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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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, so I am well read on WDW, but never thought about the cruise. A family friend mentioned they just returned from one and it was devine... so the well-known Disney itch has returned. We have 4 kids and DH found the pace of WDW less than enjoyable when we went this past April. But the kids and I so love Disney -- Im thinking the cruise wouldn't be a bad idea. I just ordered the Passporter cruise book on Amazon, started researching the site (which is IMPOSSIBLE to find pricing on...) but I have a few questions:
1. How far out do you need to book? We have a family of 6 so I guess we will need two adjoining rooms -- can I get something in Spring 2011 or probably not?
2. Any idea in the slightest the price ranges? I wouldnt do land& sea - just 7 day sea...
3. Im reading about categories -- and how its better to be higher up -- do only certain categories do the adjoining room thing?
4. Is there enough to do on the ship for 7 days? Do the kids get bored? (mIne are 10 thru 3) Would I be better doing a four day cruise? EVeryone I know that did the cruise did it for a few days then went to WDW. I dont know anyone who just did the cruise...
5. Is it definitely different than the non stop running at WDW? Think DH would be up for it? Selling points to try on him? Thoughts?
As always, I love you fellow Passporters for your friendly assistance! WOuld be lovely to have some pixie dust to look forward to....
1. I'm sure it's not too late for 2011 -- I don't think they even have schedules out that far yet.
2. You can look at 2010 cruises on Disney Cruise Line to get some idea of what 2011 prices will be. The Passporter cruise guide will also have a chart of approximate prices. Price depends on the time of year and how early you book (as well as stateroom category). My most recent book is from 2007, so I'm sure its numbers are out of date.
3. You can get adjoining rooms (rooms next to each other) in any category except the suites. According to the map in the Passporter guide, you can also get connecting rooms (rooms with a door between them) in categories 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. There are a limited number of these, though -- not all rooms are connecting in any category.
4. There is absolutely enough to do for 7 days. The kids' programming runs from morning till night every day, with activities usually lasting 30-60 minutes each. There are also family activities as well as adults-only activities. When the ship is in port, there are shore excursions that you can purchase but you can also explore on your own, and there are still activities onboard. We had trouble choosing among all of the options, and no trouble at all finding enough to do on our 7-night cruises.
5. The cruise is quite different from a WDW vacation. At the parks, I felt I needed to plan out every day to maximize what we saw. I had to figure out where to eat well in advance. On the cruise, except for shore excursions and a few things that need advance tickets (galley tour for adults, tea with Wendy or Alice for kids) it's difficult to plan more than a day ahead because Navigators don't come out for each day until the previous night. It's also unnecessary to plan far ahead, though, because it's so easy to change plans -- "I was going to go to the art auction, but I feel like playing Bingo instead."
There are options for where to eat, but not so many, and again, you don't have to decide in advance. Everyone can eat whatever he or she wants at no cost -- I know how hard it is for my family of 4 to find restaurants we all agree on, and negotiate kids' menu vs. adult menu with my son. Your older kids (and younger kids, if they want) can order off the adult menu if they see something appealing.
Because the kids can go to the clubs (at no additional cost) you and your husband could have time together far more easily than at the parks. How often do you get a dinner (or brunch, or tea) for just the two of you? Palo could be a selling point.
I'm sure there are other selling points -- if you tell us more about what might interest your husband, we Passporters can come up with other ways to persuade him that a family cruise would be a great family vacation.
This is HeatherD, using my MIL's account. Let's see if I can help...
1. How far out do you need to book? We have a family of 6 so I guess we will need two adjoining rooms -- can I get something in Spring 2011 or probably not?2011 itineraries were just released, however only for the Magic and Wonder. The Dream's itineraries will be released Oct 29. With all the shuffling going on Spring 2011, it's going to be interesting to see what's available, both because of demand and limited offerings! Your best bet will be to have 2 connecting staterooms (otherwise, you'd need Cat 2 or 1).
2. Any idea in the slightest the price ranges? I wouldnt do land& sea - just 7 day sea... No idea - I haven't looked at the 2011 prices yet. I'm not sure if you'll be able to see them once the bookings open up on Sept 21 (or 28).
3. Im reading about categories -- and how its better to be higher up -- do only certain categories do the adjoining room thing? All catergories offer some connecting rooms, but you'll need to look at where they are and if both are available at the time of booking. Your Passporter will really help you out, as it lists every stateroom, how many it sleeps, if it's a connecting and what deck it's on. There are different levels on most decks (but their forward/aft location may not be desireable).
4. Is there enough to do on the ship for 7 days? Do the kids get bored? (mIne are 10 thru 3) Would I be better doing a four day cruise? EVeryone I know that did the cruise did it for a few days then went to WDW. I dont know anyone who just did the cruise... We've enjoyed the short ones we did and we are looking forward to our upcoming 7-night (in just over 2 weeks!!!). We have excursions booked and reservations for ship stuff and ideas of what to do. A good resource is Castawayclub.com - they list navigators for each of the basic itineraries which will give you a good idea of what the kids can do.
5. Is it definitely different than the non stop running at WDW? Think DH would be up for it? Selling points to try on him? Thoughts? Yes! SO different! It can be "go go go!" but it doesn't have to be and rarely is. You'll be able to take your time and explore (as long as you don't overplan excursions or anything) and you'll have days at sea where you'll be on the ship and most likely not running back and forth (and even then, the ship's nowhere near as big as one of the parks!). A good suggestion is take a look at the trip report threads and see if there are some that highlight points you think would appeal to your hubby. Print them up and show him. I have a Pre-TR, but I'm a little crazy and it scare him instead! My PTR is called "We've done WONDERful, now let's go for MAGICal" (remember, I'm really HeatherD).
1. Book as early as possible for the best price, & for the best chance at getting the stateroom in a location you desire.
3. As for it being better to be higher up: while the highest category suites are on the upper decks, if you have a regular adjoining room, the difference between decks 5, 6, or 7 will be minimal if at all. You'll have a slightly better view the higher up, but in terms of comfort, its pretty much the same.
4. After my 7-day cruise, DH and I have a long list of things we never got around to doing. Sometimes, it was hard to choose what to do b/c so many activities are offered - in addition to just relaxing
5. YES !!! Cannot stress enough how much more RELAXING a cruise vacation is than WDW. With few exceptions, you can decide spur-of-the-moment to do an activity, or to do nothing. Watch tv, a movie, a show, swim ... and unless you have a scheduled shore excursion, sleep in .
Points for your DH -
The big difference is the lack of planning you need. You wake up where your vacation is taking place - no shuttling to parks, and MUCH less walking!
You get VERY NICE table service restaurant up to 3x/day, and if you decide you're not in the mood to be social, 24 hour room service (no extra charge), or eat at the casual buffet.
Anywhere on the ship you're in walking distance of restaurants, fast food, pools, shows, shopping, bars, hot tubs .... all the fun is just right there! And you're always just a quick jaunt back to the room (rarely the case at WDW).
And every night a perfect sunset, and one night - fireworks!
My DH specifically enjoyed watching football on the giant screen poolside, snorkeling at Castaway Cay, kayaking at CC, beer tasting, a presentation about the engineering of the ship (or something like that - I was in the spa), & chatting up characters at breakfast.
ok maybe I got carried away - - but you asked - and I"m so excited about it.
Be sure to go ahead & order DCL's free planning DVD.
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Cruise Newbie - Help!
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My PTR is called "We've done WONDERful, now let's go for MAGICal" (remember, I'm really HeatherD).
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all the fun is just right there! And you're always just a quick jaunt back to the room (rarely the case at WDW). 
but you asked - and I"m so excited about it.
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