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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi, we came back from our trip last week and I am still trying to decipher what the DVC salesman told me. One question I specifically asked him: does it matter what home resort I purchase, because we enjoy AKL Jambo? He said no, and then handed me the rates for Polynesian.
1.Can someone tell me differences between purchasing home resorts.
2.I was thinking of purchasing a resell only for the reason of decreasing the initial fee. Our kids are young and we may enjoy going consecutive years over he next 8-10 years, but after that maybe every other. Is DVC for us?
The prevailing wisdom is to buy where you want to stay. That said we bought direct points at SSR because it was the first time we heard of DVC and didn't know about the resale market. We've since added on at BCV and more SSR points through resale. We hardly ever stay at SSR. We prefer BCV or BWV because of the closeness to Epcot. We only ever use our points at DVC so the restrictions on resale points doesn't bother us. We used the Timeshare Store for both add ons and were happy with their service. We usually have to waitlist BCV or BWV but almost always our waitlists come thru. The only time I know the waitlists won't come through is during Food and Wine.
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We bought points where we wanted to stay in terms of Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas and Beach Club Villas, but equally, we bought contracts at Saratoga Springs, as that was what was available at the time and that's where the offers were.
If you get a good enough offer at the Poly that works for you, I say go for it, but it would need to work for you financially. If your heart is really set on AKL, you can look at resale, but be sure that you won't want to use your points for cruises or to visit other Disney parks etc., as there are restrictions on how you can use resale points.
There are a couple of things to consider when you choose a home resort. First, there is the 11 month booking window for your home resort. AKV are not now very difficult to get into at 7 months, with 2 caveats. If you want the concierge villas ever, then you will probably need that 11 months (and it's tough even then). You have slim to none chance of getting one at 7. Value villas (a point bargain) can also be hard to get at 7 months. Other things to consider when choosing a home resort are the dues. Each resort has different dues based on it's operating cost. The differences aren't huge per month, but remember you'll pay monthly dues for the life of the contract so it can add up over decades. Finally, consider the end date of the contract. These can differ by many years based on when the resort opened. Even if you don't foresee holding on to your contract for 40 years, the more years that remain on a contract will make it a more attractive resale prospect if you ever want to sell. In fact, that is one of the reasons you see price differences on the resale market. For example, OKW at $80 per point vs AKV at $88 per point seems like OKW is a better deal, but the AKV contract has an extra 15 years on the contract. Contract end dates don't depend on when you buy, they are fixed based on the resort's opening date.
Having said all of the that, I would buy somewhere that you'd like to stay and that makes sense financially. It might not have to be your favorite resort, but it should be one that you would be happy with if you can't switch at 7 months. I own at AKV, but have also stayed at BCV, WLV and OKW and also VGC on points.
If I purchased AKL resell and went at bay lake towers for a stay. What restrictions would I have besides a few more points for BLT and the 7 month opposed to 11 month reservation?
If I purchased AKL resell and wanted to Samsung 40in Flat Panel TV 2160p 4K 120 Hz Smart UHD TV - Black stay at bay lake towers for a stay. What restrictions would I have besides a few more points for BLT and the 7 month opposed to 11 month reservation?
Hi, we came back from our trip last week and I am still trying to decipher what the DVC salesman told me. One question I specifically asked him: does it matter what home resort I purchase, because we enjoy AKL Jambo? He said no, and then handed me the rates for Polynesian.
1.Can someone tell me differences between purchasing home resorts.
2.I was thinking of purchasing a resell only for the reason of decreasing the initial fee. Our kids are young and we may enjoy going consecutive years over he next 8-10 years, but after that maybe every other. Is DVC for us?
Any suggestions?
Thanks
One thing to remember, if you decide to purchase direct from Disney instead of resale is that even if a resort is considered "sold out", there are always points available to purchase. Don't let a guide tell you that you cannot purchase at AKL, or that you have to buy at the Poly. Just not true.
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