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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So since I am new to the dvc family I was wondering if you ever get upgraded at a dvc property? I have have been fortunate enough to be upgraded several times while staying at disney hotels and just wondered if that ever happens when staying at a villa? My family and I are staying at the new Grand Cal. villa's in Califonia in Feb and decided that we would just stay in a studio. But I wouldn't pass up and opportunity to be upgraded ha ha. Also, can you ask when you check in (like in the resorts?)
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I have never had this personally happen to me nor have I heard it happening at all. Since people are using their points to stay in a specific type of unit, I don't think it would be fair for one person to be upgraded while another person using the same amount of points was not upgraded. I'm not sure if there is a legal aspect to it - - some of our more knowledgable DVC owners might could answer that!
When I asked this some time ago on these boards (I am also a relatively new DVC owner), I was told that upgrades don't happen with DVC, for the reasons stated by the Jill.
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It's never happened to me and I've never heard any reports of either at any DVC property or any cruise, when you cruise using your points. The only time it did happen to us when we used our points was at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. We were upgraded when we checked in, which was a very nice surprise.
The only time I've heard of it happening is when a room is unexpectedly taken out of service for maintenance purposes. DVC resorts will not simply upgrade guests if there are larger vacant rooms available. Two of the key concepts behind a timeshare are:
1. Resorts are sold to be at 100% occupancy year-round (less a minor maintenance allocation), and
2. Everyone's points return the same value.
In regard to #1, even when a resort isn't fully booked they will continue under the assumption that some arriving guest may wish to spend extra points to upgrade or that a last-minute reservation will materialize. At the same time, arbitrarily deciding to upgrade guest "X" but not guest "Y" violates #2 above.
We are hoping for a DCL upgade on our cruise. Or at least offered to have the option to pay for an upgrade. Currently our cruise still has lots of empty rooms so one can dream.
It would be nice to get an upgade from a studio to a 1 bedroom. But I'm with the others. I doubt this happens. The best you hope for a is view upgrade.
We are hoping for a DCL upgade on our cruise. Or at least offered to have the option to pay for an upgrade. Currently our cruise still has lots of empty rooms so one can dream.
It would be nice to get an upgade from a studio to a 1 bedroom. But I'm with the others. I doubt this happens. The best you hope for a is view upgrade.
Sadly on our cruises to date, using points, we've never been offered an upgrade or the chance to pay for one and we cruised on the inaugural Mediterranean cruise and we know that we only sailed about half or three quarters full.
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We booked a std view studio at BWV and got a pool view. This was a handicapped accessible room. I wonder if they gave us that as DH is very handicapped but we don`t usually request HA rooms - who knows
We are staying at Kandini in a standard view 1br (traded, using RCI points). If I would have had a choice, I would have used more points to get a Savannah view, but there was no choice. Anyone think I can ask and receive for a Savannah view once we get there? I don't have much hope,,,,,
Well, I may be one of the lucky ones for sure!
On our 2003, 7 day Eastern Caribbean, MAGIC cruise on points for my DH and me and cash for our-then 6 and 1/2 year old DD, we booked a CAT 10. Now remember our first cruise ever, so we knew with a CAT 10, we would be ok.....not in the room much, etc.
Well, after receiving my cruise documents, 2 days later, we get a phone call from DCL. We would like to know if you would like to be upgraded to a CAT 7(Navigator's Verandah).
Well, we didn't turn it down, of course and we were absolutely THRILLED!!!!
I guess, I was one of the lucky ones!!!!!!
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We are staying at Kandini in a standard view 1br (traded, using RCI points). If I would have had a choice, I would have used more points to get a Savannah view, but there was no choice. Anyone think I can ask and receive for a Savannah view once we get there? I don't have much hope,,,,,
For an RCI trade I don't believe it's possible. DVC deposits a unit with RCI and they handle the rest of the transaction. When you arrive at AKV, they won't have the resources to coordinate taking more points from your other RCI timeshare. Plus, the units deposited with RCI are chosen carefully by DVC. Open availability doesn't come into play. If there happens to be a Savanna view 1B available, the resort would simply hold it in case there is a last minute cash or points booking.
Never hurts to ask but based upon everything I know about the RCI trade process I doubt they would let you upgrade.
My family and I are staying at the new Grand Cal. villa's in Califonia in Feb and decided that we would just stay in a studio...
This is slightly off-topic from your question, and I very much hope I'm wrong about this, but I thought they only had two and three bedroom units at the Grand Californian? I am very much hoping that (a) I'm wrong, or (b) that they will at least eventually have studios and one bedrooms - because otherwise hubby and I will never be able to stay there. (This is where I got the info: New Wing Opens at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa (Laura's Disney Lines) - Laura's blog on AllEars.)
To answer your question, the only "upgrade" I've ever heard of with DVC is with the view and not the room size - and even that is really rare.
This is slightly off-topic from your question, and I very much hope I'm wrong about this, but I thought they only had two and three bedroom units at the Grand Californian? I am very much hoping that (a) I'm wrong, or (b) that they will at least eventually have studios and one bedrooms - because otherwise hubby and I will never be able to stay there. (This is where I got the info: New Wing Opens at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa (Laura's Disney Lines) - Laura's blog on AllEars.)
Many of the villas are lockoff two bedroom villas which means they can be reserved separately as a Studio and a One Bedroom. That's pretty much how DVC builds things these days--they either make Dedicated Two Bedroom villas or lockoffs which can be separated into the 1B + Studio.
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To answer your question, the only "upgrade" I've ever heard of with DVC is with the view and not the room size - and even that is really rare.
I've heard of both. But yeah, they are extremely rare.
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