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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Is there anyone on here that uses DVC points for cruises? When I look at the point chart it says the cruise is 112-148 points. First, how do I know how many points the room actually is? Then, If we had enough points to use for the 2 adults, does that mean we would just pay the price that comes up on the website for our 3 kids when I price out the cruise on the website? Not sure how this would really work. Any insight into using points for cruises would be appreciated. Also are member cruises worth it? They seem like they are more points and $$ when I look on the DVC member website.
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We used DVC points for a cruise a few years ago. Just like "cash" prices, the cost of a cruise in points varies by date and cabin type, so the only way to find out exactly how much a reservation would cost is to talk to member services.
Unlike the prices on the Disney Cruise website, though, the DVC costs for each cabin type on each sailing are set when the cruise is announced and do not change, even if "cash" prices go up or down.
You can use points for some of the people in a cabin and cash for the rest, but there are some caveats. If some people in a room pay with points, then everyone in the room must book through DVC. This means the DVC functions as your travel agents and handles any changes that are made to the reservation. It also means that all reservations not being made with points must be paid in full at the time of booking -- when you book through DVC, you can't just pay a deposit and then pay the rest a few months before the cruise.
When I priced out the cost for using points on a Mediterranean cruise a few years ago, I discovered that because the prices had fallen, the cost of paying for two adults with points and two children with cash was not much less than the cost of paying cash for all 4 of us.This may have been unusual, but you should familiarize yourselves with the cash rates before booking using points.
I have not done a member cruise, so I can't help with that question.
We've used our points for one three-night cruise, one four-night cruise that's coming up next month, and we paid for one person on the inaugural Med cruise back in 2007. We found it fine to use them for cruises, although obviously it wasn't cheap.
One thing to know is that if you pay for one person with points and then you're paying cash for the rest of your party, you'll need to pay the cash at the time of booking, whereas if you book a cruise and you're paying everything by cash, you can pay it off bit by bit, so that's something to bear in mind.
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I have not been on a member cruise (although I would love to!!) but there are usually special guests aboard (Disney VIPs), special events, and lots of "swag" i.e. daily gifts. As it's a unique experience, different from typical DCL cruises, it costs more.
We have used points for most of the cruises we have taken, including 2 to Alaska. The point difference, as stated above, boils down to room location. We have never had a problem using the points for a cruise, and DVC is always great at getting us what we want. Have never taken the member cruise, but hear it is great. People say they take an extra suitcase just for all of the goodies they receive!
Member cruise is AWESOME!!! I can't wait to do another - my only one so far was in 2006. Roy Disney was on oars, and the entertainment was Jennifer Hudson & Jodi Benson! And I did need an empty suitcase for all the gifts!
We've used points on every cruise we've done, including the upcoming one to Alaska. Normally we've used points for DH & I and paid cash for our 2 kids. And as others have pointed out, that meant we had to pay in full at the time of the booking. And there's a $95 charge for using points on DCL.
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