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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 want to buy at least 100 points. There are several different DVC properties at Disney World...would it be smart to purchase the 100 points to the cheapest offer..not considering the property because you can use those points at any DVC resort. Does home resort matter (except the amount of years you are given...I know some resorts have fewer years available than others)
Owners can book a room 11 months prior to arrival at their Home resort and 7 months prior to arrival at other locations. In some cases, that 4 month Home resort booking advantage means the difference between getting a room and not getting a room.
Most times it has more to do with the views that are available rather than actually getting into a room. For instance, room categories like Standard or BoardWalk View at the Boardwalk, Value or Concierge rooms at Animal Kingdom Villas and Standard or Magic Kingdom Views at the Bay Lake Tower are all MUCH harder to get when booking 7 months out. Those categories tend to be preferred by owners and will go first.
Resorts like the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge are often hard to get at 7 months due to their smallish size and popularity among members. Vero and Hilton Head are particularly hard to book during the warm weather months.
There are also a few times of the year when you could be completely blocked from a given resort at 7 months. The entire period from Thanksgiving through New Year's is exceptionally popular among DVC members. Other holiday periods are also a draw.
All of that said, if you aren't particularly choosy about which view/category you want to reserve, you will have a fair amount of success calling right at 7 months. Do NOT have the expectation that you will have your choice of all 11 resorts but you should have multiple options available.
If your intention is to stay at one particular resort year-after-year, much better to pay a little more for the booking advantage.
Aside from the years left on the contract, the other purpose your Home resort serves is determining the annual dues. Some of the cheaper resorts tend to have higher annual dues. For resorts like Vero and Hilton Head, you may find them to have the lowest up-front purchase cost but the higher dues will result in you paying more in the long run.
Great advice. I have always been able to get a room when I want to go, regardless of my home resort (I own at SSR, and have only stayed there once).
The key is flexibility. Know what's important to you (your dates, cheap points, location, etc.) and book the location that is available and comes closest to your requirements. Then waitlist for your "dream" location. Sometimes it comes through sometimes not.
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im not that great as tim but i will say one thing is you can contact disney direct you can buy if they any buy backs for different resorts and you might be able to get a good deal but not gaurenteed . but this is what one of my friends did and they got 100 pts at beach club.
Buy where you want to stay. That way if you can't get in at any other resort you will still be happy with what you get. We own at SSR and a handful of points at BCV. If we have to stay at SSR we don't mind. But we would rather stay at AKV or BCV.
I would also want to buy where I want to stay. Also, when looking at the cheapest contract prices keep in mind the yearly dues you will be paying. Some resorts are more than others.
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I agree with the others buy where you want to stay much easier to getting a room 11 months out than 7 months out at some resorts. We bought into Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom but it does varies on the annual dues so do some due diligence and make sure the resort you want to buy into is where you can see yourself and family going there year after year. Do you have a particular resort in mind you looking at buying interest into?
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