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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Has anyone checked out the availability recently for the waterfront bungalows at the Polynesian Villas?
There was me believing the DVC hype about how difficult the things would be to get for non-Polynesian owners. Wow, how wrong can you be?
Admittedly all of January is showing no availability, but go further through the availability tool on the Member website and, as of tonight, there's availability every day of the month for July, Aug Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec (at least the dates you can book at the 11 month mark). Only three dates in March and May and two in June are showing no availability, but there's a fair chunk of April gone and a few days in February unavailable.
Part of me is surprised, but only given the DVC hype about how tough bookings there would be. The other part of me thinks they priced them well out of most people's budgets....
I'm not the least bit surprised in fact I'd be surprised if they were booked solid. I honestly think they have lost the plot with what they have offered at the Poly.
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I'm not at all surprised, partially because the Poly is not yet sold out, but I think they have vastly overestimated what DVCers are willing to pay, points wise, to stay in one. In my understanding of the point allotment for a resort, I don't know if they even can adjust the points down. Wondering if they have learned their lesson and we'll see the new WL bungalows at a more reasonable point cost.
In my understanding of the point allotment for a resort, I don't know if they even can adjust the points down. Wondering if they have learned their lesson and we'll see the new WL bungalows at a more reasonable point cost.
I realized that after asking the question. Seems like that could be a real problem.....
Wonder if there's any hope of them changing point requirements to something in a more normal realm?
I thought that....
Quote:
Originally Posted by HollyH
I'm not at all surprised, partially because the Poly is not yet sold out, but I think they have vastly overestimated what DVCers are willing to pay, points wise, to stay in one. In my understanding of the point allotment for a resort, I don't know if they even can adjust the points down. Wondering if they have learned their lesson and we'll see the new WL bungalows at a more reasonable point cost.
... and that's what my thoughts then went on it. I suspect they're stuck with the points as they are, unless they can balance them somewhere else, and as far as I can see, the only way they can do that would be by increasing the number required for the studios at the Poly.
I think the points for the Poly are ridiculous. I really was heartbroken when the information came out, as we had planned to buy in if they ever built Poly. I hope they look carefully at how the Poly is doing before they lock in anything at the new VWL cabins.
Is there any way they could build more - and allocate the current points with the new property in order to make things more even?
I finally looked into a stay in the bungalows today. WOW!! It would cost me two years points for a 3 night stay. Not happening.
It's nuts, isn't it? However, we may have some points that will expire before our next trip out to WDW and so we may put them to good use with a couple of nights stay in a bungalow... we'll see. Any other year, it would never happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eeyoresmom
I think the points for the Poly are ridiculous. I really was heartbroken when the information came out, as we had planned to buy in if they ever built Poly. I hope they look carefully at how the Poly is doing before they lock in anything at the new VWL cabins.
Is there any way they could build more - and allocate the current points with the new property in order to make things more even?
I'm not sure. I figured Disney had probably built all the bungalows they were going to. I can't see where any more would go.
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I know that I don't want to spend all of my points for one year for a 1 night stay at the bungalows!
And I certainly can't afford to pay out of pocket to stay in one!
I also hope that the DVC people take a long, hard look at this before doing the same thing at WL!
No way we would spend that many points on a bungalow. A grand villa is far better, and bigger. If I want my own "house" give a me a treehouse any day of the week….Plus I won't walk forever to get to my car. Plus I don't have to listen to the boat horns all day.
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