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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 whats the best way to get a reservation?? we live in australia and i dont want to sit on and international phone call to get a reservation. do they let you book on line??? thanks
You can book online 75 days prior to your cruise on DCL's web site. (90 days for Castaway Club members - previous cruisers). Or you can book once you board.
Yes. The reservations open at some obscene hour in the morning (it's changed since I last sailed). But obscene here is mid day there. The next day.
Carol used to have conference calls with the folks in Adelaide. The very first one was for Friday. Everybody missed it. Adelaide is 13 1/2 hours ahead of CST, I think Sydney is 14. CST is GMT -6 and EST is GMT -5. Remember that EDT is GMT -4.
Reservations are now done online at Midnight Eastern. Much better than the 3 am Eastern it used to be. I love Palo Brunch and we'll be booking it for our upcoming Eastern cruise in April.
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We were on the Jan 13th Wonder and had dinner and brunch at Palo. We were able to book these reservations 105 days prior with the suite and even though they were existing we were charged the new $15 charge.
It was, as everyone else mentioned, definately worth it.
We just got off the Wonder last Thursday.
We did the Palo Brunch and it was wonderful as usual. I requested a whell chair so they can wheel me out of there!!!
Anyway, although I made my Palo ressie 90 days before we sailed, we were still charged the $15 instead of the $10. It doesn't really matter since it so worth it but just a little FYI.
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I had a couple questions about Palo...I noticed people mentioning the online time reservations open. Is this necessary? does it really book that quickly? I'm getting paranoid thinking I need to set an alarm or something LOL! Another thing is for my 15th Anniversary/Honeymoon I never had we are adding on the Romance at sea package. In the passporter it notes you cant do palo dinner twice and i KNOW my dad will want to dine there. Does this mean I will not be able to make a seperate reservation to dine with him? or will he be able to tag along on our Palo night? also, I think I read you can do dinner & brunch. Im curious the best days to book those & my spa ressies as well. I dont want to miss any exciting events that passporter is planning. will our Passporter itineraries/activities be posted before the time of the reservations? Sorry to hijack the thread.
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hey again
so all I have to do is work out 90 days till cruise sail date or is it date I want to dine??If I pay my balance before due date ie: 180 days before sailing can I book earlier?? So the reservations open midnight, so I add 14 hrs to my time and ring 2pm the day before???
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I had a couple questions about Palo...I noticed people mentioning the online time reservations open. Is this necessary? does it really book that quickly? I'm getting paranoid thinking I need to set an alarm or something LOL! Another thing is for my 15th Anniversary/Honeymoon I never had we are adding on the Romance at sea package. In the passporter it notes you cant do palo dinner twice and i KNOW my dad will want to dine there. Does this mean I will not be able to make a seperate reservation to dine with him? or will he be able to tag along on our Palo night? also, I think I read you can do dinner & brunch. Im curious the best days to book those & my spa ressies as well. I dont want to miss any exciting events that passporter is planning. will our Passporter itineraries/activities be posted before the time of the reservations? Sorry to hijack the thread.
Back in the "old days" Palo reservations weren't as hard to get, but as more and more people who sail are repeat cruisers, more folks are "in the know." Since you have "priority seating" with your Romance package, you don't have to worry about that early morning reservation-making rush - you make your Romance package reservation using a different procedure.
It can't hurt to try to get your Dad added to your Palo reservation - ask your agent if it can be done.
Since you and your dad's cruise reservations are linked in Disney's system (you did say you want to sit together at regular meals, right?), if your Dad tries to make a Palo dinner reservation for three, DCL will automatically assume that the two of you will be his guests, and your "quota" for Palo dining will be applied to his request (possibly resulting in a "nothing available" response to his request). Definitely aim to try for Palo brunch with your dad, since none of you should be locked-out from that. Brunch is only available on at-sea days, so that narrows down your choices a bit.
Naturally, at-sea days are also the most popular days for spa treatments. It's easier to get reservations on days that the ship is in port - perhaps plan a treatment before you head off the ship, or plan to be back on the ship early in the afternoon. Evenings are also good times at the spa, since there's so much competition from dinner, the live shows, deck parties, etc.
I'm sure we'll have the Decade of Dreams Tour activities planned well in advance. While there may be some activities that can't be scheduled as much as 105 days in advance (earliest time for reservations by concierge guests), we'll at least have target times for those events.
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so all I have to do is work out 90 days till cruise sail date or is it date I want to dine??If I pay my balance before due date ie: 180 days before sailing can I book earlier?? So the reservations open midnight, so I add 14 hrs to my time and ring 2pm the day before???
my head is starting to hurt already
105 days in advance is the earliest - if you have a Cat. 1-3 stateroom, or the Romance package. 90 days in advance if you're a Castaway Club member (previous Disney cruise), 75 days if you've never cruised with Disney and are in Categories 4-12. That'll be in regard to the departure date of the cruise, not the date of the actual meal.
If you pay in full sooner than that, I suppose Disney's finance people will like you alot, but you'll still have to wait to make your Palo, spa, and shore excursion reservations. Believe me, if folks could reserve as soon as they paid in full, a lot of folks would pay the same day they make their reservation, just for the sake of Palo.
I'm currently watching the Australian Open on TV. It's nearly 3:00pm Tuesday in Melbourne, it's nearly 11:00pm Monday here in Michigan (Eastern time zone, same as Florida).... So I guess the accuracy of your calculation depends on whether you're in the same time zone as Melbourne.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Back in the "old days" Palo reservations weren't as hard to get, but as more and more people who sail are repeat cruisers, more folks are "in the know." Since you have "priority seating" with your Romance package, you don't have to worry about that early morning reservation-making rush - you make your Romance package reservation using a different procedure.
It can't hurt to try to get your Dad added to your Palo reservation - ask your agent if it can be done.
Since you and your dad's cruise reservations are linked in Disney's system (you did say you want to sit together at regular meals, right?), if your Dad tries to make a Palo dinner reservation for three, DCL will automatically assume that the two of you will be his guests, and your "quota" for Palo dining will be applied to his request (possibly resulting in a "nothing available" response to his request). Definitely aim to try for Palo brunch with your dad, since none of you should be locked-out from that. Brunch is only available on at-sea days, so that narrows down your choices a bit.
Naturally, at-sea days are also the most popular days for spa treatments. It's easier to get reservations on days that the ship is in port - perhaps plan a treatment before you head off the ship, or plan to be back on the ship early in the afternoon. Evenings are also good times at the spa, since there's so much competition from dinner, the live shows, deck parties, etc.
I'm sure we'll have the Decade of Dreams Tour activities planned well in advance. While there may be some activities that can't be scheduled as much as 105 days in advance (earliest time for reservations by concierge guests), we'll at least have target times for those events.
Thanks so much, that was very helpful. you know years ago when i bought my very first passporter i never would have thought i would be getting insider information from the "man himself"! THIS is what sets you guys apart from all the others. Not to mention all the awesome people of this community. Im loving the organization and packing boards. stellar stuff. im hoping to form a few friendships long before we set sail. okay im done blowing smoke. rofl! im just really excited. i just got my reservation numbers and was able to go online and check it out. a whole new world opens up. very cool.
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