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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 know they do wake up calls but the clocks in the room are not alarm clocks. I bought a battery operated one at walmart or the dollar store i can't remember which now but it just was a basic alarm clock the size of a cell phone that i could put one double A battery in and set the time.
It gave me a back up in case they forgot to call.
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Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust! Studying Hard to Make a Difference!
I have also read that the clocks don't light up or glow at all, so if you are buying a travel alarm, make sure it's one you can read in the dark if you want to!
The wake up calls are automated. What I have always been more worried about is me not making the call the night before.
Even the Super 8 I had this weekend used automated calls. Although my phone had a much nastier ring. And I could always pop it open and shut and read the time, since there was no clock in the room. Sheesh, you'd think for $150 a night they'd at least have one in the room.
I think a clock radio would be particularly annoying at sea, since you couldn't possibly hope to tune into a radio station at bed time and still be within range of that same transmitter in the morning.
These days, I think the automated phone wake-ups are the lesser of several evils, especially on a moving ship. First, they're very easy to set (they talk you through the process and recite the selection you made). Second, there are no tiny switches with impossible to read labels that may be set in the wrong position. Third, you won't have any problems if you cross into a different time zone overnight.
My own alarm clock at home is so annoying to set that I always leave the alarm "on," even when I don't need to wake up. I'm really good at hitting the off button while I'm asleep.
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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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Dave, we're up at 6 on weekdays. The dogs get us (me) up between 7 and 7:30 on weekends for potty and breakfast. Then I'm back in bed in about 15 minutes. If that alarm clock went off at six, I'd get whapped something fierce. Of course, mine is simple to set and use. And loud and obnoxious.
The wake up service through the phone really is easy to use and effective. As for the clocks in the room, the real downside is that you can't see them in the dark. I know I would wake up wanting to know what time it is, and the only way I could find out is if I got up out of bed. (who wants to do that) So if that's a problem you might want to consider bringing a clock that has a light.
Not only do they do wakeup calls, but (unless my memory is playing tricks on me, or I'm having a Senior Moment) the call comes from the Big Cheese, Mickey himself!
we did the wake up calls and they were more than fine -- although we also used the stateroom clock - (the propeller one) it set like an "old" alarm clock - so not easy to get an exact time -- but it was nice to wake up to "When you Wish Upon a Star"