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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Have stayed in one bedroom twice on the Wonder and felt it was worth it for my DW and DD and DSiL. Very comfortable pull out bed and the two bathrooms were a nice touch. Perks were nice as well as being able to stretch out and relax. If you can afford it go for it you will enjoy it.
We loved it, two bathrooms were nice the room was great. The Concierge was awesome. We ordered creme brulee in our room everynight from Triton's. We got treats in our room every day. So fun.
We've stayed in three suites on the Magic but only by upgrading at the port, and not by booking ahead. Our first two cruises we absolutely loved the rooms and the extra benefits, especially the Roy Disney suite, as we had a just turned or turning 2yr old on each of those cruises, and spent a lot of time in our room. The third time, we realized we really didn't need the extra space enough to justify paying a significant amount for it, and we hardly ever saw the concierge so didn't see as much value in it as we had before.
I probably would never turn down a suite if it was offered at a great price, since the extra room is always welcome, but we probably won't pay a lot extra for the suite.
I am sad that the new ship doesn't have 2BR suites, as that's why we loved the Roy suite so much more than the Cat 3 we had on the next cruise.
I just wanted to update on value. With a suite you can book ressies earlier, big bonus like Palo etc. The Concierge is nice because they will book your stuff for you. We had contact with our Concierge every single day. Multiple times even. They knew my DH and daughter were going to the movie so they brought us popcorn. I went to the art auction and they were there to help me get registered. We had a meet and greet in Palo before sailing which was nice. That is where we met everyone, my daughter's Oceaneer Club leader, our Concierge etc. We sat at a table and everyone came to us, Our daily treats were tailored for us specifically, and what our plans were for the day. When we left the cruise we received a huge frameable print of Cinderella. It was awesome. I so felt that category 2 was worth it. We were on the 8th deck of the wonder right below the Mickey pool, about 10 steps from the elevator.
Oh yea, did I mention the bedding, I seriously took naps everyday and just loved the bedding it was incredible. Once they figured out where my daughter slept, everynight her bed was made up with princess sheets etc. They changed the sheets every night to special ones for turn down services.
I just wanted to update on value. With a suite you can book ressies earlier, big bonus like Palo etc. The Concierge is nice because they will book your stuff for you. We had contact with our Concierge every single day. Multiple times even. They knew my DH and daughter were going to the movie so they brought us popcorn. I went to the art auction and they were there to help me get registered. We had a meet and greet in Palo before sailing which was nice. That is where we met everyone, my daughter's Oceaneer Club leader, our Concierge etc. We sat at a table and everyone came to us, Our daily treats were tailored for us specifically, and what our plans were for the day. When we left the cruise we received a huge frameable print of Cinderella. It was awesome. I so felt that category 2 was worth it. We were on the 8th deck of the wonder right below the Mickey pool, about 10 steps from the elevator.
Oh yea, did I mention the bedding, I seriously took naps everyday and just loved the bedding it was incredible. Once they figured out where my daughter slept, everynight her bed was made up with princess sheets etc. They changed the sheets every night to special ones for turn down services.
WOW! That certainly sounds like royal treatment! How neat that you were able to have that experience!
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That sounds wonderful! We are trying a suite for the first time on the Dream next November. After reading these reviews I am even more excited, if that is possible.
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Margaret and I got to see the Cubs play in October. They won!
We stayed in 8032 on our honeymoon on the Magic last year and it was DIVINE. There was so much room and I truly enjoyed the jacuzzi tub and the double verandah. The living room was awesome and the decor is breathtaking. We had so many treats from our concierge (Mickey Ice Cream in the afternoon, fun things left in "fish mail", advanced reservations--we ate at Palo 5 nights out of 7, and we got some surprises to take home!)
The accommodations are the ultimate in luxury and if you can afford it and room size and furnishing are important to you, then go for it. If you're more of the type of family who would rather conserve a little bit to put toward another trip than another category room would suit you just fine.
My husband is a complete room/suite/category snob and we just got off the Wonder on deck 6 and loved that as well.
It's up to you, ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!
So how do I go about finding out and upgrading to a suite at the port? I'd totally be up for it. We actually considered it as a two-bedroom suite is only $3,000 more than the two cabins we have now. However, $3,000 is still enough that we decided not to. On the day of, however, who do I talk to about ugrading or is there someone I can talk to beforehand to see if a deal can be had?
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So how do I go about finding out and upgrading to a suite at the port? I'd totally be up for it. We actually considered it as a two-bedroom suite is only $3,000 more than the two cabins we have now. However, $3,000 is still enough that we decided not to. On the day of, however, who do I talk to about ugrading or is there someone I can talk to beforehand to see if a deal can be had?
To upgrade on the day of, simply ask the CM at check-in if there's anything available.
You can certainly shop for an upgrade ahead of time - again, simply call DCL and speak to a rep (or ask your travel agent). I can't tell you which approach is more likely to give you the best price. At least in theory, upgrades at check-in reflect the bargain basement close-out price, but especially in the case of suites, which are in such limited number, you run the risk of losing an opportunity if you wait until check-in.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
So how do I go about finding out and upgrading to a suite at the port? I'd totally be up for it. We actually considered it as a two-bedroom suite is only $3,000 more than the two cabins we have now. However, $3,000 is still enough that we decided not to. On the day of, however, who do I talk to about ugrading or is there someone I can talk to beforehand to see if a deal can be had?
I don't know how long of a cruise you are looking at, or what category you are booked in currently, but from experience, I can tell you $3000 more isn't a bad price for a 2BR room in advance. If you really want it, it may be better to go ahead and upgrade now.
We paid $2900 at the port in Dec 2008 to upgrade from 2 Cat 6 rooms to the Cat 1 (it would have been $2600 to upgrade to the Cat 2) for a 7nt cruise. You actually only end up upgrading 1 room, which would have saved us some money had we known we were going to upgrade, as we could have booked our family of 4 into 1 Cat 6. As it was, we had the option to keep 1 of the Cat 6s, but none of our family or friends wanted it, so we gave it back to DCL for free.
In Dec 2009, we paid $2600 to upgrade from Cat 12 (assigned Cat 10) to Cat 3 at the port for another 7nt cruise.
We just stayed in a Category 3 Suite last month on the Disney Wonder - and let me tell you....IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY! We had been on three Disney Cruise voyages prior to this one and had always stayed in a room with a verandah - but the suite was an out-of-this-world experience! When we first opened the door to the suite, I think my jaw hit the floor! I never dreamed that there would be as much room as there was. The two bathrooms were fabulous, the double verandah was a dream and the service was outstanding! We booked the room as a treat for our 10th anniversary - and I am so glad we did! We truly enjoyed the treats left by Concierge everyday as well! I also loved the perk of being able to have DVDs delivered to the room - as they came with popcorn as well! Our stay in a Category 3 Suite was truly one of the best Disney experiences we've had to date!
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Sarah
First trip to our Happy Place as a family of four!
Now I'm thinking that I'll call again and find out how much more the two-bedroom suite would be (if one's available). We have two veranda rooms (adjoining) in category 4B but it sounds like it would be really great to have a suite and a concierge. DH really, really needs this vacation so we'll have to see what happens.
I just can't justify spending $3,000 more, which is what the last quote I got was. DH and I agreed that it was too much, but that he'd be happy to upgrade for less.
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WOW! That certainly sounds like royal treatment! How neat that you were able to have that experience!
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