Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue - Pre TR - Complete **Updated 11/19** - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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.
Okay, so here comes the Something Blue!
Again, I think I'm using some creative license here. BUT, there's been one big piece of this trip that hasn't really been mentioned yet.... and that's our first ever Disney Cruise!!!! !!!
I figured that could fall under the "something blue" instead of the "something new" because we'll be setting sail out on the deep blue sea!!!
So yes, the final piece is the cruise. Like I said, it's our first ever cruise. So we are very excited. We're doing the 3 night Wonder cruise that leaves on Sunday, Nov. 23. I think this is the only 3 night cruise that leaves on Sunday, most of them leave on Thursday, but b/c of Thanksgiving one departs on Sunday and then one leaves on Wednesday so nobody is getting on or off on Thanksgiving ( to the wonderful PP peeps that gave me that excellent answer when I asked why the itineraries I read talked about it leaving on Thursday and for some reason ours left on Sunday )
We are super excited, albeit nervous (at least I am, I don't think Andy really worries about the little things like I do). But I want things to be good, smooth, and I want us to get the most out of our trip. I know WDW like the back of my hand. I can plan it in my sleep. But the DCL is unknown territory. Of course, after this trip, it won't be and I know they'll be more cruises to come So it'll get easier with time.
We had always said that we wanted to go on a Disney cruise for our 5th anniversary. We had originally thought about doing a land/sea package for our honeymoon, but opted against it for some reason. I'm kind of glad we did.
We started checking the itineraries and lo and behold one departed the day after our anniversary which meant we could spend that actual night at WDW Which was perfect. So back in April, we called up, and booked it! We booked a category 7 room because we wanted to have a balcony and the open air porthole seemed like a great idea. You still had a balcony, you still had a view of the outside, and it was open. AND on the Wonder, I've read the portholes are bigger. So it all made sense. And it fit into our budget.
After we booked I checked the online page and saw our assigned stateroom. We were on deck 5, room 5132 I think I can't remember exactly. I checked to see if any of the former Category 6 rooms were available, but they weren't.
Since I'm anal, I continued to check about a once a month to see what rooms were taken and what rooms were available. A few months ago I looked and saw that 2 of the former Category 6 rooms were open!!! So I called up and asked, and was told "yep, those are available". So I switched to 6634. So now we had a regular balcony with just a little obstructed view... Nothing wrong with that.
Cut to about 2 weeks ago. I anally check our online ressies only to see that our stateroom had changed!! WHAT?? Where did my fabulous former category 6 at the price of a category 7 go????? I freaked out, called DCL, only to find out we had been upgraded to a category 6! We were now back on deck 5 and in room #5624. After first being excited about being upgraded, I soon started panicking about that room. What if it was a bad location? I had done research on 6634 and knew that it was a great spot. Montimouse even sent me photos of her trip from that room. Everything was perfect. And now it had changed!! I don't do change folks! So I got online and did some research and found someone on some cruise board that has been on bookoos of DCL cruises (And you know what, I just googled the word bookoo and it's actually in the urban dictionary...) Anyway, she has stayed in our stateroom and told me lots of great things about it. So I'm worried no more!
We received all our cruise documents in the mail a little over a week ago and the excitement has really settled in. I will continue my Pre TR and the WDW part of the trip here in this board. Then when we hit the cruise, I'll move it over to the cruise board.
Still to come: An actual itinerary, door decorations, mousekeeping envelopes, and more!!!
Awesome trip report. I can't believe what a bad deal on personal days and sick days you guys get! In Georgia, we get 12.5 sick days a year (and they roll over each year) AND we get three personal days per year!
I can't believe the something blue didn't have anything to do with Stitch. I'm flabbergasted. hahaha
I can't believe the something blue didn't have anything to do with Stitch. I'm flabbergasted. hahaha
I thought for sure it was going to have something to do with Stitch too! But your something blue certainly sounds inticing!! Congratulations on the upgrade! How awesome is that?!?! Looking forward to more
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Congrats on the upgrade! The anniversary pixies were looking out for you! I'm anxious to hear all about your first cruise. I'm thinking about doing a three day sometime soon, but I don't know when I'll have time. Carry on!
Great updates! I think you'll really like the cruise. I think I probably know who you're refering to that's taken bookoo cruises, since I researched her pages before our cruises.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.