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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Has anyone ever booked with costco? They are offering the same price with better incentives. I tried all the recommend sites and they are giving me the same price. But Costco is willing to put in a $275.00 costco card with the booking. That is better then the stateroom credits and/or the cash back offer. Any thoughts???? I would like to book this week.
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DisneyDeva
1989+1993 Carribbean Beach,1996 ASS+Dixie Landings,1998 DL,2000 CB Hurricaine Floyd!!,2001 DL,2003 CS,2004 WL,2005 POR,2006 seven night eastern carb. disney cruise!!!,2006 Halloween Liki Tiki,May 2007 off site Orange Lake,May 2007 AKL,Sept 2007 CS,Oct 2008 Halloween ASM,May 2009 PC+ a seven night eastern carb. cruise,Feb 2010 GCV,BCV + BLT Sept 2011; OKW 8/12;Kindani 9/13: POR 3/13; Jambo Club Level & SS 6/14; Poly studio 8/15, GF villa July 2016;Blt + AKK June 2018
Mass-merchandisers like Costco, and BJ's can offer additional items like store gift cards as an incentive to book with them. They can afford to do that based on their overall sales volume / profit margin.
As you've noticed, the price is the same. Basic service is the same if you're simply looking for someplace to book your cruise. They'll make your reservation and send you your documents.
So what's the difference? The level of service and details that you'll get. The people in their reservation centers process hundreds of different vacations and probably won't have the level of knowledge and details that an agency that specializes in Disney / DCL would have. You may find it hard to get specific questions answered after you book.
Before I became my own travel agent, I used BJ's Vacations precisely for the reason of the gift card. While the card was nice, I quickly got frustrated with trying to make a simple change on my reservation. I didn't work with a specific person and calls to the service center resulted in me having to explain what I wanted to do to each and every person I talked to!
Bottom line: they'll book your vacation. No more, no less.
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Lynn
Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
Hi DisneyDeva
I have booked twice with Costco and just transferred my reservation over to get the $275 Costco card for my next cruise. Since I like to make my own reservations for Palo, spa, etc. I don't mind giving them my reservation. Plus since I rebooked onboard, I also got the 10% discount and the $200 onboard credit for our next cruise. If you like to have a knowledgeable TA do it for you especially if you are not familiar with all the things that you need to do before you set sail, then do it with a Disney Specialist. From our last cruise this past January, we received the Costco card in the mail within a week of us returning home. It helped to pay for all the photos that I took while on vacation!!! Enjoy!
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DVC Member BWV- 6/08
WDW -lost count!
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Disney Magic 11/04 Eastern
Disney Magic 12/06 Western, 08/15/09
Disney Wonder 01/08, 02/09, 08/10
Disney Dream B2B 08/11
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Hi DisneyDeva
I have booked twice with Costco and just transferred my reservation over to get the $275 Costco card for my next cruise. Since I like to make my own reservations for Palo, spa, etc. I don't mind giving them my reservation. Plus since I rebooked onboard, I also got the 10% discount and the $200 onboard credit for our next cruise. If you like to have a knowledgeable TA do it for you especially if you are not familiar with all the things that you need to do before you set sail, then do it with a Disney Specialist. From our last cruise this past January, we received the Costco card in the mail within a week of us returning home. It helped to pay for all the photos that I took while on vacation!!! Enjoy!
So question for yea Mulan..... are you able to reboot the same room onboard?? The reason I ask is that we don't cruise until summer and we can't book 2009 like we normally do... so it is being booked via AAA. However, that kills our discount etc for booking onboard..... so can I just change it on the ship and still get the discount and credit?? Or do I have to cancel one to get the other???
Like Lynn says, Costco (and Sams) are great for buying two years worth of toilet paper, but I'm somewhat concerned about anything that requires customer service. Based on my rates, that $275 is probably close to half the commission. One place to cut corners is to pay their "agents' less that diddly squat. Will they get up at oh dark thirty (or stay up) to get your Palo reservations, or that Cindy's table? I will. I think Lynn has said she will. I seem to remember most of the agents here having a level of personal service. To be perfectly honest, the margins in the travel agent side of the business aren't great. Yeah, that commission looks good, until you factor the number of hours it takes to make a successful booking, and the number of hours you waste on an unsuccessful attempt.
I wanted to let everyone know that I did end up booking with Costco. Having been a disney cruiseline guest in the past and a Disney world consultant, I felt that the customer service I would not get was ok. I ended up spending over an hour on the phone with them. First they tried to tell me that they did not have connecting cabins so I told her I was going to book with another agent. She then said she would call Disney directly and see what she could do. We did end up getting what we wanted, but it was not because the agent went out of her way to help. Long and short of it, if you know what you want and do not need the extra help go for it, if you are not sure, then it would not be a wise choice. No matter for me, all I know is that my deposit is down and in 14 month I will be on the Magic enjoying the sunshine!!!!!
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DisneyDeva
1989+1993 Carribbean Beach,1996 ASS+Dixie Landings,1998 DL,2000 CB Hurricaine Floyd!!,2001 DL,2003 CS,2004 WL,2005 POR,2006 seven night eastern carb. disney cruise!!!,2006 Halloween Liki Tiki,May 2007 off site Orange Lake,May 2007 AKL,Sept 2007 CS,Oct 2008 Halloween ASM,May 2009 PC+ a seven night eastern carb. cruise,Feb 2010 GCV,BCV + BLT Sept 2011; OKW 8/12;Kindani 9/13: POR 3/13; Jambo Club Level & SS 6/14; Poly studio 8/15, GF villa July 2016;Blt + AKK June 2018
Glad it worked out for you! Like Lynn and Dillon said, it really depends on your level of expectation. If you are fine with the level of service Costco, Sam's or BJ's will provide (i.e. not very much) then it can be a good deal for some people. But if you have any type of special request or even a questions (adjoining rooms, advice on which category or which cabin to book, which itinerary do you recommend?) then a travel agent who specializes in Disney may be the way to go. There are plenty of us out there and since we know we are competing with the large volume agencies who can undercut prices, etc. many of us provide an extraordinary level of service!
We are another family that has booked with Costco and as the others have mentioned it really depends on what level of customer service you are looking for. I couldn't pass up the $1,100 cash card that we'll get from Costco when we return - that is better than anybody else can offer. I only was on the phone with them twice - once when I made the original reservation and then when they called me to let me know we'd cleared the waitlist for a suite. They aren't extremely knowledgable, but that's ok because I feel I can get all my questions answered on the boards.
We book our Oct '08 group cruise through Costco. I can't say that I have gotten a whole lot of help from them, but then again I went in with a ton of knowledge and specific rooms that I wanted to book. (Thanks Passporter) Every question that I have asked they have responed quickly through email. I have never booked through an agent before so I don't have a lot of comparison except for the few that I contacted for rates before I chose Costco.
Has anyone used Costco recently? I am very familiar with DCL, so don't need advice, etc, but was wondering how difficult it was to make any changes to a DCL reservation booked through Costco, e.g. cabin number, MDR dining times. Is that handled by email? By phone? Are they prompt in their responses?
Thanks!
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Booking with Costco????
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Pixie Dust
DVC Member BWV- 6/08
) Every question that I have asked they have responed quickly through email. I have never booked through an agent before so I don't have a lot of comparison except for the few that I contacted for rates before I chose Costco.
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