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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
So The Walt Disney Company are finally buying up DLRP shares then. They already own 76.7% of Euro Disney, and are going to buy 9% of HRH Prince Alwaleed's stake (currently 10%), taking them up to 85.7% ownership.
Then they make a voluntary cash offer to all remaining corporate and individual shareholders, and if they then own over 95% of the company, they will mandatorily buy out the rest of the shareholders and de-list the company. It is highly probable that this will happen.
Good news for DLRP in that money will be spent on redevelopment and some debt will be written off, so the resort will finally start to break even and maybe even make some money.
Bad news for us tiny, individual shareholders, who will lose all our privileges, such as 10% off purchase in the Disney Store UK, 10% off food and drink whilst in DLRP, cheaper room and ticket bookings, and the icing on the cake - Salon Mickey, a tiny and exclusive club where we can chill out daily, enjoy complimentary refreshments, and just get away from the crowds for a little while. (I'll also lose a small amount of money, as the mandatory buy-out price is well below what I paid for the shares in the first place - however, I didn't buy them to make money, knowing the share price wouldn't ever rise to giddy heights). Selfish, I know, but I loved being a shareholder and feeling like I was part of the magic.
__________________
Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Shame about the DLP discounts going, but aren't you DVC Members? If you are, you still get 10% off purchases in the Disney Store over here.
No, we're not. We seriously considered it when I got my divorce settlement a few years ago, but the annual dues put me off somewhat. Plus at the time, I had no idea we would turn into almost every year visitors!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I thought about you when I read about this in the news. So sorry!
Ah, thank you. I guess it's not the end of the world. Word on the street at the moment is that even if the mandatory buy-out takes place, we may still be able to use the Shareholders' card until our membership runs out. The membership used to be bi-annual, but last year they changed that so that membership now runs for 5 years from renewal - we now think that was a precursor to the buyout, as a sweetener.
Also, I was talking to DH about it last night, and we realised that although I will lose capital on the initial purchase, we actually saved enough in our first 3 trips to DLRP to cover the cost of the shares in the first place, so all in all I will have been financially better off having owned the shares for the last 5 years.
__________________
Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
It makes sense from Disney's perspective but I can see how it stinks for you... Personally, I think Euro Disney should have never been a publicly-traded stock company in the first place, though.
Because it was a risky venture and the fact that the stock did so poorly did major damage to Disney's reputation (financially). DLP's failure to perform financially wouldn't have been such a big deal if it was just part of Disney's overall portfolio instead of a whole separate company.
Hmm, very good point - I can see where you are coming from with that. It is such a shame, as the premise of the park is such a good one, but for a variety of reasons it has always struggled to prove itself as a Disney resort. You're right, if it was just part of the whole Walt Disney Company package, it wouldn't have been as obvious that it has never performed well.
We are off there in a couple of weeks, and whilst our timing sucks and we are going to miss the 25th Anniversary celebrations by a week, at least the crowds should be a bit more manageable!
__________________
Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
Well, the crowds weren't really any more manageable, despite my careful planning - the parks were packed! But the start of the 25th Anniversary celebrations that we saw (décor, merchandise) were really lovely, all silver and shiny dark blue, and Tinker Bell looking gorgeous!
The good news is that we've just found out that the Shareholder's Club will be running for another 10 years, despite the potential takeover by TWDC, and even if we have our shares mandatorily bought out and the company delisted.
At least that gives us a bit longer to gratefully receive the benefits!
__________________
Silvercat
(Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels Parts 1, 2, 3 & the new volume 4" - available now as e-books)
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
