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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Just wondering if anyone has ever had this issue (and I'm sure there must be someone out there who has experienced this!). My wife and I have 3 young children, therefore a family of 5. A 1 BR is plenty of space for us (and many less points!)and on this next trip, I listed only two children. I guess my questions are: 1) Is there a "DVC Police" which will "get us" if we have 5 in the vacation home; 2) Would it still be possible to utilize Magical Express for all 5 of us (when the youngest isn't listed as a guest)? Any answer would be appreciated!
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At this point in time, DVC will permit 5 occupants of any age in a 1B villa. Yes, this does go counter to the official occupancy listings in the POS and other documents. Really, they've been streching those regulations for years. Officially it's listed as 4 total occupants, although DVC has been allowing "four plus one child under age 3" for as long as I can remember.
Anyway, as I said, they will allow five in a 1B. I'd suggest calling Member Services to update your reservation.
To answer part of your more specific questions, no, they will not do bed checks and kick you out of the resort. The major risk at this point is not getting a room key issued for one of your occupants. Starting in 2005, Disney began listing individual names on each room key. In order to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours perk, every member of your party must present a key in his/her name. For the nighttime EMH, they even swipe the keys through a handheld wireless reader to verify the guest status and confirm that the key hasn't already been used by someone else.
Not sure about DME, but I'm guessing that you do need credentials for each guest. Disney must pay a fee to the airport for each guest transported, so I imagine they are pretty strict about tracking all passengers.
Depending on the ages and sexes of your children, you may also find that the sleeping arrangements could prove to be a problem with a one bedroom villa for five of you. There is one king-size bed in the bedroom and one queen-size sleeper sofa in the living area and that's it.
There's enough room in the 1br for a family of five to sleep, but there's only two beds. You might have an issue when the kids get bigger...one might have to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor perhaps.
if the villa is supposed to sleep 5, why not just order a roll away bed or crib when you make your reservation?
Have a wonderful time.
I'd fess up and let them know that 5 of you will be coming.
noreen
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if the villa is supposed to sleep 5, why not just order a roll away bed or crib when you make your reservation?
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DVC resorts do not supply rollaway beds. The occupancy limits are written into our contracts when we buy-into DVC and DVC will not, as a practice, assist those who wish to exceed the stated occupancy limits.
As I noted in my post, DVC has chosen to raise the maximum occupancy of a One Bedroom villa from 4 to 5, but they are very up-front in stating that no additional bedding or even bath towels will be provided for the additional occupants.
DVC member dues pay the operating costs of the resort and limits of some form deserve to be enforced. A One Bedroom Villa is over 700 sq ft, and you could certainly cram more than 4 or 5 people into that room if you tried. But to do so would put a greater strain on the resort's resources than was intended to be the case.
I also don't think too many DVC members, or Deluxe resort guests for that matter, would take too kindly to spending their vacation in a room adjacent to a spacious One Bedroom Villa that became home to a dozen spring-breakers.
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I also don't think too many DVC members, or Deluxe resort guests for that matter, would take too kindly to spending their vacation in a room adjacent to a spacious One Bedroom Villa that became home to a dozen spring-breakers.
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I'm not quite sure how you jumped from a family of 5 to this comment [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
We are a family of 5 who has slept in a 1BR since we bought into DVC in 2003. We've never had a problem with resv. or check-in and have always listed all 5 members of our family on the resv. We bring an Aerobed for one of the kids and we've never felt cramped. Our DVC Sales Rep sold us on the fact that as a family of 5 we'd be very comfortable in a 1BR. So, if Disney's okay with it and we're okay with I'm not too concerned with what anyone else thinks.
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I'm not quite sure how you jumped from a family of 5 to this comment [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
We are a family of 5 who has slept in a 1BR since we bought into DVC in 2003. We've never had a problem with resv. or check-in and have always listed all 5 members of our family on the resv. We bring an Aerobed for one of the kids and we've never felt cramped. Our DVC Sales Rep sold us on the fact that as a family of 5 we'd be very comfortable in a 1BR. So, if Disney's okay with it and we're okay with I'm not too concerned with what anyone else thinks.
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In case my post wasn't clear, I have absolutely no problems with 5 in a One Bedroom. DVC is allowing it, so I have no objection.
I was simply trying to explain why occupancy limits are a bit more strictly enforced at DVC resorts than at cash resorts, and why rollaway beds simply are not available. Strictly on a square footage basis, there's room for a lot more than 5 occupants in a 700+ sq ft One Bedroom. However, DVC does not allow it with good reason.
Five in a 1B is acceptable. Try to put 5 adults in a Studio or 6 people in a 1B and DVC will (normally) politely decline the request and suggest a larger room.
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