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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Ok- Even the basic wine package comes down to around $30/bottle. That's pricey for me! I'm used to drinking wine at about half that price! I'd rather save $100 bucks for an excursion!
Can't I just bring my own bottle onboard and head down to the dining room with a full glass to drink? I know I have to leave the bottle of wine in the room or else they charge you a $17 fee (geez!), but can we bring a (big) glass to dinner with us???
Well look at the big picture of cost... how much is a bottle of wine at any restaurant?? Plus if you buy wine at $7 +/- a glass compare out how many glasses you get.... so when you look at the true price of a bottle, then it is not bad... just remember... that a bottle of wine you might buy on the cruise would run somewhere in the $15 range at the local wine shop.... so the markup of $10 makes them about $25 per bottle....
So a bottle can get 6 glasses out of it times $7 per equals $42... so buying a bottle is not such a bad deal in the end!!
I plan on taking the little bottles. A four pack cost us about $5-$6 on base. I was shocked on our last trip to WDW that they are $7 for one small bottle! We thought about the boxes, but if we don't drink it all then we have to put it down the drain. And with little bottles we can take a variety of different wines.
And I must have a heavy pouring arm, I have never gotten 6 glasses out of a bottle. Usually 5, and here lately 4 (I have some big glasses!)
Well, all these posts have been so helpful! Thank you!
I especially like the little bottle idea. Definately no corking fee! And then I can have white and red, depending on my preference that night! Can I bring 3 or 4 to the dinner table with me????
I hate sounding cheap, but I DO buy the box wine when at home (it's a great wine!!) but if I do buy a bottle it is 4 glasses MAX! I too have big glasses, but I am also a big wine drinker! I could finish a bottle by myself easily in one night.....
The idea behind the corkage fee is that the staff will be supplying wine glasses, putting the bottle in an ice bucket, etc. (and of course, that Disney isn't making any money on the wine). It's not really for pulling a cork (the term pre-dates screw caps on wine bottles). If they don't charge corkage (and they may not), at least be kind to your dining room server and assistant server at gratuity time for the extra steps they may take for you.
If you do bring several small bottles with you to the table, you may want to keep the unopened ones in a tote bag or some such, just for appearance sake.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
The idea behind the corkage fee is that the staff will be supplying wine glasses, putting the bottle in an ice bucket, etc. (and of course, that Disney isn't making any money on the wine). It's not really for pulling a cork (the term pre-dates screw caps on wine bottles). If they don't charge corkage (and they may not), at least be kind to your dining room server and assistant server at gratuity time for the extra steps they may take for you.
If you do bring several small bottles with you to the table, you may want to keep the unopened ones in a tote bag or some such, just for appearance sake.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Just to be clear- there is a $17 corking fee? If I bring my own wine, will they store the remainder for other nights or do I bring it back with me each night to the stateroom? Is the fee charged for each time the wine is used or is it one time for the entire cruise?
If you do bring several small bottles with you to the table, you may want to keep the unopened ones in a tote bag or some such, just for appearance sake.
The mental pictures of a bunch of little wine bottles lined up on the table makes me giggle!
Just to be clear- there is a $17 corking fee? If I bring my own wine, will they store the remainder for other nights or do I bring it back with me each night to the stateroom? Is the fee charged for each time the wine is used or is it one time for the entire cruise?
I believe if you bring your own bottle of wine to the dining room table (that you may have brought from home, just say), then they will charge you $15 for a "corking fee" and 15% gratuity...$17.25 altogether for a bottle of wine you may have purchased at home for $11.00 (so that bottle of wine will cost $28.25, which then makes the wine package look desirable....) For the $15 + tip, they WILL store it for you or you can take it..either way, you can drink it whenever you want for just the 1st "fee".
But it doesn't seem quite fair to me that if you preplan enough to bring your own wine with you (to save some $$) and uncork it yourself in your statetoom prior to going down to the dining room and obviously having your own glass posibly from having a glass of wine at the bar..... then why the extra fee? Like it was said...so Disney can make more $$. But for some people, like myself, that seems senseless to budget-conscious cruisers!
I'm sure I will be spending plenty of $$ on those fruity frozen drinks at the bars and also martinis etc... I just thought I could save a little on the wine part....maybe not. I don't like the idea of "stashing" little bottles in my purse at dinner...how cheap can one look??? HA!! Maybe I'll just bring one hefty glass of wine to dinner with me!
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Upcoming trips: DISNEY CRUISE on MAGIC (Western) 2-19-2011
(Past trips-2/21/09)
Even on the 4-night cruise, you CAN purchase only a 3-night wine package--we did, it was $84. You have quite a selection of wines to choose from, and whatever you do not finish, you can bring back to your stateroom. The stateroom host will bring you an ice bucket, and there is a small refrigerator in the room also. We also brough a few of the small, screw-top wine bottles, for the room. You can also have the servers save the unfinished wine for you until the next night's dinner.
LOL... 4 hmmmm those are some big glasses... I need you as drinking partner.... LOLOL as long as your buying.....
Where were you when I lived in Bel Air, MD?? I lived in Southampton/Major's Choice neighborhood.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Countrygurl
I don't like the idea of "stashing" little bottles in my purse at dinner...how cheap can one look??? HA!! Maybe I'll just bring one hefty glass of wine to dinner with me!
I have no intention of stashing little bottles in any purse/tote bag. I am far from that cheap/tacky. I just want a variety through the 7 day cruise instead of the same box. And the bottles are primarily meant for pre-dinner drinks in the room. If you only knew what our bar tab was on our last cruise, and we are not that big of drinkers. We just like the good stuff.
Where were you when I lived in Bel Air, MD?? I lived in Southampton/Major's Choice neighborhood.
We lived there too.... but now live in town... and love it here!!! One of the best towns... but hey we are partial... have lived here for over 29 years
Hey did you try Conundrum.... drink a few glasses of this and it will break the bank!! But we agree... enjoy.. and drink wine!! We go for the 7 day wine package.....
So with that said... anyone got the latest wine list to share??? Just curious what the wines are on the two different levels of packages... please share so we can compare....
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