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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Are these tours offered on week long cruises? We're doing Alaska next year and I think this would be an interesting thing to do. I don't recall having seen it on our Bahamas cruises but maybe just over looked it. Also, is there and age limit and if so how strict do you think they are (DDs will be 12 and 15 when we cruise next)
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We did the Galley tour on the 7 Night Western - so I don't know why they woudn't offer it on the Alaska cruises...you can always call and ask just in case closer to. It was informative, fun and we learned that any food that is out too long, not kept at the right temp or both (plus everything not finished at meals) is incinerated to carbon and put into the ocean as food for fish. It made me feel better about all the food that didn't get eaten at all the buffets - not to mention my unfinished meals!
Just make sure to register - its free but there is limited space for non-concierge guests. On the first day the Guest services told us that we could just show up (like the Behind the Scenes tour of the Theatre) but when we checked a few days later - just to be sure - they said we had to register (the Galley is VERY small when it comes to walk ways). So we complained - talked to a manager and they sorted it all out and we got to go after all. That said my friend who had a Cat 3 Stateroom got into it like 5 min before hand when I mention I was going and they printed her off a ticket right there and then....ahhhh to be able to afford concierge level vacations
I just got back last night from the 5-day Key West cruise on the Wonder, and there was no sign-up for the galley tour. They broke us up into groups of 20 and took us through Triton's, into the galleys for Tritons & Parrot Cay and out through Parrot Cay. Took about 20 or so minutes. They alloted about an hour or so to get all the groups through.
I just got back last night from the 5-day Key West cruise on the Wonder, and there was no sign-up for the galley tour. They broke us up into groups of 20 and took us through Triton's, into the galleys for Tritons & Parrot Cay and out through Parrot Cay. Took about 20 or so minutes. They alloted about an hour or so to get all the groups through.
Where did you find out about the tour if there wasn't a sign up? Did you have to go to the service desk to tell them that you were interested in going? What time was the tour conducted? Thanks!
Lisa
It was on the schedule in the Personal Navigator that you get every day that shows the next day's activities. Inside of it is basically a time line of the events of the day, broken down by kid/family/adult categories.