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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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There's info. "out there" on a Grand Cayman port schedule for March of 2013 showing the Wonder in port there along with the Magic but on different days. Can anyone chime in on this info.
It's more than "out there" - it's on the Grand Cayman port schedule, and not only for March 2013. It's showing the Wonder visiting Grand Cayman every other week from January 2 through April 24, and resuming for three more visits on October 9.
What about the Magic? She visits Grand Cayman every week from January 1 through the middle of May, then resumes weekly visits October 29 through the end of the year. If she's doing a typical summer repo (season ending by the end of September), that leaves some time for a dry dock visit before heading back to, presumably, Galveston.
The Fantasy's schedule is as already announced - every other week, all year long.
The Dream doesn't show up on the schedule. Altogether, it adds up to 68 visits to Grand Cayman in 2013.
Considering the sorry state of the Mexican Riviera cruise business? This isn't a total surprise. DCL moved to the West Coast just as just about everyone else was abandoning the market. Still, it's kind of surprising that DCL thinks they can sell that many Western itineraries, and that many staterooms.
The Magic and Wonder both will be elsewhere in the summer. I'd think the Wonder would return to Alaska, considering its popularity. That leaves the question, whither the Magic?
More questions:
Where will the Wonder be on alternate weeks at those times it's visiting Grand Cayman? There are several possibilities. One, alternating between 7-night Eastern and Western itineraries. Two, a 14-night itinerary. Three, an alternate Western itinerary (such as visits to Jamaica and Belize). I think option two is the least likely. Visits to the Eastern Caribbean from Galveston are tough - the distance is too great for San Juan, St. Thomas, Sint Maarten... but stops in Key West, Nassau, and Castaway Cay are possible. The same is essentially true for cruises from New Orleans.
Where will the Wonder be home-ported? Somewhere other than either Port Canaveral or Galveston. New Orleans seems a good possibility - a new market to tap. Other southern ports could be Port Everglades/Miami, or Tampa. Tampa seems too close to Port Canaveral, but maybe they see potential in Miami departures. Yet another possibility is home porting in San Juan, though it seems less likely to me. The trend is towards ports Americans can drive to, in order to save on air fare.
Where will the Wonder be in November and December '13? Only a guess, but perhaps a series of Hawaii itineraries. Plus, two Panama Canal repo cruises for the year. However, if that was the case, why go through the Panama Canal in late September and then back through again little more than a month later? Are they hoping that conditions will improve in Mexico so that they can return to the West Coast for 2014?
Where will the Magic be home ported during the summer? I'd guess something similar to Summer 2012. East Coast U.S. New York is most likely, considering their success selling staterooms there. Still, Boston, Baltimore, or Charleston are in the hunt.
Finally, there is the possibility that this is a ruse. It wouldn't be the first time DCL had port visits scheduled that never came true.
For what it's worth, the Magic and Fantasy are scheduled for Grand Cayman through the end of April 2014. The Wonder doesn't appear again after October 2013.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
The idea doesn't surprise me, as the Mexican market is one that's certainly had its issues and it allows them to do some Panama Canal repositioning cruises and those are always hugely popular. I think the Wonder will still stick with Alaska. I'm still disappointed that, yet again, 2013 is starting to look like another year without any European cruises. Here's hoping for 2014....
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Personally, I hope Disney goes back to the Baltic Sea! I know they went in 2010, but my family didn't make it but will if they choose to go again! Anyone do that cruise?! We went to the Med this summer and it was AMAZING!
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Disney Magic - 3 day '00, 14 day Med. '11, New Years '11
Disney Wonder - 4 day '04, 4 day '05
Disney Dream - 2 night Boys & Girls Club pre-inaugural
Disneyland - Thanksgiving 2010
DisneyWorld - WAY TOO MANY TIMES TO COUNT!
Personally, I hope Disney goes back to the Baltic Sea! I know they went in 2010, but my family didn't make it but will if they choose to go again! Anyone do that cruise?! We went to the Med this summer and it was AMAZING!
We did the Baltic and LOVED it! Can't understand why they seem to be off Europe.....
The main problem with Europe is the economy - it's very expensive for Americans to fly there, and with the unsettled economic conditions over there, they can't depend on a good response from European cruisers. Unfortunately, the Baltic cruise didn't sell as well as they hoped the first time around (the Mediterranean sells better), so I'm not holding my breath on seeing that repeated when DCL does return to Europe. I expect that, as long as the demand for Alaska remains strong, and they have an easy time selling summer itineraries from New York and other alternate East Coast home ports, they'll keep harvesting that low-hanging fruit.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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I think the Wonder will still stick with Alaska. I'm still disappointed that, yet again, 2013 is starting to look like another year without any European cruises. Here's hoping for 2014....
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