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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hello, this is my first post ever, hopefully it is not too long. We are booked on the November 10, 2007 Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Magic (Category 9). It will be me, my husband and our son (who will turn 5 the week before the cruise). Our 9th wedding anniversary falls during the cruise, and I'd like to do something special for my husband. I was thinking of purchasing the Romantic Escapes at Sea package, in part because it offers the chance to reserve excursions, Palo, etc. at 105 days out rather than 75. I really want to get my husband a spot on the 12 Metre Regatta on Saint Maarten and I am afraid it will be booked by the time we can reserve.
I searched the forum for this package but the latest post to reference it was in early 2006. Has anyone purchased this package recently? I'd like to know whether you felt it was worth the money spent and whether it helped you get the reservations/excursions you wanted.
You should have plenty of time to order the regatta. You should also celebrate DS birthday on the cruise. You may get some added goodies. Best of luck. Maybe an upgrade.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
LatinQT, Thanks for the reply and the advice on celebrating my son's birthday while on the ship! I know I mentioned it to my travel agent but I guess I can mention that and our anniversary when we check in. Is there something else I should do?
Also, have you (or anyone else) reserved excursions at 75 days out with no problem? I know that the regatta got a 10 in the passporter guide book so I was nervous that I wouldn't get him a spot.
Welcome Phelpsie! (From another CT PassPorter ) We haven't booked the package ourselves but from what I understand it is not as good of a value as it used to be. I don't know if I would book it just to get the early booking privileges. Here is a good description of the package and the value of the individual components: MouseSavers.com - Disney Cruise Line Advice, Tips and Tricks
Thanks Sara! Early reservation time was pretty much my main reason for wanting to book the package. I read the mousesavers description, and I had been trying to convince myself of the value, but you're probably right that it isn't worth it for just the earlier reservation time. I really am not into saunas, so we probably wouldn't get our money's worth with the spa part of the package, plus we are going to have our son with us, so that is going to cut down on the romance aspect, too! So I guess I won't bother with it. I'll have to surprise him for our anniversary some other way. Any ideas?
If you want the dining room crew to be aware of your celebrations, its best to do it before you check in. If you booked through a travel agent, call the agent and ask that those celebrations be added to your reservation info. If you booked yourself, call DCL and do likewise. If for some reason you don't get around to doing this, speak to your server on the first night - they'll still be able to make something happen.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
We cruised on the Wonder May 13-17, 2007 and since it was our 20th wedding anniversary, I decided to book the Romance at Sea Package. Partly because it was our anniversary and partly because as a travel agent who specializes in Disney, I wanted first-hand experience with the pros and cons with the package.
First off, the stateroom gift included in the package was wonderful - two waffle-weave robes embroidered with the DCL logo, a silver DCL 8x10 picture frame and a heart-shaped box of Ghirardelli chocolates all placed in a pretty basket. There was also an anniversary card from the Captain and officers.
Booking at 105-days was a nice perk but as Castaway Club members who can book at 90-days, I don't know if that particular option was much of a benefit in our situation. We did get the exact day and time for our Palo dinner & brunch that I wanted but don't know if the 15 days earlier made much difference. It would, however, be a benefit to first-time cruisers as they can jump to the head of the reservations line for Palo (definately a plus for shorter cruises) and harder-to-book shore excursions.
We didn't use the Tropical Rainforest pass (too much else to do!) but the other parts of the package were nice. Our rose-petal turn-down service was beautiful and the choices for our champagne brunch the next morning were good. They ended up bringing us TWO of everything that we ordered so we had more than enough food! You can order hot items like blueberry pancakes and eggs benedict - normally room service breakfast is cold / continental items only (unless you're a suite guest!)
Our Palo dinner was fantastic (but then again, it always is) but was made even better by the fantastic service of Serena. She couldn't have been any more wonderful! The $10 per-person cost is covered by the package along with a bottle of wine. Since my husband doesn't drink (and two drinks would be a no-no with my medications), I opted for a single glass of wine which she recommended. At the end of the evening, she brought us an entire bottle of the wine to take with us (so I only had to pay for the single glass).
