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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 by your own numbers, 50 points would have cost $4950 in 2008. Six years later 50 points runs about $8000.
I'm not sure that a $3000 cost increase on an asset with a 50-year lifespan is really an indication that it's only accessible to the "ultra rich."
I'm not advocating any purchase approach but the additional $3k financed at Disney's exorbitant rates is only $43 per month.
Are prices higher? Absolutely. But prices haven't risen to such a degree that DVC is only feasible for the so-called One Percenters. Most people who could afford $5k in 2008--when the world was entering its worst recession in decades--could probably swing $8k today.
Pretty much everything costs more than it did 6 years ago. It's not a question of personal wealth. Like any purchase, it's more a question of whether or not that's how you want to spend your money.
Sorry if I hit a sore spot Tim - didn't mean to. I get mad all the time bc people think we are rich bc we go to WDW 2x a year. (want the list of things we don't do? Im a scrooge at home). But I don't know that Disney would be selling current points at their current price if names like Aulani, Grand Floridian and soon to be Poly weren't attached. Maybe people felt this way when it went from OKW to AKV and what I thought was a great deal. But with our experience with those developer points we broke even on contracts fast. A lot of this also comes from being very disappointed to be one of the first to discover deals on points on DCL were gone as well.
Would I do DVC again? absolutely and I am one of the most vocal to people about how much we have saved and I love DVC so much I want 100 more points. I guess also because of that really want to stay loyal and buy from Disney but the money gap between Disney points and resale seems IMHO to have increased dramatically. I am not good with numbers so maybe I am overstating this, maybe the developer points had more to do with it being a better deal versus price per point. I don't know but I wasn't trying to slam DVC and I don't want free dining. I would like to feel like there were choices on how to get discounts without going to resale and your article stated they were making the pricing more uniform. The 50 year is a good point. I always think of that in terms of where we will buy but didn't weigh it into the short term $ calculations so much.
Again, didn't mean to offend. Just miss better deals now that we are seriously looking to buy.
Again, didn't mean to offend. Just miss better deals now that we are seriously looking to buy.
No sore spot and no offense taken. I just think it's a little silly to suggest that an increase of $60 per point over 6 years has left DVC accessible only to the "ultra rich and exclusive."
Sure that increase is greater than inflation and points cost noticeably more than they did in '08. But many middle class wage earners can still certainly afford to buy.
There are people in the middle class who spend $30k - $40k (or more!) on a new SUV every few years when a $15k compact car or $10k used card would still get the job done.
Just comes down to what you want to do with your money.
We bought in 2008 and cannot afford to buy now either.
I tend to agree with the OP in that the price for points does seems to be very out of reach now versus what it was just a few years ago. Sinking into a recession and slowly trying to climb your way back out definitely means that being able to afford the nearly double-the-cost of points is much harder to swing since the rate at which the price has risen does not seem to be in line with any increase to most people's paychecks.
At the time when I got serious about buying DVC (back in 2008), I thought the price was high, but I saw the value. We didn't buy because frankly, we didn't have the credit. Now, we have the credit AND the cash and it's too rich for my blood. It's not just the cost of the points that gets ya, but also the maintenance fees on those points. If I add all that up, I can stay cheaper on AP discounts and that has stopped me from purchasing. If I really wanna stay DVC, I rent the points. I pay a one time fee, use the points for the year I would have purchased and have no commitment.
However, my interest is piqued at Grand Floridian and I may tour while we are staying at Ft. Wilderness this August and see if I want to finally take the plunge on a small contract.
We probably won't add-on for a few more years. My DDs are 5 and 15 months. Right now our points at OKW are perfect for our family. I'm excited about years and years of no resort rates and no hotel taxes!
__________________
Adam
*SSR Apr '17 * AofA & SSR '16 * OKW '14 * SSR Nov '13 * Pop Sept '13 * OKW Grand Villa Family '11 * Pop Century Mar '10
All Star Movies '07 * Port Orleans Riverside HONEYMOON '06 * Dolphin '94
We probably won't add-on for a few more years. My DDs are 5 and 15 months. Right now our points at OKW are perfect for our family. I'm excited about years and years of no resort rates and no hotel taxes!
Its so nice to plan trips without coming up with the money for the rooms!
My wife and I added on to our points this year. We bought two 50 point blocks, was around 5000 bucks each. As we pay off each one, we may look to add more, or wait and see if we are at a good level. We want to eventually keep going twice a year, like now, but get into the 2 bedroom places more often and start extending the trips to more days.
Until then, we are blessed that we can go at all after 4 layoffs and 6 years without a good job (I work a very unique type of job). Cautious about adding points too quickly and getting in over our heads. But we certainly make other choices and I work a bu**load of overtime to buy these things and live the dream that is a Disney vacation. I wish everyone had the opportunity to go to WDW and own DVC but that isn't possible unfortunately.
I agree with the costs of purchasing DVC points from Disney going higher and higher (and, I think they will continue to increase).
While there are no deals, with careful searching and patience, it is possible to find resale contracts at decent prices that have "loaded" points. You may not get these contracts at rock bottom pricing, but they are worth looking for if you want to add on. And, depending on the resort. The pricing is much less than buying direct from Disney.
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