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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I just learned that the Wonder drydock was bumped from 9/27/09 - 10/15/09 to 10/2/09 - 10/17/09. We are supposed to be sailing on October 18th, the very next day!
I am distraught about this. This is our first cruise and is a gift to our daughter for her first communion...we are going in lieu of having a big party for her. How could the ship possibly be ready in time? I have read previous reports, awful ones, about the first cruise after the Magic came out of drydock.....pools closed for three days, crew scurrying about working on things, etc.
What should I do? If I cancel and try to re-book a later date, I would lose my early booking rate (the cruises that month have gone up about $1,000.00 since I booked!)
Is anyone else on this Cruise too? Has anyone else sailed right after drydock and can tell me something postiive?
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One Disney ship dry docks each year. Over all those years, there are few "horror stories." Most of the time, everything is ready to go (even if the crew is out of breath as the passengers board).
While I could be completely wrong about what they'll be doing in dry dock this time around, there's virtually no chance that it can be something major, considering the brief time involved. The biggest item I can think of that guests will see is a change to flat screen TVs in the staterooms. I suspect this will mostly be a maintenance dry dock - fixing things found in the latest ship inspection, for example, maybe replacing carpeting, re-painting, etc.
While I've never cruised right after a dry dock, I wouldn't hesitate to sail immediately afterwards. I'd be too interested to be first to see the new stuff to care whether I might have a less than perfect experience.
I wouldn't re-book at a higher price just on the chance that something might go wrong with the dry dock. Something might go wrong on any sailing (and from time to time, it does). When it's a weather-related problem (and you are sailing in hurricane season), DCL is under no obligation to make good (even though they often try). At least when it's an equipment-related problem, DCL has a greater responsibility to its passengers to make good.
And as to having a great experience for your first cruise... there's so much to do on the cruise that even losing the use of the pools for a couple of days (not that it's likely to happen) won't make a difference to most cruisers. The full entertainment staff will be on hand, and they do a great job of adding new activities to make up for activities that can't take place. If you're the type that can roll with the punches, you're still likely to have a great experience, even if something does go wrong (part of the fun of travel is dealing with the unexpected and making the best of it).
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Thanks Dave for the great reply. I am pretty good with rolling with the punches and I never expect any vacation to be perfect. I did unfortunately allow some of those horror stories to freak me out. I think I will stick with this cruise. On the positive side, I'm trying to focus on the fact that everything will probably be even "shinier" than usual. And if some things we really want to do are unavailable, then I will take the opportunity to try things we may not have thought of doing before.
As for hurricane season, yep, it's a risk. But I've been lucky with all other vacations we have taken to Florida and the Caribbean during October, so I am going to keep the hope alive for this one too!
I would not be too concerned. I would think of it this way -- the ship will possibly be a bit more sparkly and fresh after whatever sprucing up it has just gotten done to it.
Happy sailing. You and your family will have an amazing time!!
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This is our first cruise and is a gift to our daughter for her first communion...we are going in lieu of having a big party for her. How could the ship possibly be ready in time? I have read previous reports, awful ones, about the first cruise after the Magic came out of drydock.....pools closed for three days, crew scurrying about working on things, etc.
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