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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We just booked today and we were unable to get the early seating. We are on the waiting list and my TA says we can call back a few times and send a letter and something might open up for us. I am terribly nervous that it will not work out. Most of my party will be fine with the later times, but my 4 year old I think he will really struggle. I have only cruised one other time with Disney and I was not knee deep in details and planning like I am now, so I do not know what our chances are of getting it switched. Does anyone have an experience with this? I know when making ADR's for WDW I can keep calling back and I might get lucky, and I have in the past, but what are my chances on this?
We originally had late dining and were waitlisted for main, and got it a few months before we cruised. I think several people on our cruise were even able to change their seating once we got onboard because after the first night the table next to us was completely empty the whole cruise.
I was able to change from late to early seating right after boarding. There was a desk set up for this right near the one for Palo reservations in Rockin' Bar D.
We were on the waiting list for early dinner seating for our 4-night cruise this past April. We ended up getting the latest possible dining time ! We didn't ask about switching to early seating once we were aboard so I don't know what the chances of that are. I would assume that Disney does take into consideration if you have kids in your party or not. It was just DH and I so they probably didn't see an important reason why we'd need an early seating time. If you really end up getting a late dinner seating, I'd definitely check with Disney once aboard and explain that you have a 4-year-old in your party who won't be happy to be eating that late.
It is possible to change - either before sailing or once you're on board. Note that your TA will have to call and check on the request (as the reservation is technically in their custody, they have to make all the changes).
One thing I'd like to mention as an advantage to second dining is that you will see the shows first. On my daughter's first cruise, she was 4-1/2 and we had main dining so saw the later show. Not once did she manage to stay awake for the entire show! Our night at Lumiere's, she even fell asleep at the table. Her days were filled with swimming and playing in the Oceaneer's Club so she was really tired by the end of the day.
Next cruise when my son was young, we had second dining. I also struggled with wanting a more "normal" mealtime but second dining ended up be a good thing for us. I think the philosophy of turning lemons into lemonade really helped us find a great solution.
We made sure he had a snack or something light to eat before the show (either from room service or the snack bars on deck 9). He loved seeing every show and still recalls the magician who was on board (turns out it was Mike Super, winner of last years' TV show 'Phenomenom'!)
Then, he either went to dinner with us (and managed to eat again!) or he went to the Oceaneer's Club. I really didn't have a problem with him going to the club while we were at dinner, after all, it was his vacation too. Who wants to be 'stuck' sitting at a table with grown-ups for 1-1/2 hours when you can be hanging out with kids your own age making Flubber!
He did have dinner with us on formal and pirate night (ours was a 7-night cruise). Everyone ended up happy and we had a fantastic time!
__________________
Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
Right after boarding, we changed ressies for Palo. There were lots of people there to switch seating times. They seemed able to accommodate the people that were there at the same time. We went immediately after boarding.
Good Luck.
A lot (most) of the shows on the 7 night western had matinees if the showtimes are an issue.
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! We didn't ask about switching to early seating once we were aboard so I don't know what the chances of that are. I would assume that Disney does take into consideration if you have kids in your party or not. It was just DH and I so they probably didn't see an important reason why we'd need an early seating time. If you really end up getting a late dinner seating, I'd definitely check with Disney once aboard and explain that you have a 4-year-old in your party who won't be happy to be eating that late.
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