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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So we are finally taking our kids on a Disney cruise (we went on DCL before we had kids!). We watched a video about DCL that we got a few years ago.
My older kids (twins) will be nearly 11 at the time of the cruise. We also have a 2 year old toddler, who is not nearly as high maintenance as the older kids
My older son was watching the video and was upset b/c he thought the things at the kids club looked too babyish. Both he and DD said they thought the stuff for teens looked better
Anyway, DS was on the verge of tears, complaining there would be nothing for him to do. I couldn't believe it!!
So I thought I would ask my fellow Passporters for some help convincing DS that he will have an amazing time! We are going on the Wonder for a 4 night cruise in May.
So for parents of tweens, what did your kids enjoy doing on the cruise?
No advice; but curious to hear the answers. I'm looking at booking a cruise and I will have tweens on board also- by time we go will be 12 and 13. They are the opposite though; super pumped and think the video looks like they will have lots to do. But, still curious to hear others responses- maybe it's just me, but I do feel the tweens seem to be lacking (based on the videos and info I've read) compared to the teens and the kids club. We haven't booked yet, but the cruise were looking at will be on the Wonder- the one ship that doesn't have a seperate tweens club! I'm really hoping they get on board with the tweens club also!
My 11 year old wasn't thrilled with the kids clubs - he went for the Pizza Party, to make Flubber, and for one other thing, I think. He did enjoy seeing some movies, especially the 3D ones. He liked swimming, and the arcade. His biggest thrill was the ability to walk around the ship by himself. As long as we knew where he was going, we gave him the freedom to do what he wanted - go to deck 10 to grab something to eat, or whatever. Sometimes he just relaxed in the cabin and watched TV. He liked Castaway Cay, as well. He didn't DO a lot, but he still enjoyed the cruise very much. Kids that age need to decompress as much as adults do, and I think the cruise allowed him to do that.
My DD was a month away from turning 12 on our Western cruise in September. I have to say she spent a ton of time at the kid's club always her choice to go. She would look at the activities listed in the Navigator and plan her time at the club around which activities interested her. Whenever I stopped in the kids just seemed to be hanging out playing video or board games. I think on the first night they have a meet and greet and the kids get to have some input on what activities they'll do for the week.But I have to say that all the tweens seemed to be enjoying themselves, there was always lots of laughter.
I think there's been a big change to kids club since September with a bigger spread in the ages that are grouped together so there may be more organized activities.
My DD is an only child so having kids her own age to hang out with on vacation was a real treat. She also loved being able to go to and from activities on her own. We always arranged a time to meet back in the room and set some ground rules.
She just told me last night that she thinks about our cruise all the time and can't wait to go again. I hope you have the same experience.
Great questions, my son will be 11 when we go this summer so I was wondering. He is also an only child so I know he will like hanging out at the kids club but I don't see him wanting to stay in there all the time. We haven't discussed him moving about the ship on his own but i know that he will love that.
I should have mentioned that there is a wii as well as a bank of screens to play video games. They also go up on deck to shoot hoops. You can look at old navigators to see the list of activities.
I myself have never been on a DCL cruise, but i found a usuful article on the site below on how to out what to expect while on cruise and how to find out what will be on during your cruise. Nautical Neil's Life on the Ocean Wave
Thanks for the information. My DD will turn 10 right before the cruise. She is also an only child and makes friends easily so I am sure she will have a great time hanging out with the other kids. She always has fun in the pool too. The Wii is a new addition since our last cruise in 2007.
It seems like we are always so busy on the Disney Cruise, with tours, meals, movies, shows that we don't really have a lot of down time.
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Margaret and I got to see the Cubs play in October. They won!
Thanks everyone! I know all my kids will love the cruise when they are there
DS loves to hang out at the pool, and I think will just love being on the ship in general. I think the challenge sometimes with this age group is that they are so used to structured, organized activities (sports, scouting, etc.) that they often aren't used to just hanging out and relaxing
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Things for tweens to do on DCL?
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. We haven't booked yet, but the cruise were looking at will be on the Wonder- the one ship that doesn't have a seperate tweens club! I'm really hoping they get on board with the tweens club also!
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