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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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DS no longer has "in between pants" (he's growing inches every month!). Now he only has jeans and one pair of dress slacks. When we cruised when he was little he wore shorts and nice shirts, when he was a younger teen he wore cargo pants and polo t-shirts.
At 16 now, would plaid shorts and a polo shirt be okay or should I get some dockers for him? DH will be wearing dockers and polo shirts and I'll wear casual disney sundresses or nicer capris. I worry DS will feel under dresses compared to DH and me and that would make him feel uncomfortable. Or would he be over dressed for his age which would also make him feel uncomfortable. What do you think other 16 year old males will be wearing?
Also, for semi formal night is a shirt, tie and dress slacks okay even if DH will wear a suit? (He's not going to formal night with us - he doesn't have a suit or suit coat.)
When we've done 7 night itineraries with formal and semi-formal nights, we've rented tuxedos for the guys from cruiselineformal.com. It's really easy--all they need are measurements. The tuxes are delivered to your stateroom and then picked up the last night of your cruise. Another thing that makes it easy is that the tux comes with two shirts. So, for formal night, it's the whole tux--even shoes and socks can be added. On semi-formal night, it can be the shirt and jacket--no tie. I packed a nice sweater vest for our son, and he wore that over the shirt with the pants for semi-formal night. I liked that it meant less packing! And, since the pants aren't worn for very long each evening, they could be worn for several nights.
My 16 year old DS wore dockers and polo shirts (including on semi-formal night). For formal night he wore a dress shirt and tie (but still with dockers). I am sure your DS would be fine in shorts, but I know that mine actually enjoyed "dressing up" for dinner, and he doesn't say that very often!
Dockers are a good idea. And if you want to find some cheap, you might try your local Goodwill or Salvation Army store. It's a great place to find clothes when your kids are going through those growing stages.
My boys (now 12, 15 and almost 17) wore tan pants (khakis) and polo shirts every night to dinner on our last 2 cruises - 2010 and 2011. For the longer cruise (the adults) scheduled Palo during the semi formal night, so the kids chose to eat on their own (not in the dining room). I think nice shorts and a polo would be fine. I would think on semi formal night a dress shirt and khakis would be fine. Not sure my kids would want to wear a tie, but I'd ask. I know they would not wear tuxedos!
Dockers and polo shirts will fit in well with the other teen boys attire on board. I wouldn't insist on the tie unless he want to wear one on semi formal night. I don't recall seeing any of the older boys in ties on any of our cruises unless they were doing a formal photo session with the family.
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Margaret and I got to see the Cubs play in October. They won!
I agree with the other posts. I have sailed several times with 2 DS that ranged in age from 12 - 18. They always wear docker style pants and a polo. On formal night they wore black docker style pants, shirt and tie. Semi-formal night was the black pants and a button down shirt, no tie. They looked fine both nights.
We leave on our Alaskan cruise in less than 2 weeks and for the first time they will actually have suits. However, I just picked up a pair of tan docker style pants for my DS13 at Wallymart for $11. He gets his pants in the men's dept. I'd check good old Wallymart if I were looking for cheap pants.
So, here's an idea...we were recently at the Kentucky Derby. Lots of the young men there "sported" the printed/seer sucker shorts with the navy jacket attire along with flip flops and it was very much accepted and seemed to be "the thing". Now, how well that would be accepted on DCL is unknown but it was certainly accepted and festive among a crowd of very fashionable dressers. Good luck, I have DDs so I'm always shopping for these things /
That jacket-and-shorts "look" is also seen in the Caribbean - it would be quite acceptable on board. And truth be told, I wear sandals to dinner most nights. They just don't go with a tux, though.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
That jacket-and-shorts "look" is also seen in the Caribbean - it would be quite acceptable on board. And truth be told, I wear sandals to dinner most nights. They just don't go with a tux, though.
So, here's an idea...we were recently at the Kentucky Derby. Lots of the young men there "sported" the printed/seer sucker shorts with the navy jacket attire along with flip flops and it was very much accepted and seemed to be "the thing". Now, how well that would be accepted on DCL is unknown but it was certainly accepted and festive among a crowd of very fashionable dressers. Good luck, I have DDs so I'm always shopping for these things /
Old Navy tends to have sales on their 'dress' pants/khakis periodically. I had a part time job that I couldn't wear shorts or jeans to, but had to have something that could also stand up to activity. I think I was buying these for $10-15. Should work for someone growing and at a good price.
Last year when I was 17, I wore dark jeans and a polo on Cruise Casual nights. I was growing very fast at the time and had no reason to buy pants. And we neglected to get some before the cruise. It worked out just fin and remember that your legs are under a table (dinner) or in the dark (theatre) all night. For someone his age, a darker color jean will be fine, but dockers may be better.
On our 5 day in March, my DS14 and DS18 wore jeans with collared shirts on the cruise casual nights (always with shirts tucked in). On semi-formal and formal nights, they wore khakis with collared shirts. On our last 7 day, they wore ties on formal night and alternated khakis and jeans on other nights. Some people may not find this acceptable, but I think as long as they look neat, it is fine. They have been known to wear jeans with a tie to church! Hey, as long as they are going, I'm not complaining.