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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Due to family issues, (my mother having a stroke) I am not going to be able to make our scheduled trip in June. Of course, it has been booked since the seventh month window, and I realize that with the rules the way they are, I can't cancel and then bank my points. With my mother's expenses, I really don't see us being able to reschedule by the end of the use year. So, basically this leaves me with booked points that need to be rescheduled or lost by the end of the use year November 30th.
I have never rented out points before as I purchased my points for personal use. I am not even sure that I am allowed to since I have already booked the points in June for the AKLV. What are my options at this point, if any? I would hate to just throw the points away. Any suggestions would be helpful.
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I would try to rent out the week you have booked. That would be the easiest. Then you'd just have to change the names on the reservation. Offer the week for rent on one of the boards that allow DVC rental traffic.
Due to family issues, (my mother having a stroke) I am not going to be able to make our scheduled trip in June. Of course, it has been booked since the seventh month window, and I realize that with the rules the way they are, I can't cancel and then bank my points.
...
So, basically this leaves me with booked points that need to be rescheduled or lost by the end of the use year November 30th.
Well, you may be wrong on both accounts.
According to your ticker, your trip is still 40 days away. DVC reservations can be canceled more than 31 days out with no penalty. So you can still cancel the trip and have the points returned to your account.
And if you have a December Use Year, you have until July 31st to bank all of your points. The only problem would be if there are any borrowed points in the reservation. Those cannot be banked, nor can they be returned to the original Use Year.
But if you're more than 31 days out and using this year's points, you can certainly cancel the reservation now and bank the points into next year.
I just wanted to say I am sorry you have to cancel your trip! I hope that your mother recovers quickly and that she is better very soon.
I would call DVC membership services and see if you are still in the window to cancel.
Good luck!
I'm not a DVC member, so I don't really know how it works, but considering the circumstances, Disney might be able to help you out. It's not like you planned on this happening, so I would call them and see what they can do.
Thank you all. DVC was able to cancel and bank the points. I must have been reading the borrowed point section when I thought I couldn't. Though I am disappointed that my 40th birthday trip had to be cancelled, hopefully next year will be that much better.