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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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In an announcement today, Ken Potrock (DVC SVP) announced new restrictions to benefits available to resale purchasers after today – including discounts on dining, shopping, and access to member-exclusive events.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I can't say I'm surprised. I had been waiting for them to do something more about resales after the 2011 announcement when they cut back how resale points could be used. After all, Disney want people to buy directly from them and they'll do whatever they can to encourage that.
Just got off the phone with DVC resale as we are in closing on our contracts. Estoppel fee went up from $50 to $150 with difference of 1 week. Disney promised people that were in pipeline wouldn't have to pay it but obviously they didn't honor that. DVC resale having to reach out to their customers to notify of changes. They found out at 2:20 am.
All Disney has to do to get people to buy from them is lower those prices!!!! Since they finished Bay Tower its been ridiculous. Not everyone wants Aulani, Poly or GF at $600 worth of points a night. They need a new "Working Mans" DVC Resort like AKL and SSR. I know prices will always go up but its my belief that Aulani, Poly and GF were too much $$ all at once.
Don't get me wrong - I love DVC if we weren't considering living the dream and moving there we wouldn't have sold. I figure we paid around $1200 for 20 weeks of rooms that are the best anywhere. Id do it again in a heartbeat. Its just said for people going forward.
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As I stated in my Do DVC Members deserve better perks post, perks offered by DVD are a marketing tactic to entice people to buy into DVC. From a marketing perspective, DVD needs to provide some differentiation between buying direct and buying resale. There has to be some justification for the price variance between direct and resale. Clearly, the changes they made in 2011 have been deemed not effective enough. We have seen direct point sales decline over the past year, and this is a plain and simple marketing tactic to increase the value of a direct purchase over a resale purchase. Guides must be jumping up and down with excitement for this new sales tool.
DVD is a business, and it exists to sell. Perks are a marketing tool to help sell. The primary reason for DVC to offer perks is to help improve sales by Disney Vacation Development. Offering perks to all members does increase their goodwill towards Disney and increases the positive word of mouth about DVC from current members to their friends and family. A lot of happy members providing positive word of mouth advertising would be a good marketing tool. So, it's good for business - to a certain extent. However, in this case, DVD decided it's direct sales would be better enhanced by differentiating it more from resales.
Some have been speculating on Facebook that this may have been the push behind issuing the new member cards. You need a member card to access perks, and those buying resale after today won't be issued one.
Some have been speculating on Facebook that this may have been the push behind issuing the new member cards. You need a member card to access perks, and those buying resale after today won't be issued one.
We have been interested in buying for some time now, but go back and forth between resale and direct. We would love the perks of direct (especially now) but are not really interested in buying 100+ points, we prefer 50-75. Also our preferred resort is no longer for sale direct. It seems this will only push us further from buying. I wonder if others may feel this way too. Will it become harder for those who wish to sell on resale due to less demand? I wonder if DVC sales will really go up as they think or if they are simply complicating things for those members needing to sell while alienating potential resale buyers.
We have been interested in buying for some time now, but go back and forth between resale and direct. We would love the perks of direct (especially now) but are not really interested in buying 100+ points, we prefer 50-75. Also our preferred resort is no longer for sale direct. It seems this will only push us further from buying. I wonder if others may feel this way too. Will it become harder for those who wish to sell on resale due to less demand? I wonder if DVC sales will really go up as they think or if they are simply complicating things for those members needing to sell while alienating potential resale buyers.
Are you sure? We bought OKW direct just a few years ago. You usually have to ask. They can get anything on a waitlist (which was only a week for us)
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Been to WDW a million times... was even a Cast Member! Next Trip: March '12
Still thinking of going to the F&W Festival again....
I wonder what percentage of resale buyers are already DVC members who have purchased at least one contract through Disney? The "no perks" issue wouldn't really be a concern in that case.
That's our situation, as we are already DVC members, but are in the process of purchasing our first resale contract (currently waiting for ROFR).
I think this was inevitable since it is taking so long to sell the Poly points.
If we hadn't bought when we did and we bought VGF at quite a high price I would t even Ci wider it today with what they are offering at that price. Prices have gone up about 45% in 4 years and they are offering a resort with no 1 bedrooms and no traditional 2 bedrooms
I think the way the announcement was handled was the ultimate in unprofessional though there should have been a clear communication from the start about what was the situation of people buying currently
Perks are not what they were anyway we are just finishing up with our last TIW we will have saved about $100 and DVC discount have been refused or excluded more than it has been taken this trip
I don't see how not giving a member card will work though since TOTW and pool hopping is stated to be included
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Scottish Hogmanay (with a stolen Picture)
Last edited by Thomhazel; 04-07-2016 at 02:30 PM..
Will they do this even for the less than 100 point contracts? It was my understanding that we would still need to purchase the minimum 100 points for our initial purchase.
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