as well a choice of characters. I think there's a maximum of 2 calls that can be scheduled per stateroom reservation. We had 2 calls - 1 about a week before and the 2nd was the day before. DD was absolutely ecstatic! I'd think it's special no matter how old your girls are.
Hi there. Does anyone know if these calls can be made outside the US? We are from South Africa and would love to get this organised for our boys. Thanks so much. Jo
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Still enjoying the memories from our July 2014 Mediterranean cruise on the Magic.
Busy dreaming of our next cruise - wishing upon a star for this one!
Hi there. Does anyone know if these calls can be made outside the US? We are from South Africa and would love to get this organised for our boys. Thanks so much. Jo
I pulled up my reservation, and it says the character call is open to residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec).
How far in advance can you schedule a call? It appears that I can schedule it now, but I'm afraid to go too much further and use my call if can't cancel or go back. We don't leave until Feb 2014 and I think I would like to schedule one during Christmas break and, if we get two, another one right before it is time to go. That's almost 6 months away though... Is it too soon to schedule those?
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How far in advance can you schedule a call? It appears that I can schedule it now, but I'm afraid to go too much further and use my call if can't cancel or go back. We don't leave until Feb 2014 and I think I would like to schedule one during Christmas break and, if we get two, another one right before it is time to go. That's almost 6 months away though... Is it too soon to schedule those?
Each reservation is allowed up to 2 calls...you can schedule them at different times like you've suggested - Christmas and closer to sailing. I don't think it matters how far in advance you schedule, but you will need to choose a date and approximate time so if it's too earlier for you to know when the family will be home to answer the call you might want to wait. I scheduled ours during dinner because we're always all at the table at that time and it was really fun. But you don't want to forget or you'll have to reschedule it.
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Originally Posted by ilovedisney0_0
What does the call say?
The call is fairly basic but customized to your specific cruise details. The character will say something like "I'm looking forward to sailing with you on the [ship name] to [destination] on [date]." It's not interactive. But very cute and our DD was so thrilled, it really got us excited to go.