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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 are planning on a 5-6 day cruise this summer, we are not going to do a Disney Cruise. I priced one, along with Royal Caribbean and Carnival and I can't justify the huge price difference. If my kids were still little it would be one thing, but I think that as teens they will have as much fun on one of the other ships. Can anyone advise on which of those two would be the preference? The Carnival a that we are looking at is a newer ship (The Freedom) with lots of bells and whistles. The RCCL ship (Grandeur of the Seas) is a bit smaller and older with not so many extras but it gets great reviews and we are liking the ports slightly better. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated! We've never cruised before if it makes any difference. Thanks!
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Hi, after a long think about our last trip away we decided to do both a 4 day disney wonder and a 7 day rcc freedom of the seas trip. Disney has the edge on service but wow the rcc is huge. Ice skating,rock climbing,Flowrider(surfing was great),two good size pools to swim in and lots more. The food was good and varied the windjammer cafe for evening was super, relaxed and quiet with all of the food offered in the main dinnig room so you didn't miss out. A little loud at times and a lot more people than on the wonder but still enjoyed it greatly.
The balcony cabins are a good size 3 of us with a good size balcony and if you can get rooms next door to each other you can (in most cases) open the balcony devider to make a huge balcony to share we did and it was great, again disney has the edge on service and the disney was of staff etc but as you said the price is well a little high. Hope this is some use to you
Thanks to all for the advice! We decided on Royal Caribbean. Everyone seems to recommend them over Carnival, plus the ports and the dates worked out better for us. If we like cruising maybe we'll do a Disney Cruise when we can book early for better savings.
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.
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.
Funny, I feel the same about the Carnivasl line. I have never done Royal Carribbean but a family member has and confirmed what we experienced. Carnival is called the FUN SHIPS for a reason. We did the Freedom May 2nd and have no desire to try anything else. We loved it and I am already planning my next Carnival trip for next year. And I don't believe that about the OLDER crowd. My mom is 63 and I am almost 40 and we fell in love with it along with all the 40-60 somethings on our cruise!! I didn't do RC initially because I heard it was more "Stuffy" and people more inclined to be more dressy, ect. I want to feel like I can relax in whatever I want to wear and be dressed down and not stuffy. I want the FUN SHIPS!!!
I know you already made your choice, but I'm weighing in anyway - just for anyone else who may have to decide some day.
I've been on multiple cruise lines multiple times. And I have to be honest, there's not much of a difference to me. Royal Caribbean was fine. Food was good, atmosphere was a little quieter than Carnival, but it was a lovely ship, and the food was great! Carnival was a fantastic cruise. They had all the bells and whistles, and there's a reason they call it the fun ships! They really are fun! I had heard TERRIBLE reviews of Carnival before taking this cruise, so I was nervous, but I actually had a great time. The food was out of this world, the service was spectacular and the ship was so large it never felt crowded.
I've also been on Sun Line, Dolphin and Celebrity. Celebrity is an older crowd, but I still really enjoyed it. It was a far more relaxing cruise for me, and I'd definitely go again.
I think you can't go wrong on any of them, honestly. I choose by ports, never by cruise company or ship, simply because the service (to me) is all the same, the food is great on all of them (maybe I'm just not picky, I don't know, but I've never had a bad meal on any cruise ship) and the amenities are more or less comparable. One ship has a rock wall, one has a water slide, one has mini golf... etc etc... there's always something to do, no matter what ship you're on.
Enjoy your cruise - you're going to have a blast! I LOVE cruising!
I know you already made your choice, but I'm weighing in anyway - just for anyone else who may have to decide some day.
I've been on multiple cruise lines multiple times. And I have to be honest, there's not much of a difference to me. Royal Caribbean was fine. Food was good, atmosphere was a little quieter than Carnival, but it was a lovely ship, and the food was great! Carnival was a fantastic cruise. They had all the bells and whistles, and there's a reason they call it the fun ships! They really are fun! I had heard TERRIBLE reviews of Carnival before taking this cruise, so I was nervous, but I actually had a great time. The food was out of this world, the service was spectacular and the ship was so large it never felt crowded.
I've also been on Sun Line, Dolphin and Celebrity. Celebrity is an older crowd, but I still really enjoyed it. It was a far more relaxing cruise for me, and I'd definitely go again.
I think you can't go wrong on any of them, honestly. I choose by ports, never by cruise company or ship, simply because the service (to me) is all the same, the food is great on all of them (maybe I'm just not picky, I don't know, but I've never had a bad meal on any cruise ship) and the amenities are more or less comparable. One ship has a rock wall, one has a water slide, one has mini golf... etc etc... there's always something to do, no matter what ship you're on.
Enjoy your cruise - you're going to have a blast! I LOVE cruising!
This is great advice for anyone choosing a cruise. Ultimately we did choose our cruise based on the ports vs. the cruiseline. A week from tomorrow we'll be setting sail...can't wait!!
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