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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 have a cruise booked for 10/18/08. when i booked the cruise with disney, i requested a cat 12 (sold out) so they booked cat 11...i asked for gnty...they said that there is no gnty ...they assigned a cabin number. is there truth to the fact that they only offer gnty when cat is sold out or over booked? is there a chance for a upgrade? (castaway cay members) please advise in 2005 we booked gnty and got upgraded to cat 8? should i call disney and ask fo a manager or let is slide and see what happens . right now booked on deck 6 forward .......please help!!!!
You should always book the category stateroom that you will be happy staying in. While upgrades do happen and they are most likely to happen to those in Cat 11 or 12 staterooms, they are still not a frequent occurence. They do not sell Guaranty staterooms unless they are sold out of a category. Even without a Guaranty, there is still a possibility of an upgrade but don't count on it.
A GTY stateroom booking is based on the expectation that there will be cancellations between the time you book and the time you sail. So even if the category is currently sold-out, it doesn't mean it'll stay that way.
If there's huge demand for your category, then there's a possibility you'll get an upgrade. However, considering your sail date comes during one of the slowest times of the year, don't count on demand being quite that stiff.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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If you don't get an upgrade, there is always the option of purchasing one at the port when you check in. If they have the space you can sometimes get a great deal for a lot lower than you would have paid to book in that higher category.
The way pierside upgrading works is this. Let's say you paid $599 pp. when you booked. Well, the big day is here. A couple of situations could exist. Your $599 cabin might now be selling for $849 (these numbers are all extracted from about 18 inches above my head). And that room that you really wanted now sells for $1149. You would pay $300 pp for the upgrade (the difference between the current prices). The problem was, that same cabin was selling for $799 when you booked.
Another situation. Same initial numbers as above. Only now the cabin you booked costs $549 and the upgraded cabin costs $799. You would pay the difference between what you originally paid and the new price. $200.
A purchased upgrade will either be the difference in price between the current prices, if the price for your cabin is higher, or the difference between what you paid for your cabin and the current price of the upgraded cabin, depending on whether the current price is higher or lower than your purchase price. But. But. But. I've almost never seen the prices go down.
As others point out, never book a cabin in hopes of getting an upgrade. It's nice when the upgrade fairy visits, but don't depend on her.
When I booked I was given a guarentee, no cabin number. When I go to the Disney Cruiseline website, it still says I have a guarentee. We have our cruise the 13Apr08, so how much longer before I find out what room I have or if I get upgraded? Thanks Sherrill
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