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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
My vacation isn't long enough, and I want to spend most of my time at WDW. However, there is no way I can fly all the way across the country and NOT go to WWOHP! So please tell me,realistically, what I can/should be looking at timeframe-wise.
We are going to IoA on Monday December 5th. My plane leaves for home at 5:10pm...I am thinking I probably need to start heading out of US about 2pm, does that sound right? I am thinking an hour to make it to the parking lot, drive to MCO, turn in the rental car and check in for our flight.
So if we are at US at rope drop, that gives us 5 hours in my estimation. Our sole intent for going to US is to do WWOHP. However, I have been lurking through the threads and I understand from what all of you have posted that everyone makes a mad dash for WWOHP and the rest of the park is empty in the first hours of opening. So here are my questions -
*Considering when we are going, how long do you think it will take to be able to see everything in WWOHP, without feeling like we are rushing or missing anything?
*From what I have read, most people dash over there first and the rest of the park is empty. So, what is a good estimate of how long it is super crowded in WWOHP?
*Do you think we have enough time to do other things first, like Spiderman or other things, and then head over to WWOHP when crowds have thinned a little? Considering my 5 hour window, if we did that, would there be enough time to fully tour WWOHP?
I am just trying to utilize my time fully. I still can't believe that I am going to spend just under $300 for 3 people to go to US for for 5 hours , but hey... I can't miss Harry Potter!
Thank you in advance for your guidance. I could really use your opinion!
__________________
Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
I think you need to start at WWoHP and deal with the crowds. Stay as long as you want, and do other things only if you decde you're ready to leave Hogsmeade. If you find the crowds unbearable, ask about a return time before you cross out of the HP section and decide if that will leave you enough time to come back.
If you wait and do other things before even attempting WWoHP, you could get a return time after lunch -- and $300 for only 2 hours is just nuts!
__________________
Carolyn
Last edited by Carousel96; 10-18-2011 at 12:40 PM..
We went to US on Monday 3rd October and didn't arrive at the gate of IOA until 9.15am. We were not staying at a US resort and did not purchase the Express passes. We entered the WWoHP about 11ish and were done experiencing, riding(some things 2 or 3 times), photographing and eating (counter service place but we were shown to our table after getting our tray???) by 2.15pm.
FYI we were a group of 15px including kids and we had to wait to switch as someone had to wait with the littlest kids so with only a group of three guests you should move through a lot faster!
PS In 2010 my family spent over $2000 to experience Universal Studios Osaka (we were staying in Tokyo and took the bullet train) for a one day park visit. We travelled the first day, slept overnight, checked out early in the morning and went to the park, collected our luggage and took the train back to Toyko!!!
You are NOT crazy spending $100 per person for 5hrs - just a diehard fan! Have fun!
Start at WWOHP, at park open or earlier if you stay at one of their onsite hotels, and do whatever you want to do, making sure to hit Ollivander's first off because the lines WILL get lengthy fast, and then go around to the rest of the park.
You can justify it further because Marvel (now a Disney-owned company) have costumed characters in one "island" at Islands of Adventure called Marvel Super Hero Island. However, Universal does not appear to have a PhotoPass like system for photos with the Marvel characters (Spider-Man, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, Captain America, and sometimes Cyclops), and I believe they changed who handled the pictures from you buy once I got home like two or three months after my trip. They changed from this to this. Not sure as yet what difference it makes in the parks, but someone please help me out and give me some insight here.
We went to US on Monday 3rd October and didn't arrive at the gate of IOA until 9.15am. We were not staying at a US resort and did not purchase the Express passes. We entered the WWoHP about 11ish and were done experiencing, riding(some things 2 or 3 times), photographing and eating (counter service place but we were shown to our table after getting our tray???) by 2.15pm.
FYI we were a group of 15px including kids and we had to wait to switch as someone had to wait with the littlest kids so with only a group of three guests you should move through a lot faster!
PS In 2010 my family spent over $2000 to experience Universal Studios Osaka (we were staying in Tokyo and took the bullet train) for a one day park visit. We travelled the first day, slept overnight, checked out early in the morning and went to the park, collected our luggage and took the train back to Toyko!!!
You are NOT crazy spending $100 per person for 5hrs - just a diehard fan! Have fun!
Yay! Thanks for this post - we will be there on a Monday, sounds a lot like our setup...minus the 15 people! Can I ask why you waited until 11am to enter WWOHP? Was there a wait to get in?
And thank you. That makes me feel better!
__________________
Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
I agree. Definitely start with WWOHP and deal with the crowds. You won't want to regret missing something because the lines were still too long later. I'm sure you'll have a great time! Also, don't miss Spiderman--- I love that ride!
Me too... I have been to US FL twice, and it's one of my favorites! I'm bringing a newbie, and because we don't have Spiderman on the west coast, I want him to experience it. But WWOHP is definitely #1 on our list!
__________________
Saturday, October 9, 2014 - Kaitlyn and I before the Happy Haunted 5K at ESPN Wide World of Sports
About This Page: 
I need your expert opinion...
However, there is no way I can fly all the way across the country and NOT go to WWOHP! 
So please tell me, realistically, what I can/should be looking at timeframe-wise.
, but hey... I can't miss Harry Potter! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Can I ask why you waited until 11am to enter WWOHP? 
Was there a wait to get in?
Hybrid Mode
