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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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My brothers went to Universal a few days ago and got the VIP passes. They said they were about 150 something....about 60 bucks over regular price... they said they got to cut in every line and go straight to the front as many times as they wanted.... sounded amazing.... they said they actually felt a little embarrassed cutting all the time.... I had never even heard about this pass before....I guess its somewhat new?
They didn't say anything about a tour guide..... they just said they went to all the big rides and cut in all the lines and went right to the front.... sometimes multiple times..... they also said the construction going on near Jurassic Park (I'm guessing for the Harry Potter world) seemed small.... maybe they didn't see all of it...
they do have a express pass that you pay for, but I dont know why it was that much $
its also free if you stay onsite.
they said you get a type of VIP if you stay onsite....but yuo could only cut in line for each ride once.... this pass they had let them cut to the front on any ride as many times as they wanted.... sounds wierd.....they said they only release a certain amount per day....
There are 2 different types of passes: Express Plus Pass - which you can purchase online or at the parks. This gives you one entrance into the express line per attraction.
The price for the Express Plus Pass varies from day to day, ranging from $25.99 per person to $50.99. It would be more expensive during busier times. And there are only so many available each day. So I would say they got Express Plus Passes.
If you stay onsite, you get unlimited "front of the line" access, which means you can enter the Express line as many times as you like by showing your valid room key. We've done this many times, and you can use it as many times as you want at each attraction.
VIP passes are something different than Express Pluss Passes. I don't know much about them besides the website I shared earlier.
It sounds like your brother booked the VIP tour. A special VIP tour guide leads a group around and you get to go straight to the front of the line. There's no waiting in line -- you're wisked to the front of the line! After the tour, the VIP tour badge can be used as an unlimited Universal Express pass. The price for the VIP tour is around $150 per person (not including park admission).
The Universal Express pass costs around $20-$55, depending on season and if you want the 1 or 2 park pass. The Universal Express pass only allows Express access once per ride.
It sounds like your brother booked the VIP tour. A special VIP tour guide leads a group around and you get to go straight to the front of the line. There's no waiting in line -- you're wisked to the front of the line! After the tour, the VIP tour badge can be used as an unlimited Universal Express pass. The price for the VIP tour is around $150 per person (not including park admission).
The Universal Express pass costs around $20-$55, depending on season and if you want the 1 or 2 park pass. The Universal Express pass only allows Express access once per ride.
I wish Disney had something like that....
although, I know it wouldn't work out...because there's too many people at Disney.
Does anyone know if both Disney and Universal parks are likely to be crowded between May 20th-22nd? I know crowds pick up Memorial Day weekend, which is why we booked our vacation for before then. My sister was just at Universal yesterday and said they walked on all the rides, so I'm hoping it will at least be somewhat similar next week when we're there. I'm debating purchasing the 2 park Universal Express Plus passes since they're only $25.99 each, but if crowds will be slimmer, then I guess there will be no point...
If the Express Plus Pass is $25.99, it means that they are expecting lower crowds. We've been to Universal the week before Memorial Day, and I don't remember the parks being that crowded. If there are lines, take advantage of the single riders line at some of the more popular attractions like Spiderman, the Mummy, and Men in Black.
I wouldn't buy the passes, I don't think you'll need them. But if it did turn out to be crowded, you can buy them inside the park.
We have a time share in the Orlando area that one some years falls around Memorial Weekend. We have never noticed huge crowds at US/IOA during that time but have noticed increases at Disney during the same timeframe. My biggest pet peeve with US/IOA during that time is all the school trips. Lots of rude teenagers running and cutting in line that sort of stuff. Just remember with the 25.99 pass you only get one head of line per ride. When we were there during spring break people were paying 50.99 and I saw a little of upset riders when they were turned away because they had already used it on a ride. I don't think USF is doing a good job of explaining it when they sell them. We stayed on site so we could ride Hulk over and over and over again.
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