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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 paid some cash some points? how dose that work is it a set amout for the amount of point you need or what if anyone can help let me know Thank you
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I think this is how we did it when we used points + paid cash for one night last year.... had enough points for 9 nights but was short by something like 7 or 8 points for the 10th night. We banked the 7-8 points and paid cash for the 10th night at a 25% DVC Member discount on the rack rate. Member services can explain it to you if you just call and explain what you're trying to do.
We did this in 2005 at the Grand Floridian. I used points to pay for the weeknights and cash for the weekends. (I couldn't justify the huge amount of points it took for Friday and Saturday night! ) The only complication we had was we had to check out and recheck in every time we changed from points to cash. It was very painless, and we didn't really need to change rooms, but it worked!
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Carla mentioned the 25% dvc discount and I thought I would expand on that a bit.
At times when DVC's computers are predicting that the resort will not be fully booked by members using points (the prediction is based upon current reservations on record and historical trends for the night in question), DVC will offer you the room for 25% off of the posted Rack Rate. You do have to pay the 12.5% resort tax and you do NOT get nightly housekeeping.
The discounted rate is most frequently available on weekend nights due to the higher points.
There is no deposit required--you pay when you arrive. And the cancellation policy is very favorable (I think you have until 5 days before arrival to cancel.)
On nights when they aren't offering the 25% discount, you may still be able to book a room at full price.
Whenever you book a cash room thru DVC--either at th 25% discount or full price--you can ask that they "link" your cash nights to your points reservation. When the two reservations are linked together, you are guaranteed of staying in the same room and you only have to check-in once.
Sometimes DVC rooms are available at Annual Passholder discount rates. These rates are booked thru CRO rather than DVC. When you book at an AP discount rate you *WILL* have to check-in more than once (on the first day of the cash reservation and first day of the points reservation) and you may even have to switch rooms. The one advantage to a CRO reservation is that you will get daily housekeeping. However, there are other drawbacks like not being able to book the dining plan for those nights, having to give a cash deposit in advance, and the cancellation policies are often not as favorable.
Be sure to book the cash portion of your stay through Member Services. We added a night last year to our stay at BCV and originally booked through the front desk at another resort we happened to be visiting. When we called Member Services a few days later, they discounted the room and the savings were pretty big!
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) The only complication we had was we had to check out and recheck in every time we changed from points to cash. It was very painless, and we didn't really need to change rooms, but it worked!
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