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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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I was thinking of booking a disney cruise through my travel agent. She is not a disney expert nor does she have one on hand but she knows me very well from booking several non disney trips. My question is: Is is cheaper to book through her or on my own. I want a land and sea package at the end of september/first of october. The price online seems expensive. I'm not sure but is it cheaper to book them separate. I am used to paying between 6-700 per cruise but with this being a land and sea package it was nearly 1000 per person. Which seemed a lot to me. I didnt know if the TA can book it cheaper,etc. Also, what is your experience with cruise booked in sept/oct on the disney ships? are there a lot of complaints? Can you help me figure this out??
There are times when as a TA, we can get certain cruise dates cheaper because agencies book group space when the dates are released. This means that we booked group space at an Early Booking Savings which we can then pass on to the customer. But what you will see more frequently is an agency offering rebates or onboard credits as incentives for booking with them.
It is usually less expensive to book the land and sea portions of your trip seperately. Since Disney links your land accomodations to the stateroom category you book when you book a package, you are limited in your choices. Booking them seperately allows you to splurge on an ocean view or verandah stateroom while saving your $$ on a value resort like Pop Century. Or vice-versa - splurge on a moderate or deluxe at WDW but save on an inside cabin while at sea.
It looks like you got your Sept/Oct question answered in the Cruise forum but just in case... September/October is Hurricane Season however this means that it is a less expensive time to cruise. The weather (when not raining) is still beautiful and crowds at the parks are usually reasonable aside from holiday weekends. Plus, the ship can alter it's itinerary to avoid the worst of the weather.
Oh yes this does help....Its all new to me when it comes to cruising with disney so i thought i would ask. Yeah i think i may chance september if feasible. Just to see what its like. Thanks for the info!
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You should price it both ways. A lot depends on what you want in the way of accommodations. If a Value is all you need at the parks, then you'll have to book them separetly. Rebating is getting harder. Disney has new rules about final payments that make it harder. You can still do it. Disney is looking at what a number of cruise lines have already done, which is to limit the amount of time you can offer a group. Although if this change came about, it probably wouldn't be until the next release of dates&rates. Booking a Land & Sea is a tricky proposition. There are a lot of variables to consider. If I weren't an agent, I'd go with one. Someone with Disney experience. You seem to know cruises and you probably know Disney, but the two together can sometimes be confusing the first time around. Yes, it's expensive. Disney has an audience that's willing to step up and pay the price. Some hotels in the Orlando area are discounting rooms heavily. Disney occasionally has "sales", but you don't really save much. The same thing with DCL. Carnival has some great prices on their Bahamas cruises out of Canaveral, but not DCL. And they're sailing above capacity.
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