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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 am pretty sure that we are going to take the plunge into the DVC. I am on the fence on whether to buy all of my points at 1 location or split between 2 and alternate each year through banking & borrowing. We are buying a total of 230 points. Has anyone done this? And what is your advice. Pros & Cons. The agent already got approval so I know I can do it. It is should I? The 2 are either BLT & SS or BLT & OKW
Nothing wrong with doing that. With the room costs being higher at BLT, make sure that you own enough points there to suit your needs. Depending on how you plan to use the points, a 60/40 split may be more sensible than 50/50.
Just a reminder to make sure you have enough points to book at the 11 month mark for the amount of days you generally wish to stay at the particular resort (especially important if you tend to travel during the more popular times of the year).
Yes, as others have said, figure out how many points you need to do a trip.
Are you buying DVC or resale?
If DVC can we assume you are buying 160 BLT and 70 other?
I have a 70 point contract that I thought would work for me, but as it turned out the points system has been redistributed. I was going to use my 70 pt contract every three years for a total of 210 points which would have bought 5 nights in a 2 br during spring break or 6 nights in a 1 br. now the same stays cost 220, so it's a good idea to figure out what you need I now have to purchase a transfer from another member or look at adding on points to do a stay.
I am sure they will advise you on this but the contracts should have the same use year.
I'd echo what everyone else has said - just be sure that you've got enough points at each location for the type of vacation you'd like to take each year.
I wanted to do BLT & BCV , but the rep said that she preferred not to sell me BCV because it ends in 2042 (I think that is what she said). She can sell me OKW extended until 2057, SS until 2054. It is really difficult to choose.
I wanted to do BLT & BCV , but the rep said that she preferred not to sell me BCV because it ends in 2042 (I think that is what she said). She can sell me OKW extended until 2057, SS until 2054. It is really difficult to choose.
BCV is always going to be a tough resort to get into at 7 months due to its smallish size (only about 200 units--the second smallest DVC at Walt Disney World.) If you hope to stay there frequently using DVC points, you should buy into BCV. Yes, it will cost you more in a relativistic sense (fewer years for similar money), but the question you need to ask is whether that's a worthwhile sacrifice to make.
On the other hand, if you plan to bounce among many different resorts and don't really have a strong preference, I would go with the longer contract. There's no sense paying a premium price for those BCV points if you end up often using them for stays at AKV, BWV, OKW, SSR, etc. We have often booked outside of our Home resorts at 7 months and always have multiple destinations available for booking.
I will say this specifically about BCV--the location is good in terms of transportation to Epcot and you have access to Stormalong Bay. But,the balcony views are collectively the worst in the entire DVC program and transportation to Hollywood Studios leaves a lot to be desired.