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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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You can also buy points from Disney for any location. When members decide to sell their contracts disney has the right of first refusal. I'm hoping to add on some points at beach club. You can also check out the timeshare store to see what people are selling.
They are also selling Hawaii, and Grand California at Disneyland. The one plus with Grand California (or Hawaii) is that it is a 50 year contract. We just added on points for GCV. The annual dues are some of the lowest out there as well (as opposed to Hawaii which will have higher dues). The downside to buying at GCV if you go mostly to DW, is that you lose the 11 month home resort booking perk, and can only book at 7 mos. But I thought I would at least through the information in to the mix for consideration!
AKV: Lower initial pts cost with higher yearly dues
BLT: Higher initial pts cost with lower yearly dues.
DW and I, well me really, did the math and even though it was $7k less to purchase AKV vs BLT, with BLT having lower dues, over the 50 years BLT was cheaper.
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AKV: Lower initial pts cost with higher yearly dues
BLT: Higher initial pts cost with lower yearly dues.
DW and I, well me really, did the math and even though it was $7k less to purchase AKV vs BLT, with BLT having lower dues, over the 50 years BLT was cheaper.
Interesting, I had no idea the dues were cheaper. In a couple years we are considering adding more points. I'm curious, can you add on points at a different resort and if so, can you consider both locations your home resort for booking purposes? (yes my sneaky mind is at work, LOL)
Were they offering any point discounts or specials?
Yes, for a 160 pt contract at BLT with a 10% down payment, they were offering a discount of $8 per point and an extra 160 points to use the first year.
Yes, for a 160 pt contract at BLT with a 10% down payment, they were offering a discount of $8 per point and an extra 160 points to use the first year.
Interesting, I had no idea the dues were cheaper. In a couple years we are considering adding more points. I'm curious, can you add on points at a different resort and if so, can you consider both locations your home resort for booking purposes? (yes my sneaky mind is at work, LOL)
yes you can
I have 3 - BLT, BWV and VWL.
my main points are at BLT.
Now the rules still apply you can't use your BWV points at Blt until the 7 months
11-7 - the points must stay with the resort they are assigned.
think somone say the min points require was 100 points - not the 160 it was for BLT and AKV.
you can also buy SSR and OKW - pretty sure. but think those would still be a min requirement of 150. just not sure. VWL, BWV or BCV - not sure unlikely - but you never know unless you ask.
yes you can
I have 3 - BLT, BWV and VWL.
my main points are at BLT.
Now the rules still apply you can't use your BWV points at Blt until the 7 months
11-7 - the points must stay with the resort they are assigned.
think somone say the min points require was 100 points - not the 160 it was for BLT and AKV.
you can also buy SSR and OKW - pretty sure. but think those would still be a min requirement of 150. just not sure. VWL, BWV or BCV - not sure unlikely - but you never know unless you ask.
use to own at OKW (1993-2008) sold it to buy BLT.
Hmm that would sound like buying in new though not just adding on. I thought you could add on as little as 25 points at a time. Perhaps that is just to your existing home resort then?
You can add on as few as 25 points at any property. I own 160 AKV points with a 50 point add on at SSR! Its very easy to add on once you've been through the initial process, however DVC will only finance add ons of 50 points or more!
I think you can purchase any of the WDW properties through Disney. They may be sold out but they do have them available through points that have been bought back on ROFR.
Hmm that would sound like buying in new though not just adding on. I thought you could add on as little as 25 points at a time. Perhaps that is just to your existing home resort then?
you are correct you can add on for 25 points.
50 points for financing.
that say they have lower the min buy in - so what not the min add on. Guess it is a cost thing - still if they can lower the min buy in - they should be able to lower the min add on.
would like the add on to be 10 points.... but that is not likely to happen.
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, did the math and even though it was $7k less to purchase AKV vs BLT, with BLT having lower dues, over the 50 years BLT was cheaper.
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