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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So Excited. We finally decided to join DVC and chose AKL as our home resort. Everything has gone through really fast so far and we are currently closing.
I can’t wait to find out if anything is available around Christmas 23-25/New Year 2-4, although I think nothing will be available when we finally get our login details and may have to pay out of pocket for our first trip as DVC members.
Congrats on joining the DVC and welcome home! We own at Animal Kingdom Lodge and love it there.
You didn't say what you were looking for at Christmas/New Year, but I just had a quick look, as I can see availability for those dates and savannah view for studios is available for the whole period at both Jambo and Kidani and for standard view at Kidani. Some dates have already gone for standard view studios at Jambo and of course Club Level studios are already fully booked.
As far as one bedroom villas go, there's availability for all your stay at both Jambo and Kidani for savannah and standard views, but not for Club Level.
If you need to know availability for two bedroom villas or Grand Villas, shout and I can look those up for you as can any other Animal Kingdom Lodge owners.
And the DVC online system is very easy to use. The only issue I have with it is getting to it from the Member website, as it's not clearly marked. I always have to search a bit to find it, especially now Membership Magic is all over the front page but once you get into it, it's very straight forward.
Congrats on joining the DVC and welcome home! We own at Animal Kingdom Lodge and love it there.
You didn't say what you were looking for at Christmas/New Year, but I just had a quick look, as I can see availability for those dates and savannah view for studios is available for the whole period at both Jambo and Kidani and for standard view at Kidani. Some dates have already gone for standard view studios at Jambo and of course Club Level studios are already fully booked.
As far as one bedroom villas go, there's availability for all your stay at both Jambo and Kidani for savannah and standard views, but not for Club Level.
If you need to know availability for two bedroom villas or Grand Villas, shout and I can look those up for you as can any other Animal Kingdom Lodge owners.
And the DVC online system is very easy to use. The only issue I have with it is getting to it from the Member website, as it's not clearly marked. I always have to search a bit to find it, especially now Membership Magic is all over the front page but once you get into it, it's very straight forward.
Amazing - thank you Cheryl. Looking forward to learning the ins and outs of DVC
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I forgot to say in my original post, but generally if you're booking at any time up until seven months out, you've got home resort priority and most things do tend to be available during that time. There are exceptions, with Club Level at Animal Kingdom Lodge being one of those - they are snapped up very quickly as there are so few of them. When we bought in, we were told that generally DVC Members don't book that far ahead, and apart from Club Level, we've never had an issue booking what we want at our home resort at any point up to seven months out.
Congratulations! We've booked our last 2 trips using the online system, and it's really user-friendly. I like being able to play around with possibilities, so that I know what to do when my booking time comes open. Congrats, and home!
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Looking forward to another Christmas with The Mouse!!
One thing that we do is book at our home resort at 11 months and then see if we can move to another resort (if we choose to) at the 7 month window. Due to the minions' schedules, we've gone in June, July and August and not had a problem getting rooms at VWL, AKL (Kidani), BCV, or even OKW.
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Congratulations and Welcome Home! We love AKL - it is our home resort as well!
The online booking system and the DVC website is very easy to navigate! with the dates you are looking for!
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We own at Animal Kingdom Lodge and love it there. 
but once you get into it, it's very straight forward. 
home!
We love AKL - it is our home resort as well! 
with the dates you are looking for!
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