Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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06-10-2002, 10:32 AM
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#1
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 16,825
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Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
I was all set to plan 3 nights at WDW after our cruise when last night I dreamed we had a room with a verandah. Now I don't know what to do! [img]graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] So - do I upgrade the cabin and skip the days at WDW? Or stick with the porthole room and add the WDW days?
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06-10-2002, 10:40 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Kyle, Texas
Posts: 601
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
According to my cruise veteran parents go for the lower end room. All you're going to do in the room is sleep [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] and shower.
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06-10-2002, 10:46 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,365
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
It's fun to spend other people's money and I was soooo tempted to say do both, but honestly - I'd go for the verandah cabin. We've cruised only twice, but so enjoyed having a larger cabin.
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06-10-2002, 07:53 PM
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#4
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Community Rank: Jetsetter 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Arlington,Texas USA
Posts: 2,555
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
Speaking from experience -- Our first Disney cruise we were fortunate enough to be given an upgrade to a verandah. It was absolutely unforgetable! It was part of the land/sea package. Last year we did the 7 day cruise and booked the verandah (once you experience it, there's no going back!). That was supposed to be the whole vacation. Then I couldn't stand the thought of being in Orlando and not going to the World, so we added days to the end of the cruise.
If you can possibly afford it, go for both!
tinksmom
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06-10-2002, 07:55 PM
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#5
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Community Rank: Traveler 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Colleyville, Tx
Posts: 271
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
Belle,
To have your morning beverage out on the verandah just seems like heaven to me.
To relax on the verandah staring out at the ocean while the sun is setting just seems like heaven to me.
To sit out there in the late evening after you've had a wonderful dinner, show, tons of fun on the ship...just letting the wind blow in your hair seems like heaven to me.
Are you seeing a pattern here? Let me know what you decide as I may have the same scenario come Jan/Feb03.
On the other hand - 3 nites at the All Stars afterward with the latest discount wouldn't be tooooo bad. Ut ohhh, would that kill the budget?
I'm still voting for both! YOu only live once, do it to the fullest. Besides, you deserve it.
Disneyfan
[ 06-10-2002, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: DISNEYFAN ]
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06-11-2002, 03:56 AM
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#6
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 14,427
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
If there are two of you, and you have a verandah you may do more than just sleep and shower in the room--you might make greater use of room service, read in privacy while your companion snoozes inside, or enjoy panoramic views from the comfort of your bed. With three or four in the room things may still seem to cramped, and you may still prefer spending less time the room.
What I like best about the verandah is the way those big wall-to-wall glass doors open up the room, making it seem far larger than comparable non-verandah rooms. I also enjoy the freedom to wander outside at any time of day or night, regardless of attire (except when in port, of course [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ). However, in all but the top categories, the verandahs are fairly small and don't come equipped with the cushy deck chairs you'll find on Deck 4. So, if you want a quiet, breezy place to read that really thick book, I'd still vote for Deck 4, rather than a Cat 6 or 7 verandah.
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06-11-2002, 06:59 AM
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#7
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Florida Big Bend
Posts: 17,133
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
Ok, in a perfect world I agree upgrade both [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] . Realistically speaking I'd have to go with the cruise upgrade. DH's editor cruises all the time and does all different categories, cruise lines etc. So we deferred to her when planning our first cruise in November and did Category 6 with verandah. I agree with Disneyfan and Dave as that's basically how it was presented to us. Get ahold of Jean. She's done Disney as well as some other cruiselines and helped us ALOT. We couldn't decide between 6 and 5. When she made our ressies they had both. She described both to me on the phone. DH is the sailor who grew up on Lake Winipisabi in NH (sorry for butchering the spelling - coffee hasn't kicked in so I'm doing it phoenetically) and Long Lake in Maine. There was only a $200. difference and I asked her sage advice. She said save the $200. for shore excursion or shopping! That's what we did!
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06-11-2002, 08:13 AM
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#8
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: jacksonville, fl usa
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 5,790
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
I'm going against the verandah, and saying add WDW days to the trip. You will be on the 4-night cruise, with a stop in Freeport rather than a day at sea. With all that's going on, and with the port calls, you probably won't be spending as much time in the room. If it were a 7-nighter, than definitely the verandah, but for the shorter cruises, I would stick with adding days at WDW.
Keep in mind the verandah rooms aren't any larger than the non-verandah rooms (unless you are talking category's 11 & 12), so you aren't adding space, except for the verandah. Also, with a bit of luck and ***pixie dust*** you may get a coveted upgrade to boot (although, don't count on it. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] )
Enjoy your vacation, no matter what you decide! [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]
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06-11-2002, 09:27 PM
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#9
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 16,825
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
Well, for $200 more we upgraded to a Navigator Verandah. Thanks so much for all the advice! I am really looking forward to having the fresh air and we are really the types to just sit near the opening and read or enjoy breakfast with the doors open. Plus, we got a Cat 7 guarantee so there is still a chance for an upgrade. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
P.S. I should note, I have not ruled out adding a couple nights at WDW. It all depends on airfare and room rates for that time period! [img]graemlins/puter.gif[/img]
[ 06-11-2002, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: Belle* ]
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06-11-2002, 10:46 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Florida Big Bend
Posts: 17,133
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
Sara, I was under the impression the Navigators' Verandah's are enclosed.....although the Wonder's NVs have bigger "window"s. - That was why went with a regular "verandah stateroom".
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06-12-2002, 11:47 AM
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#11
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 16,825
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
No, the Navigator's Verandahs are open i.e. there is no glass. But the opening is in the shape of a porthole (Round on the Magic, slightly bigger Oval shape on the Wonder). So you get privacy AND fresh air! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] At least this is my understanding. Has anyone ever been in an one of these rooms? I read about them and saw pictures on www.castawayclub.com but I'm starting to doubt myself. |
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06-12-2002, 03:38 PM
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#12
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 16,825
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
I double-checked. They're open! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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06-12-2002, 03:48 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Florida Big Bend
Posts: 17,133
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
No kidding?! - Can you sit outside; or just open a "window"?
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06-12-2002, 03:50 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Adventurer
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Minneola, FL, USA
Posts: 920
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
Sara,
If you haven't already seen this site, you might like it.
http://www.mytravelco.com/cruises/cruiseship/360/
You can view a 360-degree Virtual Tour of different cabins. Very [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img] but it does take some time to load. I just checked it, and agree the Navigator's Veranda looks open. |
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06-12-2002, 04:26 PM
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#15
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Community Rank: Trailblazer
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: jacksonville, fl usa
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 5,790
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Re: Upgrade DCL cabin vs. Days at WDW?
We had a Navigator's Verandah, and loved it! They are definitely open air, and there is a small table and chair outside. Also, on one side, there is a small bench built into the wall. Very cute, and definitely worth the price.
Sara, you will love this. It gives you the verandah experience (open air, fresh air!) at an unbeatable rate.
If I can find our pics and get the scanner up and working, I will post. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
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