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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are seriously considering buying into DVC, but are rarely able to schedule vacations more than 3-4 months in advance. This is due to very unpredictable work schedules. In fact, we sometimes make plans with less than a month out. However, we prefer traveling during non-peak times and are not too picky about which resort to visit. Does this sound like a workable scenario for DVC ownership, or would it make more sense to pay oop and stay in the traditional resorts? Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.
A lot of our vacations have been booked within a month or so of traveling. If you don't mind where you stay and you don't go during the busy times, I think you would be ok. If we book within a month or so of traveling, we usually get Saratoga(our home) or OKW. You may also get AKL now that Kidani is open. Hopefully others will post and give you their experiences too. in your decision.
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Stephanie
Riding the Magic Carpets with Jasmine and Aladdin
Great stuff! And very encouraging, as we are thinking of pulling the trigger in the next few months. We will probably prefer studios--would this make things more, or less, difficult?
DVC could probably save you money in the long run but your options will be severely limited. I would only consider DVC if the following apply:
1. You don't care where you stay. On 3-4 months notice you will most often find Saratoga Springs and Old Key West available. Perhaps Animal Kingdom Villas at times. Other resorts will be very difficult to obtain on such short notice.
2. You are flexible in the size accommodation you are willing to book. Studios are reportedly the first size villa to fill with One Bedrooms being last. So your odds of getting a Studio would be lowest. Again if you are flexible and willing to take any size accommodation, you should find something.
A couple other thoughts:
* As long as you aren't borrowing points from another year, there really is no penalty for cancellations more than 30 days out. So one thing you could consider doing is booking a trip before your are certain you will be able to make it, and then cancel if things do not work out. As long as it's more than 30 days out, the points are simply returned to your account.
* Some non-peak times are very popular with DVC members so you can't really generalize and assume that you will be OK. The period from Thanksgiving to New Years (which includes about 3 weeks that are generally considered slow) is the busiest time of the year for DVC members. If you tried to book today--more than 8 months out--you'd be lucky to find anything. However other slow periods like late-August and September are not as popular and still quite easy to book on short notice.
Honestly unless you calculate that you stand to save a lot on your accommodations and/or have absolutely no preference in where you stay, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. If you think that you'll be able to consistently book the Beach Club or Bay Lake Tower on a month's notice as a DVC member, I think you would be in for a rude awakening.
don't buy from DVC - go resale. get the cheapest resale you can find - it will be SSR or OKW probably. might suggest offsite at HH or VB - but their maintence fees are higher.
agree with what Tim says. but hey no reason not to try for BLT or BCV. you might get lucky,
you are taking a chance. so be prepared to call back often. too many members who can't make advantage reservations give up. Don't.
because of the 30 days cancelation rules - some nice resorts come up in the last 30 days. be prepared to take what is available.
so start calling at 32 days before you want to go and don't quite until 28/25 days.
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Hopefully others will post and give you their experiences too. 
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