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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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've sat through a time share schpeal 5 yrs ago and at the time, as I was listening to it, it was really confusing, still unsure to this day.
Can some one give me a run down on how DVC works. I've reada bunch about home resorts, No free dining, the points and adding on.
I don't want to call Disney, I'll never be rid of the calls, Following up on my inquiry.
If someone can help me with this I'd appreciate it.
TIA
DVC is not like a traditional timeshare. You buy the number of points you think will work for you, and then that's what you can use each year. You can use them whenever you'd like - assuming the reservation is available. You can book 11 months out for your home resort and 7 months out for other resorts. You can bank a year's worth of points or borrow a year's worth - giving you up to three years of points to use at once.
Besides the purchase price you will also have annual dues each year.
We have found that our membership paid for itself after just a few years.
I would suggest talking to a DVC rep (ours is Gib, we like him) and be very frank that you don't want a hard sell, that you just have some questions.
Good luck with your decision!
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'm just confirming that you shouldn't be afraid to ask DVC any questions you have (although posting specific questions here is also a fine idea). My husband and I attended three DVC presentations over 10 years before we finally bought in after the third. After the first two, we may have had one phone message a week later checking whether we had any other questions, but that was it -- I was pleasantly surprised by how little pressure there was.
Sue's already pointed you in the direction of the FAQs thread and that's a good place to start. As others have said, don't be afraid to call Disney about this. They are not like traditional timeshares and there's no hard sell.
I can confirm that I called to enquire about DVC and after a few questions and info. I felt resale was for me for cost reasons, I told my advisor that she sent me some details through the post including her number and said if i changed my mind to call her back ... that was 6 months ago and i havent had any more calls from DVC. I was amazed that she did what she said as I was expecting hard sell too.
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Clare Loves Stitch
"sometimes the right path is not the easiest one"
Grandmother Willow - Pocahontas
Proud DVC owner at BWV from March 2011
I totally agree no hard sells. We even went to the presentation on site (I recommend if you have the time and are take a trip anytime soon) and we were not pressured at all. They gave the info, answered our questions, and told us how long the current special they were offering would last. We told them we wanted to think about it at home (where we weren't pixie dust buzzin') and they were totally fine with it. We also have Gib as a rep and he is fantastic.
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Last edited by mickeycrazy; 05-05-2010 at 03:15 PM..
the maintence fees are based on points and resort - each point (no matter who owes it) pays the same amount of maintence fees for their resort.
which I appreciate it.
if any hard sell is done and DVC management find out. They will talk to the guide another complaint and that guide is dismissed from being a DVC guide.
they don't want the hard sell. my guide says it well. Either DVC will sell itself to you or you won't buy.