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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Several years ago I ordered a Birthday package for my husband, whose birthday was the day we boarded. The banner was set up when we entered the room for the first time, and the cake was on the table. It was a nice surprise for him. (In the future, I wouldn't get a package that includes food, because there is so much "free" food on the ship -- we ended up throwing away most of the cake at the end of the 3-night cruise because we were too stuffed each night to eat it.)
Although I do not know for sure, I would guess that other gifts ordered in advance would be placed in your room before you board.
I order gifts for clients all the time. Most gifts are put in your stateroom before you arrive. The exceptions are alcohol (you can pick if you want it in your stateroom or the dining room) and the gifts that are noted that way. For those gifts you will receive a "gift message card" in your stateroom. You must take it to Mickey's Mates to redeem your gift or call for stateroom delivery.
I agree with Melissa about the food. There is so much food onboard you are better off spending money on other things.
I ordered the "bon voyage" for our family cruise in November - chocolate covered strawberries for the kids and a bottle of sparkling wine for me and DH . It was in the room when we arrived - the kids were thrilled with the fancy gift and those strawberries were gone in no time!
We got the Romantic Encounter (not the Romance Package) with the champagne, robes, ice bucket, and chocolates, and we loved it!
The champagne was in our room (chilled, w/ glasses) when we got there, but the rest of the items were delivered later. The chocolates were 2 white chocolate champagne flutes filled with other chocolates. The robes were very nice - they were a waffle-cotton fabric w/ the DCL logo. They were one-size - often a challenge for me - but mine fit just fine. It was great for sitting on the verandah with coffee in the mornings. (Ahhh, memories!)
Yeah, the champagne was Korbel - $12 at the grocery store, but we love our robes and I take mine when I go out of town. For us, it was a decadent little treat.
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Pat (a.k.a., PFlamingo) "We are the people our parents warned us about."
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Definitely opt for the non-Food items. As others said, there is so much free food onboard, anything extra is superfluous! I have sent client gifts such as the wedding album, room decorations, etc. They are typically in place by the time the rooms are ready!
I agree with the non food items. I got the Bon Voyage as well and the wine and petit fours were in our room waiting for us when we arrived. But we had just eaten lunch and were not hungry. Because the fridge wasn't big enough for the platter, most of it went to waste.
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. It was in the room when we arrived - the kids were thrilled with the fancy gift and those strawberries were gone in no time!
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