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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Check out these great Adult and Kids art programs....
Disney Dream to Feature Onboard Enchanted Art Program
An Enchanted Art program, a ship-wide detective game, virtual portholes and dinner “undersea” with Crush, the surfer dude turtle from “Finding Nemo,” are some of the new technology-based attractions in store aboard the 128,000-ton, 4,000-passenger Disney Dream cruise ship, which is scheduled to launch next January.
The goal is the same as that of Disney’s theme parks: “It’s all about storytelling,” said Bob Zalk, senior show producer. However, on a ship, “guests are living with us, so we have to provide more depth in the experience,” he added. To that end, the Enchanted Art program, which features 22 pieces interspersed with regular art throughout the ship, consists of framed pictures that are actually LCD screens with animation. The pictures come to life via an optical trigger, when a guest pauses in front of a piece to look at it. For example, an “oil painting” of the “Minnie Lisa” blinks while birds fly by in the background, and two side-by-side “paintings” of pirate ships engage in a battle with ammunition flying between the two. The program also features black-and-white photos, travel posters, animation cels and other formats. Guests also can control the animation in some pieces, like a picture of a cove with a ship’s wheel in front. Push the start button, turn the wheel and direct Captain Hook’s ship around the cove to trigger things like a rainbow.
The Enchanted Art program also plays role in the new Detective Adventure game, which challenges guests to solve one of two cases -- stolen paintings or kidnapped Dalmatian puppies. After signing in at a kiosk, guests receive a list of six possible villains, a ship map and a “magical” card called a “detective device.” Hold the card up to certain pieces, and the picture slides away to reveal a surprise, like a door with a key. Then, move the card around through the air in front of you to manipulate the scene; for example, to put the key in the lock and turn it to open the door for a clue or one of the missing items. The game, which is designed to promote family bonding and empowerment for kids, is self-paced, so guests can stop, and then pick up where they left off, whenever they want throughout the cruise. And they can go in any order they choose and play as many times as they want, since the game is different every time.
Imagineers also are putting a twist on Animator’s Palate, the main dining venue, with “Undersea Magic,” an interactive dinner show where guests converse with Crush the sea turtle. The show will be based on “Turtle Talk” from Walt Disney World and other Disney Parks, where Crush converses live with guests. Animator’s Palate, which will seat 700 guests (the Magic and Wonder each seat 400) will have 129 hidden LCD monitors imbedded into the walls. Approximately 20 minutes into dinner, lighting and sounds will make it seem like the dining room is underwater, as the LCD screens are unveiled to show an undersea world, as if they were windows. Crush and other “Finding Nemo” characters will swim from screen to screen talking with guests. Crush will even remember kids’ names from the children’s programs, since he will have met them via a large LCD screen in those areas earlier. While Crush and his pals are talking with people in one area of the restaurant, guests in other areas are entertained by sea creatures, like a school of fish that forms different shapes. During the finale, Crush teaches guests how to surf the East Australian Current, complete with surf music.
WOW! I think it might take several sailings on the Dream to feel as though you've found all the little added touches Disney is putting on this ship. It sounds so neat. Hoping to sail on the Dream for the DVC member cruise in 2011, but in the meantime, can't wait for trip reports from those sailing on the innaugural cruise!
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Animator’s Palate, which will seat 700 guests (the Magic and Wonder each seat 400) will have 129 hidden LCD monitors imbedded into the walls. Approximately 20 minutes into dinner, lighting and sounds will make it seem like the dining room is underwater, as the LCD screens are unveiled to show an undersea world, as if they were windows. Crush and other “Finding Nemo” characters will swim from screen to screen talking with guests.
I hope we are seated near a wall! If we're in the middle of the room we won't be able to "talk" to the characters
I am hoping/assuming the Fantasy will be the same, as we plan to sail on it in 2012!!
Hoping to do the same. WDW in early summer of 2010 and early summer of 2011. So, hope for a cruise in 2012 while DS is still under 18 and can go to the clubs. If I have my way, it will be the Dream during spring break and the Fantasy in mid summer - before he turns 18 in August. I can dream/hope/pray for a miracle - can't I?
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If you are on Facebook, both DCL and D23 had updates on the Dream today. Can't wait to get home to be able to open the links! (Can't from work because of the darn firewalls - can only view FB from my mobile phone, and that isn't the best venue to view from!)
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