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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My understanding is that the Wonder is scheduled for dry dock soon (now?). Does anyone know yet what (if any) changes or upgrades are to be made?
I am sailing in 2 weeks and am SO excited! My first time on the Wonder, my sister-in-law's first long cruise, first Disney cruise, first veranda, etc.
I'm trying to keep my kids in the dark about what we're really doing until we get to the port, too. So far so good. Right now they only think they're going to Mexico, and Dad's driving us to the border. I didn't say which border...
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TinkMommy
Last edited by Belle*; 10-03-2011 at 10:08 AM..
Reason: newsletter10062011
I havent heard of any notable upgrades to the ship necessarily, but now you have me wondering! I know they do mechanical maintenance and paint, etc that kind of stuff but with the Dream and Fantasy on the the market maybe they are going to snazz it up a bit!
We are on the riviera tomorrow-October 2nd. Hoping for nothing but sunshine. !
The Wonder went straight into dry dock after it finished the last Alaskan cruise we were on. From memory, it was a very short period - about 10 days. The Cast Members told us that the carpets would be ripped up and renewed and I spotted a lot of basic maintenance that needed doing - painting etc. I think they were also going to do some work on the upper decks, as on the final morning, they had already covered up the handrails in readiness to do something. The pools were also empty, so I guess they were probably going to give those a deep clean as well.
Cheryl and I were on the same cruise and one night I was cutting through Shutters, and they had already re-stained all the wood trim. The front of her hull had paint removed, most likely from the ice in Alaska, and I'm sure that is high on the list. We noticed some little things that needed repair (light bulbs, elevator lights, etc), but I'm thinking that type of stuff is normal after a hard cruise season in Alaska.
I don't know if they are doing anything major. But, the Wonder is a beautiful ship, and you won't be disappointed!
Due to the time frame, there's not likely to be major changes. There are things they could do in that time, such as convert Shutters over to the same system they use on the new ships (a separate portfolio of prints for each stateroom, with no need to search on the wall for your photos. No time for something that requires structural work.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
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The Wonder did indeed use facial recognition software. We took a stateroom group photo at check-in that was used for our ID's whenever we left the ship or came back aboard.
The Shutters kiosk was a real time saver because all we had to do was insert a room key, and all of the photos recognized came up in a preview list we could swipe from one to the next. It wasn't perfect, though. None of our Palo photos were available with the room key kiosk.
BTW, our server at Palo was superb. Daniel was his name, and he made our first (and second) experiences at Palo very memorable. We requested him for dinner after we had him as our server for brunch. He suggested an excellent wine for us at dinner, the only bottle we purchased. I found out on this trip that if we don't finish a bottle (even with us NOT being on the wine plan), it will be delivered to our next dining rotation to finish the following night. Disney service is the BEST.
Mexico was HOT HOT HOT, but the scenery was lovely. I'm actually glad we didn't stop in Mazatlan because it gave me more time to enjoy the ship. I'm a So Cal native, so I didn't have to worry about airfare for this trip, and I look forward to another Mexico cruise mostly to relax and enjoy the ship. It's possible I won't even get off to visit the ports next time.
As predicted, there were no major changes, but a lovely time was had by all.
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