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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So I read in the DCL Passporter that tweens (11-14) can check themselves in and out of kid club programs at will. Does this mean they more or less have the run of the ship? I have to be honest, this makes me a little bit uneasy. I have a very responsible 11-year-old that I trust, but is roaming the ship unaccompanied safe? I'd love to hear from other parents with kids that age, especially those who have cruised. What are your experiences? I'm interested in hearing different points of view on this subject too, and also advice and tips for kids this age.
My daughter was 13 on our cruise in March. She had an older brother in the Vibe. Because of thet, we were given the option of having her go to both clubs. We chose to do that, and she hardly ever left Vibe.
Anyway, she was able to come and go from the clubs at will. It worked out great though! We would tell her that we need her to bet at the room at a certain time for dinner or a show, and she was ALWAYS there on time. She did great! There are maps all over to make it hard to get lost.
I never saw any kids out and about causing trouble, it was just an amazing trip! The kids that age get a fair amount of freedom with tons of supervised activities mixed in..... perfect for that age.
It sounds scarey, but once you get onboard you will probably feel much better.
We sailed on the Fantasy in July and our son is 11 1/2. He loved the Edge and yes, did have the run of the ship. Having said that, it was his 6th cruise and on number 5 we gave him check in/check out privileges from the kids club so he has worked his way up so to speak. He wears a waterproof watch and his lanyard to hold his Key to the World club which is needed to get into Edge along with getting himself into the stateroom. He was responsible about returning or meeting us at certain times of days.
When we were together as family and bumped into other kids, they referred to him by his Edge nickname--which to this day we have no idea how he got. We also heard stories about goings on from other parents--nothing dangerous, just fun and funny. And, the last night of the cruise, he returned to the room with a special button and magic moment certificate pronouncing him Edge clown. Again--we have not yet heard all of that story.
As I've heard other cruisers say, you get a glimpse of your child as older/more mature while sailing--I don't know why, but it's true.
Have a great cruise!
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We've cruised twice, once when DS was 10 and again when he was 12. He is very responsible and we felt comfortable and safe letting him explore the ship on his own. Just be sure your child knows your expectations. We asked that he carry one of the wave phones with him most of the time so we could contact him when needed.
I will be traveling on our first DCL cruise next fall with our tween son. I plan to make sure he is well aware of our expectations at the get go: call us on the wave phone if you are leaving where ever you told us you would be (Edge, pool, arcade, stateroom) or if you decide not to join us at the prearranged time (like for a show or movie).
I will also make sure he understands the we expect him to act appropriately in the common areas.
We let our kids have sign-out privileges when they turned 10, with these requirements: Tell us where you are going to be -- leave a note inside the stateroom if that changes. Be back in the room when you are told to be back or when you said you would be. Do not enter another stateroom for any reason, and do not bring anyone into our stateroom.
The first trip when my daughter was 10, she was allowed only to go to and from the club for the first couple of days, so we could make sure she knew her way around and could follow the rules. It might be helpful to do the Ship Tour on embarkation day, to help your kids get a sense of how to get around the ship (and how many castmembers there are all around).
We have sailed a couple of times with our girls that age. I tell them where they are able to go like down to get ice cream or a drink. I always go get them for meals and they have a wave phone that we can talk and text on. We have never had an issue. They love the clubs so much and they keep them really busy that they usually stay in that area. A lot of kids hang out on the stairs going up to the Edge and don't seem to wander too far. Kids that age are very capable. I think back to what I was doing at that age(going to the store for my Mom and pretty much out all day with no supervision). Your kid will be fine.
Our DD is 13 and she has been great when it comes to letting us know when she is leaving the Edge and where she is going. It is our experience that the Edge is a meeting point for them to do other activities on the ship. A lot of times they are doing the Water Slides as a group or a movie or the sports deck activities like Dodge Ball. They also meet there on Pirate Night and go to the Deck Party together to watch the show and dance. We were very pleased to see that the girls did character pictures as a group and it was a nice surprise when we went to Shutters to check out the pictures each day.
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.
I also let mine have sign in/out privileges, however she knew our rules and had to follow them. Rules included absolutely not going into anyone else's stateroom or bringing any one into ours and we basically had to know where she was going if it was not up for food or with a planned activity with the counselors - so we could quickly locate her if needed.
Basically signing in/out privilege 'helps' as that group can go with the DCL counselors for 'trips' around the ship - they would go to a game show together, or to the sports deck. When she was that age, the ones who couldn't sign in/out were not allowed to go, since it was considered outside the club (even with the counselors) Not sure if that has changed. Most of the time she only signed out with her friends to go to the sports deck or to the counter serve for food or drink and then right back to the club.
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