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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 family would like to spend a day at IOA on our next Disney trip. The big draw, of course, is the WWoHP, but we would like to see/do most everything as we are big fans of thrill rides.
The problem I have is that my planning books were written before WWoHP. What are some good resources I can use to help plan our day?
Is there anything I need to know about IOA? What are your best tips? We are going late Jan, so I am hoping crowds won't be bad. None of us have been before, so we really have no idea what to expect.
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Kelly Monaghan has updated is FANTASTIC book Universal Orlando 2011. I've got my copy and there is a section in it about WWOHP. He's got a deal right now for 33% off Universal Orlando 2011
Kelly Monaghan has updated is FANTASTIC book Universal Orlando 2011. I've got my copy and there is a section in it about WWOHP. He's got a deal right now for 33% off Universal Orlando 2011
Thank you so much, going to Universal in 6 weeks and needed a guide book! Just ordered mine!
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The crowds in late January shouldn't be bad at all so you should be able to get the whole park done in one day. The WWoHP is really great! If you and your family are fans you are going to LOVE it!
The biggest tip I have is to carry as little baggage as possible. Most rides require that bags are placed in lockers, and getting to them then renting the lockers can be time consuming. The Harry Potter ride has a line just for the lockers and that line alone can increase your wait time by 20 to 30 minutes. If there is going to be a non-rider in your party leave your bags with them......if you can go without bags for the day, I would suggest that.
For your first time riding the Forbidden Journey, wait in the whole line........Hogwarts has been done so well and the line is actually part of the attraction. After that....if you want......you can ride the Forbidden Journey with only a 5 to 10 minute wait by going through the single rider line, that's what my DD and I did.
The Three Broomsticks doesn't take advanced reservations. Maybe that will change before you come down in January.......but as of now expect a wait in order to eat there......but it's worth it!
IMO these are the DO NOT MISS rides at IOA, especially if you like thrill rides:
- The Hulk
- Dr. Doom's Fear Fall
- Spiderman (My Fav!)
- Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Forbidden Journey
- Dragon Challange
If you can fit it into your schedule try to go to US.....the Rip Ride Rock-it is soooooooo fun!! I hope you enjoy your trip!
Great info so far, thanks! I knew this would be the right place.
Is there any attraction/ride we shouldn't bother with (ala stitch in the MK). What are some other good choices to eat (my family won't wait to eat once we've made up our mind to eat) though we will try the Three Broomsticks and see what sort of wait there is.
What about buying tickets in advance? Is it better to order directly from US or is there some sort of reputable discount wholesaler I can buy them from?
It depends on your children's ages as to what rides to avoid. My family consists of me, DH and DD who is 13 and we love thrill rides. We have ridden everything in both IOA and US, but these are rides that we avoid because the line takes FOREVER a the ride isn't worth the wait......
Islands of Adventure
- Storm Force Accelatron (Like the Teacups at MK)
- Pteranodon Flyers
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Like Dumbo at MK)
- High in the Sky Seuss Trolly Train Ride (Line line moves slow...IF you have time do it, it's cute)
- The Cat in the Hat (Again, it's cute...if the wait isn't stupid then do it)
Universal Studios
- Disaster! (We HATE this ride....don't know why but to us it's boring)
- Twister (another HATE.......)
- Jaws (eh, won't wait for it....if the line is short we'll go)
These are just our preferences......do your own research on the rides, but I do recommend doing all that time will allow Also, small children will love the Seuss area, we just don't have small children.
Sorry, I don't know where the best place to buy tickets is. We are Florida residents and have annual passes
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It depends on your children's ages as to what rides to avoid. My family consists of me, DH and DD who is 13 and we love thrill rides. We have ridden everything in both IOA and US, but these are rides that we avoid because the line takes FOREVER a the ride isn't worth the wait......
