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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We just got back from 9 days at SSR. The first 3 days were in a 2 room suite and then moved to a Grand Villa with Friends. I know we weren't suppose to get Mousekeeping until our 4th day. We moved into the Grand Villa and on the third day they brought clean towels and some clean sheets. They did not change any of the linens on the beds but brought sheets to replace the ones that we removed from the pull out sofa. Nothing else was touched in the Villa. We never had a sponge in the kitchen and nothing else was done the entire stay. Is this the way it is usually? We left a tip but it also was not touched.
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If you stayed in two different room sizes (2B and Grand Villa), those are considered separate stays. No additional services would have been provided for the first stay since it was less than 4 nights.
For the second stay (Grand Villa) you should have received "Trash and Towel" service on Day 4. (Note that the arrival day is counted when figuring out service days. If you arrive on a Sunday, the T&T day would be Wednesday.)
Trash and Towel service is basically what the name suggests. The trash is emptied and towels are replaced. They normally replenish consumables like toiletries and laundry detergent also. But this level of service does not include any making of beds, vaccuuming or other cleaning tasks.
In order to get an additional full cleaning a stay needs to exceed 8 nights in duration. Based upon what you posted, it sounds like you received the level of service that DVC normally provides. Infrequent cleanings are common in the timeshare industry. In fact, DVC's Trash and Towel service is somewhat unique. Many timeshares only service the room 1x per week. In fact, there are some where departing guests are expected to clean up after themselves.
If you find any items missing from the room upon arrival (sponges, cookware, kitchen utensils, etc.), call housekeeping to report the missing item and it will be delivered to the room.
You got the usual trash and towel service. It sounds like you had a 3 day and then a 6 day stay. The ressies aren't linked, and since you changed rooms, there's no continuity.
As far as the tip goes, was it in a marked envelope? From what I understand, mousekeepers cannot touch money that is laying around, even if it is for them. If it was in an envelope, I'm not sure why they didn't take it, unless they didn't see it.
Like Tim said, anything that is missing can be brought up by the staff.
I hope your stay and your vow renewal was magical otherwise!
As the previous posters said, this is the level of service to be expected. We stayed at SSR 8 nights, then moved to BLT for 5 nights. On the 4th day we got the trash and towel service, but they also made our bed and vacuumed at that time. We were pleasantly surprised, but I know this is not what is generally done. On the 8th day, it was strictly trash and towel, as it was on day 4 at BLT.
This was our first DVC stay - I admit, it takes a bit of getting used to when you are used to staying in a regular hotel room with daily mousekeeping. But the amenities more than make up for it!!