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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We're taking our daughter and her family on a cruise in February. Our grandchildren don't know about it yet and we're announcing it to them on Christmas. I was looking online and one of the packages you can have delivered to your room is a nightlight and a pillow (which would make a really nice autograph pillow). I'd love to get one for each of my grandchildren and have them unwrap it on Christmas. I called DCL and was told that those can only be delivered to a stateroom onboard the ship. Does anyone know of any way to get these delivered to your home address to announce your trip? If not, I suppose I can make something and then have these delivered to the room, but I'd really like to have these so the kids can unwrap them and I can see their reaction.
They don't deliver their gift items ashore. However, DisneyStore.com does have a "collection" of Disney Cruise Line merchandise. You can probably find some items there to help fill your own surprise gift baskets. Disney Cruise Line
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
How about having a personalized ornament to hang on the tree and have them find the cruise ship instead of the traditional 'find the pickle' (it's a southern thing). Or have a personalized t-shirt that they can wear on the cruise? If you want something that they can use as an 'autograph' item, how about a Disney diary? Putting clues inside wrapped packages might be fun was to 'reveal' your plans, too. I know they'll love the cruise! We are going on our 4th in 2012 on the Fantasy and our kids have loved every minute of them!
I bought a Disney Cruise online at DisneyStore.com really cheap, I put it in my son's backpack along with Disney sand toys I picked up at Dollar Tree and Walgreens's, you could get them that and some little things to keep them entertained on the way to the Port. Remember to pack light though!
I have seen Disney pillowcases at our local craft store (we have an AC Moore but I bet others have them too). You might be able to get those and a Disney nightlight and make your own surprise pillow gift. That way, you could just pack the pillowcase to take on the cruise and use on a Disney pillow.
Here is one of my favorite ideas for unwrapping a Disney trip. Works well for a cruise or a trip to the parks. It is simple but very effective. Go to a party store and get a Disney theme balloon. Our Iparty has a big Mickey head for about $10.00. Get a large box. Write a note on the bottom of the string “Your going on a cruise with Mickey” or something like that. Stuff the balloon in the box and wrap the box. When the kids open the box the balloon will float up. You can also put trinkets and other cruise items in the bottom of the box. We did this once and the reaction was priceless.
Thanks for all the great ideas. I'll work with my daughter on this and do what she thinks is appropriate. I'm also going to have the gift packages delivered to their stateroom so they can have that as a souvenier of their cruise.