Islands of Adventure
- Storm Force Accelatron (Like the Teacups at MK)
- Pteranodon Flyers
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Like Dumbo at MK)
- High in the Sky Seuss Trolly Train Ride (Line line moves slow...IF you have time do it, it's cute)
- The Cat in the Hat (Again, it's cute...if the wait isn't stupid then do it)
Universal Studios
- Disaster! (We HATE this ride....don't know why but to us it's boring)
- Twister (another HATE.......)
- Jaws (eh, won't wait for it....if the line is short we'll go)
These are just our preferences......do your own research on the rides, but I do recommend doing all that time will allow Also, small children will love the Seuss area, we just don't have small children.
Sorry, I don't know where the best place to buy tickets is. We are Florida residents and have annual passes
Thanks for the list of rides that aren't "musts"
We are a family of 4, Me, DH, DS 15 and DD 9 - we all love the thrill rides! DD might still be into Suess and we would only consider some of those if she shows interest.
I like Chersue's list of "not-do's" except for Cat in the Hat - I say do it! I've never encounter long lines there, and it's a cute little ride. Not earthshattering fantastic, but I always enjoy it. And I'd rather watch paint dry than do High in the Sky again!
Popeye & Bluto Bilge Rat Barges is very similar to Kali River Rapids in AK, so if you've done that and don't want to get wet you could skip it as well. Thrill lovers must do Hulk, Spidey, Dr. Doom, Jurassic Park, and the HP area if you're a fan. Spiderman has a single rider line that moves very quickly. Plan to arrive early to the park entrance - the gates often open early. Hit Hulk first, then you can do the single rider line at Spidey. Then work your way around the park.
I like Chersue's list of "not-do's" except for Cat in the Hat - I say do it! I've never encounter long lines there, and it's a cute little ride. Not earthshattering fantastic, but I always enjoy it. And I'd rather watch paint dry than do High in the Sky again!
Popeye & Bluto Bilge Rat Barges is very similar to Kali River Rapids in AK, so if you've done that and don't want to get wet you could skip it as well. Thrill lovers must do Hulk, Spidey, Dr. Doom, Jurassic Park, and the HP area if you're a fan. Spiderman has a single rider line that moves very quickly. Plan to arrive early to the park entrance - the gates often open early. Hit Hulk first, then you can do the single rider line at Spidey. Then work your way around the park.
So you would really recommend Hulk and Spidey before the big Harry Potter ride (Harry Potter is our main draw - though we will want to do the other thrill rides as well).
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So you would really recommend Hulk and Spidey before the big Harry Potter ride (Harry Potter is our main draw - though we will want to do the other thrill rides as well).
Most people have observed the crowds in WWoHP are smaller later in the day. To me that means the Hulk and Spiderman should have short waits while the throngs are blasting past them in their hurry to get to Harry Potter. This is the plan I'm going to employ when I go to Universal in December. Of course, YMMV...
It's true that the crowds are a lot lighter at WWoHP later in the day. As soon as the gates open everyone is RUSHING to WWoHP and ignoring the other attractions. I start in Marvel Superhero Island and work my way around the park.......by the time we get to WWoHP the MAD RUSH is over
It's true that the crowds are a lot lighter at WWoHP later in the day. As soon as the gates open everyone is RUSHING to WWoHP and ignoring the other attractions. I start in Marvel Superhero Island and work my way around the park.......by the time we get to WWoHP the MAD RUSH is over
Good to know, think I'll do this as well next month. Thank you!
You've gotten some good advice on here. The one about not carrying a lot I had forgotten, the whole locker thing is annoying when you're trying to breeze through an attraction. Have fun!
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You've gotten some good advice on here. The one about not carrying a lot I had forgotten, the whole locker thing is annoying when you're trying to breeze through an attraction. Have fun!
The not carrying bags onto the rides I'm wondering about my Heys over the shoulder bag I was able to wear it on all rides at Dinsey, and if I do go without that what about larger sized cameras?? do you have to put them into the locker??
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