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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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How far in advance do they announce AP rates? Any idea when we might see something for January 2011? Or for that matter when we might be able to book for next near online.
Add me onto that list for Jan AP rates Last year they were really late coming out, and came out maybe a day before the General Public rate. The Disney Visa rate came out about a month before. I thought that was really unfair, that they don't value their Passholders much IMO.
Here's a link to mousesavers.com Historical Discount Chart so you can see when they've come out in the past. MouseSavers.com - Historical Information on Walt Disney World Resort Discounts As you can see, Visa came out Oct 15, AP not until 11/30 for 2010
I've booked a basic Pkg on the phone for Jan. Then when DDP comes out, I'll switch it to the AP + Dining. Since I've already booked as a pkg without tickets, I don't have to cancel and re-book, just change it. You should be able to book on line maybe by next week, as soon as the DDP comes out for 2011. I just prefer to call and speak with someone
Good luck to us for those Jan 2011 AP rates! Hope WDW doesn't wait that long again
We had a similar wait for Fall AP rates. Disney Visa and then General Public had offers open prior to the opening of AP rates. I blogged about my experience and was a bit nervous as the time approached but for me in the end the AP was worth it. I'm now crossing my fingers for 2011 deals however I'm not holding my breath this time, i kow it just takes them a while to offer them, and there is always the chance that they may not offer them.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
This was the first year we got an Ap and the discount that we hot for September was 42% I think if we didn't plan on going in 2011 we may not have went with an AP. But all situations are different, going with tge AP was the better choice for us in the long run.
AP rates have been taking longer and longer to come out. This last time, for the dates starting on August 15, they came out quite a while after the GP rates were announced. In the past, AP would come out at least a couple days before GP. Not sure why they aren't offering it earlier to those with APs. The discount rates are about 2-5% more than the GP.
Just looked at the dates when discounts were released. GP discounts were released on May 3, and AP rates didn't come out until June 24 for the discount period starting on August 15. So APs had to wait over 6 weeks after GP was announced. I think it was released around the 45 day mark for the beginning of the Free Dining promotion. (For me, it was cheaper to book room only and pay for dining than to get "Free" dining.)
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AP rates have been taking longer and longer to come out. This last time, for the dates starting on August 15, they came out quite a while after the GP rates were announced. In the past, AP would come out at least a couple days before GP. Not sure why they aren't offering it earlier to those with APs. The discount rates are about 2-5% more than the GP.
Just looked at the dates when discounts were released. GP discounts were released on May 3, and AP rates didn't come out until June 24 for the discount period starting on August 15. So APs had to wait over 6 weeks after GP was announced. I think it was released around the 45 day mark for the beginning of the Free Dining promotion. (For me, it was cheaper to book room only and pay for dining than to get "Free" dining.)
ugh. You're kidding, the APs are now coming out even after the GP Bad enough they made us wait a month after Visa came out. That's so wrong.
Traditionally AP rates are meant as last minute discounts to incite people to visit more often. Disney will issue general public rates earlier, trying to fill the resorts with people who aren't already committed to coming to WDW. Then they use the AP rates to fill up any unfilled rooms.
The last five years or so have been out of the norm - since 9/11 killed the tourism industry in 2001/2002 - they have been offering much larger, more frequent discounts, but raised the pricing on everything to maintain their bottom line. We may be seeing a return to their traditional way of filling the rooms.
Traditionally AP rates are meant as last minute discounts to incite people to visit more often. Disney will issue general public rates earlier, trying to fill the resorts with people who aren't already committed to coming to WDW. Then they use the AP rates to fill up any unfilled rooms.
The last five years or so have been out of the norm - since 9/11 killed the tourism industry in 2001/2002 - they have been offering much larger, more frequent discounts, but raised the pricing on everything to maintain their bottom line. We may be seeing a return to their traditional way of filling the rooms.
And now they have the Visa discounts as well as the GP discounts which seem to come before AP discounts too. Guess I'll just have to watch and see what happens with AP rates, as it will have a big affect on which resorts I book. I'm planning for 3 trips this year with my AP.
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Last year they were really late coming out, and came out maybe a day before the General Public rate. The Disney Visa rate came out about a month before. I thought that was really unfair, that they don't value their Passholders much IMO.
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