Booking (switching resorts) online @ 7 months - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
We've made a reservation at our home resort but next Saturday is 7 months out and I want to try for another resort. In the past I've either find it over the phone our just a waitlist online. Do I have to cancel my existing or do I try to modify it?
You can't modify online if you wish to re book it yourself you will have to cancel and rebook. It is a bit heart stopping after you cancel and have a couple of minutes while you rebook but I have done it many times and it has always worked out.
I tend to have a look at our home resort a while before 8am and if it has readily available rooms (often does as we have AKV) I cancel about 5 minutes to the hour and am all ready to push the button the minute we hit 8am.
__________________
Scottish Hogmanay (with a stolen Picture)
Last edited by Thomhazel; 03-08-2015 at 11:17 PM..
Thank you! Do you look for the resort you want to switch too as well? Or just make sure you can get home again if need be?
Personally I just make sure home is readily available so I can browse for an alternative. If it is readily available I cancel then choose what i want to change to and have it all set up to hit the button just as 8am opening comes along. If home resort is low (which as my home is AKV is rare) then I'd probably either just choose to stay put or wait until 9am and call MS and get them to change it for me.
At some times of year you don't need to be this tight about it but i'm a type A personality and can't cope with not having everything under my control.
Thank you! Do you look for the resort you want to switch too as well? Or just make sure you can get home again if need be?
With the resort availability tool, I think I would do a search to see if your desired resort(s) and room size is showing availability too before I bothered to cancel. It won't be a sure thing, but at least you will have an idea of whether you have a chance to get what you want or not.
Personally I just make sure home is readily available so I can browse for an alternative. If it is readily available I cancel then choose what i want to change to and have it all set up to hit the button just as 8am opening comes along. If home resort is low (which as my home is AKV is rare) then I'd probably either just choose to stay put or wait until 9am and call MS and get them to change it for me.
At some times of year you don't need to be this tight about it but i'm a type A personality and can't cope with not having everything under my control.
How do you see how many units are available? With the availability tool, I only see fully available, partially available, not not available. It doesn't indicated how many units are open. It could conceivably be only a few open units. Curious as to how you know.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
How do you see how many units are available? With the availability tool, I only see fully available, partially available, not not available. It doesn't indicated how many units are open. It could conceivably be only a few open units. Curious as to how you know.
I don't, I just make sure there is another one after the one I have booked and decide whether or not I feel able to take the risk from there. Added to that you know when you are travelling and whether it is a mega busy time or a quieter time. It is a judgement call and so far it has worked out for me but it isn't risk free thats for sure. There is no way to find out how many units are available so I limit myself to making sure some are. If the particular unit I have booked is the only one available I probably won't take the chance.
I don't use the availability tool I just use the booking tool.
I don't, I just make sure there is another one after the one I have booked and decide whether or not I feel able to take the risk from there. Added to that you know when you are travelling and whether it is a mega busy time or a quieter time. It is a judgement call and so far it has worked out for me but it isn't risk free thats for sure. There is no way to find out how many units are available so I limit myself to making sure some are. If the particular unit I have booked is the only one available I probably won't take the chance.
I don't use the availability tool I just use the booking tool.
I was kind of hoping you knew about something I didn't (sigh). It would be helpful if the tool told you the percentage of rooms available in your search category.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I saw that after I posted this.
Week I was online at 8est and no availability on our check-in day for Poly so we decided to stay put at AKL and try next year.
I know I've read about people that waitlist day by day and get it that way so I'm assuming that's what people have done here. Didn't help me that I'm looking at October which is so busy for DVC.
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.
About This Page: 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