All-in-all, it was a lovely experience. If you're celebrating a special occasion, then it is a great way to add a bit more magic to your cruise. Was it worth the extra money? I feel it was, even with not using the rain forest pass (which was hard on a 4-night cruise to find the time). The stateroom gift alone was about $200 worth of goodies (I was told the robe included isn't the same one sold in the gift shop to guests which makes it more exclusive). Not everyone has the same idea of what a good value is - some want to see cold, hard items to equal the dollar value spent but some of this package can't be measured in monetary terms. Booking early to guarantee what you've got your heart set on can be more priceless than any picture frame! The obvious time and effort into creating towel swans, a heart made out of rose petals, and a petals on the floor was touching. My 20th wedding anniversary only comes around once - and we were fortunate enough to celebrate in our happiest place. The Romance at Sea package was a wonderful extension of that celebration.
Enjoy your cruise!
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Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
Lynn, Thank you so much for your detailed post, I really appreciate you taking the time to describe everything. I am now tempted to do the package based on all your information. Even though it isn't a big year anniversary for us, we have been through a lot the past few years and I really want to surprise my husband with something special. I guess it's a good thing that I have time to decide.
Dave, thanks for your info on how to get the birthday/anniversary added to the reservation, I appreciate it!
I love these boards - I'm hooked!
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The three of us on our November 2009 Disney cruise
Michele
DVC member since 2008
I was wondering about this too. My husband & I will be with 3 other adults on the cruise, and I was wondering if I can include them on the Palo reservation as well? Can I make 3 reservations, for brunch, high tea and dinner for 5 adults? And I thought you can only make reservations 95 days ahead of time for Palo and not the shore excursions, so I can make those too? Thanks!
Hi Phelpsie, I'll be on the same cruise as you! It's my family's first cruise ever and I did book the REAS for my husband and myself, even though we are sharing a Family Stateroom with our two teenage sons. Not too romantic.......but maybe that's why I thought we could use the extra trappings. The items in the package sounded nice, but the main reason I did it was so I could make our dining reservations further out. I want to have dinner and brunch at Palo's, and was reading posts on the DIS boards from people who couldn't get Palo reservations when they called, especially the first time cruisers. I think a lot of it depends on the time of year and how many repeat cruisers are on board, and I'm sure they all got what they wanted after they boarded. I just didn't want to deal with the uncertainty. Don't know if that helps you at all, but thought I'd chime in.
I appreciate all of this info, too. I did tell DCL that it would be our 10th anniversary and our daughter's 9th birthday (yes, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary in the hospital with a 2-day-old baby!)... and they said they would have some surprises waiting for us. Even though we'll have our kids on the cruise, I think I might splurge on the romance package, as well. Thanks, everyone!
Susanm, How cool that we are on the same cruise! I am now back to leaning toward getting the package. I thought it might be weird booking a romance package when we will have our five year old in the room, but your post made me feel better about that. I am with you on being nervous about getting Palo and the excursions so the package will hopefully eliminate that issue. I don't want to deal with the uncertainty of waiting until I'm onboard either. I love planning so not having something arranged in advanced is very stressful to me!
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The three of us on our November 2009 Disney cruise
Michele
DVC member since 2008
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) We haven't booked the package ourselves but from what I understand it is not as good of a value as it used to be. I don't know if I would book it just to get the early booking privileges. Here is a good description of the package and the value of the individual components: 
I was wondering about this too. My husband & I will be with 3 other adults on the cruise, and I was wondering if I can include them on the Palo reservation as well? Can I make 3 reservations, for brunch, high tea and dinner for 5 adults? And I thought you can only make reservations 95 days ahead of time for Palo and not the shore excursions, so I can make those too? Thanks!
--Susan
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