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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I told Cheryl the other day that I wouldn't be surprised if they were near $200 per point. It's getting ridiculous and makes me very glad I bought in when I did.
$200 as the benefit of being a nice round number but also has the possibility of turning some people off because of the mental barrier of $200 per point.
I agree that $200 sounds like what Disney is aiming for. I think they will have numerous incentives, however, that do not make this price sound as bad as it is. They will draw people in with the incentives until they have enough sold to feel comfortable, and then those incentives will go away and people will be stuck paying that high price.
I am hoping that the high price for GFV will force some price cutting on the inventory in the other resorts they currently have. With the prices going up for both BLT and AKV those resorts are going to be harder and harder for Disney to sell.
BLT is $160 now and going up to $165 soon. That's without any incentives because points are so scarce. For VGF we could conceivably see a base price of $180 or so with incentives which take the net price lower. DVC loves to prey on the psychological impact of saving a few dollars--$180 with a $15 per point discount sounds a lot better than just marketing $165 per point.
Disney alienated buyers in the past by offering a high initial price and then dropping the rate a few months later. Early adopters were justifiably turned-off and many vowed to never buy so early again.
With Aulani DVC came right out and promised that the initial offering price would be the lowest ever. That would be a sound tactic for VGF as well. Better to price things reasonably from the start and quickly increase the rates if demand exceeds expectations.
In years' past they have also offered an exclusive purchase period to existing members before the general public. They spin it as a "member perk" to help get folks excited.
All of that said, it wouldn't surprise me if DVC also cranked-up the night point costs for a villa. The lowest priced BLT Lake View Studio is 17 points per night. For VGF it could be 18 or 19 points per night. Combine that with higher rates and you get an additional back-door price increase since buyers have to acquire more points to suit their needs.
I'm thinking around $180-$185 a point. I think they will be $200 eventually, but not to begin with. The mental barrier around that will turn a lot of people off and, in this economy, I'm not sure Disney will want to do that.
Just to let you know that I thought this was such a good topic that it helped to inspire this week's Disney Vacation Club, which is all about the rising cost of buying into the DVC.
Just to let you know that I thought this was such a good topic that it helped to inspire this week's Disney Vacation Club, which is all about the rising cost of buying into the DVC.
Happy I could provide you with some inspiration to blog.
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