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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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And we are so excited!!!! Going through the book and looking at points, we did have a question that I'm hoping you all can answer.
Obviously, places like The Contemporary have DVC rooms but could we use our points to stay in a *regular* room in the tower? We saw we could use our points for a room at The Polynesian so that's an option but the kids have been dying to stay at the Contemporary forever and we'd like to be able to do it, just not sure we want to spend the points on a one bedroom suite.
One problem we are running in to that we hadn't planned before we bought, a lot (or all) of the studios, which we thought we could get away with, have a queen size bed and then a double sleep sofa. We are a family of 4 and while I love my kids, there are no way they are sleeping together in a double bed. Our youngest still sleeps with us (because we're crazy like that ) but we have a king size bed at home. In the past when we travel we put our son in bed with Daddy and I sleep with our daughter. That works for us, but for the money we've spent on DVC I don't want to spend a week sleeping on a pull out bed.
I don't know if we'll be able to add points this year but my plan is to start adding points as soon as we can. I've heard that the pull out sofa's (at least at some resorts) have very nice mattresses on them and our dd wouldn't mind sleeping on one, but I really think as a family of four we either need a *traditional* room with two (hopefully queen) beds or at least a one bedroom. When I look at the two bedrooms it's actually more room than what we need, at least until the kids are a little older.
I'm sure I'll be back with lots of questions! We are so, so, so excited to finally own a bit of magic and cannot WAIT to take our first trip!!!! I think we'll actually have to borrow points for our first trip, we'd like to take my inlaws which will definitely require a two bedroom suite!
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Me ~ Christina; DH ~ '92; DD ~ '99; DS ~ '06
My reasons for breathing!!! MGM Studios October 2007
We just bought last August and love it, even though we have only hit DL so far, first trip to WDW to our home resort will be next April.
As far as I am aware you cannot stay on points in regular rooms at a resort that has a DVC connected to it. Also, if you stay on points at a regular resort the points are quite a bit higher than what you would pay for a DVC resort. Staying in a 1-bedroom DVC resort will most likely cost you less points than staying in a regular room at a non-DVC resort (for example - 1-bedroom Savanna View at AKV in Dream Season is 34 points for a week night and a Garden View at the Polynesian is 55)
We have the same issue with the studio DVC rooms, it's actually my only DVC pet peeve. We are a family of four as well and we have DD12 and DS9. They have shared when they were younger but not any more. We have to do one-bedrooms. Thankfully we already loved the larger rooms, and plan to buy more points to be able to get 2-bedrooms in the future.
I will say that once you stay in a 1 or 2-bedroom, it will be very difficult to go back to a studio.
Sadly you can't use your points on any resort that has a DVC resort attached to it - so as well as the Contemporary, that's the case for the Beach Club, BoardWalk Inn, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge. I'm sure when the Grand Floridian Villas open, that will apply there as well.
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Originally Posted by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince
I think the studio at OKW has two queen beds, if that helps.
I was going to mention this.
You pretty much nailed the aspect of DVC that kept me from buying in for some years, though I did finally in 2009.
I and the friend I usually travel with to WDW are single and not a couple, which means that someone gets the pullout sofa. We alternate. I was pleased to find that these are much better than older sofas with which I was familiar. Strangely we have never stayed at OKW!
Many 1 BR villas have a king bed, and some have a sleep chair in addition to the pullout sofa.
When my sister and BIL joined us for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival in 2010, I reserved a two BR at Bay Lake (my first stay at my home resort) and that worked perfectly, because we gave my sister and BIL the "master" BR with the King bed and separate bath, and we took the second bedroom with the two Queen beds and its own bath. The other wonderful thing was the third full bathroom, which made for efficient morning rituals.
If you haven't read it, I heartily recommend the recently updated Passporter e-book on The Disney Vacation Club. You will likely find, as I did, that it answers many of your questions. And I am sure those of us on PP will be happy to help.
I hope you get many years of enjoyment from your membership, and Welcome Home!
Welcome home! We have 4 kids that don't like to sleep in the same bed. We always have a twin size air mattress (we used to take it back and forth each time but now we keep it in an Owner's Locker). That way even if we stay at one of the 2BR villas that doesn't have the sleeper chair everyone has their own sleeping space. We just leave it blown up for the whole time and lean it up against the wall during the day so it's not in the way. Maybe it will change when they're a little older, but for now, they always argue over who gets to sleep on the air mattress!
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Going through the book and looking at points, we did have a question that I'm hoping you all can answer. 
) but we have a king size bed at home. In the past when we travel we put our son in bed with Daddy and I sleep with our daughter. That works for us, but for the money we've spent on DVC I don't want to spend a week sleeping on a pull out bed. 
MGM Studios October 2007
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