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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Has anyone got any experience with the photo CD (or buying prints) on the longer cruises?
Specifically I am wanting to know about the 12nt Mediterranean Magic cruises (this year or previous ones) and the costs involved for buying the CD. Do they have borders? Can you have the extra photos printed without borders and the ones on the CD with borders? Do you need to pre-purchase the CD as soon as you get on board or wait and see if there is enough photos to make it worthwhile? I hear the CD is over $400 - should I just get printed photos of my favourites and if so can I reproduce these prints for a digital photo book?
This is our very first cruise! We are travelling with another family. If there are kids from both families in the one picture will they put that photo on both our families' CDs? Gosh - I have so many questions...
I can't remember much from our 2007 Med cruise, which was 11 nights, but I do remember that you don't have to order the CD at the start of the cruise. You can wait to see whether it's worth it and how many photos you get. Now I think about it, I remember photos being printed both with and without borders, but that's as much as my memory goes. We didn't get a CD back then, as they didn't have that many photographers and it wasn't worth it for the money. I think we did a 10 or 15 photo package instead.
Just skimmed the post. In March the Cd on our 7 night cruise was pricey, $300 if I remember correctly. With that purchase for an additional $50 you can take home every photo they print. I came home with tons! of pics. The pics on the CD are bordered which I wasn't too happy about but I did learn that on board they will print a pic for you without the border. I'll say that I was unhappy with the quality of some of the pics but that was just a few. I am a picture person so I am happy I made the purchase, I've made it in the past and will continue to buy the discs. I like the CD because I use the pics in cards, calendars etc. I'll say that the borders can be challenging to work around. If you get the borderless pic on board though, you can scan them in and use them.
Here is the link for Shutters- Image GroupWhich is the photography company that Disney Cruise Line uses.
I haven't personally used the service onboard because I found it really expensive and that we weren't really the "pose for these photos" kind of people. I prefer the candid shots and having the flexibility to order a variety of sizes, etc b/c i scrapbook.
I know a lot of people who have used the CD and they've found it has a value if you really determine to get your money's worth...meaning be wherever the cameras are and take advantage of it!
Don't wait until the last minute to view your photos, particularly if you want them without the borders. I'd make a point to visit with the photography team and understand all your options at the start of your cruise so you can determine if it's the right thing for you or not.