Just Got Off the Dream--Differences We Hadn't Anticipated - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Just Got Off the Dream--Differences We Hadn't Anticipated
Okay folks, Disney Cruise #8 is now under our belts. We had a 5 night on the Disney Dream, June 30 -- July 5. There were some changes/differences/surprises that we had not anticipated and I want attempt to capture them. Here we go:
Rebooking your next cruise: I have used the "quote cards" previously to rebook our next cruise, sometimes never physically seeing the person at the future cruise sales desk on Deck 4. By using paper and voice mail, reservations and deposits were made at my convenience. So, I was surprised that I had to make my way to the vacation planning center, between Shutters and D-Lounge on Deck 4, scan my Key to the World Card on the kiosk in the center of the room, look for my name to show up on the display screen hanging in the room that has the wait list and then wait to be served. And, mind you, this was available only during their open hours which was not at my convenience, but at theirs. While I was there, I asked the reasons for the change and was told that the "quote cards" were no longer being used because if a guest waited 3 days after receiving the quote, the price and availability may have changed. As for my service, the cruise we booked I was told there was no discount and I kindly disagreed, knowing that we had received discounts previously and after checking, I was proven correct at the surprise of the future cruise sales staff. Also, we have experienced 10% deposits no matter the length of cruise and this time, 20% is required for cruises less than 6 nights while longer cruises have a 10% deposit. There ARE cards to book a placeholder cruise with a $250 deposit. Short story: We did rebook but it was more hassle, or felt like more hassle, this time.
Cove Cafe: The husband has been using and collecting Cove Cafe punch cards over multiple cruises. We were informed this cruise that punches are no longer given and that punch cards are no longer offered.
FROZEN meet and greet was with Olaf and Anna, no Elsa. We had met Anna and Elsa the last two cruises on the Disney Fantasy.
Double Fireworks! We were surprised to learn upon boarding that in addition to Pirate Night fireworks on July 3, we would be treated to 4th of July fireworks on the last night of our cruise. This was the first time in history at that the Dream had done such a thing.
Patriotic Characters--On July 4, which was a "at sea" day, characters were out in their patriotic gear. Nice addition!
No "Sea You Real Soon" or "Until We Meet Again" on the last night. Instead, there was a 4th of July party at 12:15 in the Lobby Atrium with the singing of the Star Spangled Banner and characters, similar to "Sea You Real Soon" but with fewer characters. We asked for clarification of what the party/show was going to be, so we knew what to expect. Guests who had never sailed with Disney were not expecting character meeting opportunities and instead, had settled in for a show.
Shutters--two lines to wait in on Disembarkation morning instead of 1. We had purchased an all print/all digital photo package prior to sailing. When picking up on Disembarkation morning, there was one line for digital pick-up (USB) and another line for print pick-ups. Not efficient!
Watch and Diamond line in White Caps--I just read about Tiffanys being added to the Disney Fantasy and noted that a watch and diamond line (I think Diamonds International) have been added in White Caps beyond the original jewelry cases.
We saw those kiosks for future cruise bookings, but didn't use them in March - stupid really, as we ended up booking two cruises for September 2018 and I kicked myself at that point. We wondered how they worked and assumed they would make things easier - maybe not.... How disappointing as well that you knew more about on-board discounts than the Disney staff...
Disappointing about the Cove Café cards, we've used those in the past and found them to be a nice perk.
How cool about the extra fireworks and patriotic characters on July 4. In all honesty, I'm shocked Disney have never done July 4 fireworks at sea before - I just assumed they did.
We were on the Dream June 24-30 and I received my cove Cafe punch card. As far as rebooking I just did a place holder and took care of it when I got home. So much easier.
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We wondered how they worked and assumed they would make things easier - maybe not.... 
How disappointing as well that you knew more about on-board discounts than the Disney staff... 
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