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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 are going for only one trip right now and am wondering if 7 days and 8 nights is worth the price of an AP? Right now we are on the Silver package and would we still have that if we used an AP for a room? THanks!
We've done the Silver package twice and now have APs. My understanding is that you can't have the Silver Package and the APs. I think this is due to the reservations for the Silver Package going through the Walt Disney Travel Company while booking a room with the AP discount goes through CRO.
Having done the Silver Package twice, I would only recommend it under certain circumstances. I planned our wishes for months to get the maximum value. We did very well and certainly came out ahead, but I felt that I overate a lot to be sure to not "waste" any of the food or to not use all of the Wish.
The best thing about getting an AP is that you are more likely to plan another trip or two or three . Allearsnet.com has breakeven analysis for AP v. UPH at http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/breakeven.php.
I think you can only get the siler plan if you book a package deal through Disney. So you will problly lose it if you use a AP to book your room. The brake even point for an AP is eight days in the parks. So if you only go to the one of the four major parks 7 times it will cheaper for you to get a park hopper for the trip.
I've read that 8 nights is the breakeven point, but I would do the math to be sure. I'd say it would be worth it because you would be eligible for AP and room-only discounts if you are staying on property. I believe someone asked your second question on another thread, and someone did respond. I read that you are not able to add a meal package to APs (I think they are part of the dreammaker package). I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. There is one downside to the AP-- going to Disney becomes addictive, and you start planning more trips, just to get to use your APs!!!!!!!!!
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Re: AP Question
According to Deb Wills www.allearsnet.com 8 days in the break even point. You can not do silver plan as an add on to APs. This means that you'd have to book rooms and pay for food seperately.
As everyone said, you cannot do the Silver Plan with an AP, but even though the breakeven point is 8 days admission, and with a trip of 7 nights - you probably will enter the parks all 8 days, depending on arrival and departure times. That is the joy of the AP, you don't feel like you are wasting a day, if you only have a few hours of park time!
The other thing to consider are the AP rates on the resorts. You can save QUITE a bit of money using the AP codes - especially last year, when there were no room only codes around. AP's will often get you 40% off of your deluxe room rate - we've stayed at AKL concierge for $230/night including tax using an AP rate.
Your AP can also get you various discounts on many things, food and merchandise included - they offer a 10% discount on Weekday lunches at most of the resort and Epcot restaurants - and you aren't locked in to ordering too much food, as the Silver plan kind of pushes you to do.
Just be aware - those AP's, combined with cheap airfares, really push you to go back!
We had AP's from Dec 2002-Dec 2003, and went back 3 times - for a total of 24 days in the parks, for at least a portion of a day!
We absolutely love our APs...but they do have a habit of making ressies for extra trips. I'm leaving in little over a week for 10 days. Just went in March (when we bought our APs) and I've already planned February 2005...now I'm trying to figure out if I skimp on Christmas if I can go in the late fall! Yikes! But we do love our passes. Then all we are paying for is our reservation and what we spend while we are there. We will definitely get more than our moneys worth for AP. You can also just buy an AP for one in your group to get the rates and then buy regular passes for the rest of your group! Hope this helps!
I don't know, but maybe I'm figuring up things wrong, but it seems that no matter how many ways I figure up different vacations (either package, AAA, or AP's), I always come out ahead with an AP (assuming the room-only discount). I don't even consider the 'break-even point' into my calculations. I am saving several hundred dollars with my upcoming trip because of my AP, and we are only staying 5 nights (just four days in the parks). I love the AP's.
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