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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Why wouldn't I buy a Vero Beach resale for $50 - $60/point and then book wherever I could get into at WDW 7-months out from when I want to be there? Besides only being able to book 7-months out, what are the cons of this thought process?
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Dues are the highest of all resorts at $6.41 per point and you have about 32 years of ownership left (contracts end in 2042.) Compare that with, say, the Bay Lake Tower which has dues of $3.67 per point and 50 years of ownership remaining.
There is also some risk of additional assessments due to harsh weather damage over in the future. If memory serves, when Disney originally marketed the resort they were obligated to provide a disclosure which stated that there was a 25% chance of the resort being destroyed by a hurricane before 2042. Back when hurricanes hit Florida pretty hard in '05 or '06, Vero did suffer some damage. Owners managed to avoid a special assessment, but repair bills have certainly contributed to the dues cost.
Generally speaking there's a pretty logical trade-off between factors like contract duration, dues and the location of the resort. Vero points cost less because the '42 ending date leaves you with a fairly short ownership window, the dues are so high and you will always be booking at 7 months.
Also consider that with demand for Vero points being fairly low, you may have trouble selling the contract if you want to get rid of it before the 2042 expiration.
I'm a member at Vero having bought in 2002. If there was any disclosure about possible hurricane damage it certainly wasn't pointed out to me. In fact, I bought in there precisely because it had the lowest dues at the time, a point highlighted repeatedly by my rep. It has infuriated me to see the dues go up and up, and know that I'm stuck because the resale value has gone down and down. When I purchased, I had the opportunity to go with the Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge instead, and I wish I would have gone with those options.
That being said, I've never had a problem booking at the seven month window. For me, I'm flexible about where and when I stay, so the 11-month window isn't a huge value. But very carefully review the total cost of ownership inclusive of the fees. A $3 variance X 150 points x 33 years of ownership = $14,850. It's almost enough for a full ownership interest anywhere. And that's assuming that we don't get hit with another hurricane and see the differential grow even more. I had been hoping that the fees would go back down, but three years out from the hurricanes and we're still sky high.
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Karen, aka Zack's Mom - Lover of all Things Disney and the San Francisco Giants!
I think a lot of the cons have been pointed out to you. If you're fine, like Karen, about where you stay at WDW, then the likelihood is that you'll be able to get in somewhere. The caveat to that could be early December, which is stupidly popular with DVC members. However, if you want to stay in certain resorts, then you may have an issue - for example, Bay Lake Tower is very popular right now, as it's new, and the BoardWalk and Beach Club Villas tend to sell out during the Food and Wine Festival.
Some very good points raised. We went on holiday here last year for 3 days (prior to going to WDW) and loved it. We considered doing a nice "cheap" add-on but, as said above, looked at the overall cost for the future (and of course the £ tumbling against all world currencies!) and decided against it. We felt it was always going to be one of those places that was going to be easy to book up at the 7 month window and decided (if ever the £ climbs again) to do a possible add-on elsewhere.
Some very good points raised. We went on holiday here last year for 3 days (prior to going to WDW) and loved it. We considered doing a nice "cheap" add-on but, as said above, looked at the overall cost for the future (and of course the £ tumbling against all world currencies!) and decided against it. We felt it was always going to be one of those places that was going to be easy to book up at the 7 month window and decided (if ever the £ climbs again) to do a possible add-on elsewhere.
Don't talk to me about the £ right now... it just figures it drops against the Euro just before we head off to Spain. I guess we did have it good for a long time against the dollar though, so we're probably due some payback.
Besides Vero's high dues, also keep in mind that the 7 month window may tighten up considerably for WDW if DVC builds at National Harbor and other offsite locations in the coming years. SSR is the biggest bang for your buck if you buy resale. SSR expires in 2054 (longer end date), an option for 3 bedroom treehouses (same points as a 2 bedroom) and you won't get locked out of onsite WDW trips especially if you need a holiday week.
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) and decided against it. We felt it was always going to be one of those places that was going to be easy to book up at the 7 month window and decided (if ever the £ climbs again) to do a possible add-on elsewhere.
I guess we did have it good for a long time against the dollar though, so we're probably due some payback. 
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