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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi, I am going to be on the Magic for the Canada Cruise, after reading some posts I am wondering will I get a schedule of some sort for: formal dining, the other people in my party are asking if they need to dress up for a "formal" night? Also do you have to do this, do all restaurants partcipate on the same night? Also my cruise is pif, when do I get my information, will that include dining info and show info? Lastly does anyone bring a power strip with them, or will I be okay(me & 2 teens). Thanks
Hi, I am going to be on the Magic for the Canada Cruise, after reading some posts I am wondering will I get a schedule of some sort for: formal dining, the other people in my party are asking if they need to dress up for a "formal" night? Also do you have to do this, do all restaurants partcipate on the same night? Also my cruise is pif, when do I get my information, will that include dining info and show info? Lastly does anyone bring a power strip with them, or will I be okay(me & 2 teens). Thanks
You should probably get info about a month before your cruise. It won't including dining or show info. You will get a navigator the first day of the cruise with an overview of the week.
You will want to bring a power strip with you if you need to charge multiple things, such as IPod, camera battery, etc.
All 3 main restaurants will have "formal" night on the same night. Dressing up is not necessary, but it is recommended. The buffet on the pool deck may be open for dinner, if you don't want to dress up and don't want to stand out.
Because the Canadian itinerary is new, you probably won't get much information on the nightly schedule until the first Canadian cruisers report back. As Steve said, you won't find out your dining room rotation or be sure of the show schedules until you check in, but each night you will receive a Navigator with the next day's schedule.
The 5-night Bahamas itineraries have a Semi Formal Night (no Formal Night), and I suspect it'll be the same for the 5-night Canada itinerary. There's a good chance it'll be your second night, as they like to do it, when possible, the evening of an at-sea day. Under the circumstances, DCL may advise you that there will be a Formal/Semi Formal Night, but as others have said, we'll know better when we get closer to the first sailing.
Attire? Even Formal Night isn't heavily formal these days - "nice" dresses for the women, suits for the men - maybe 10-20% do actual formal wear. You could take it down a notch farther for Semi Formal Night (if you choose to dress up at all) - sport jacket for the men would be a good middle-of-the-road choice, suit on the high end. Folks are almost never turned away from the regular dining rooms for matters of apparel, even on Formal Night. Polos and khakis for the men won't stand out on a Semi Formal Night, so one would really have to be intent on dressing way down before feeling out of place.
The exception? The ship's photographers will have formal backdrops available for portraits. If you want a portrait, dress as nicely as you wish to appear.
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
You were asking about a power strip? We always take one with us, as by the time you've got two cameras, the laptop, the cell phone, the iPod charger - you get the picture! I'd have a look at how many devices you'll be bringing with you that are going to need charging. If it's going to be more than about three, I'd bring a power strip.