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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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'd like to spend a day at US/IOA during our WDW honeymoon next April. Now I'm starting to think that maybe staying on-site for one night might be a good idea because of the FOTL passes... I have no clue whatsoever, though, how this all works so I've got a couple questions
1. If you stay at an on-site resort, does "FOTL" pass mean you get to skip the lines completely, and can you use your room key more than once a day for the same attraction or only once per day?
2. How far in advance can you book a US stay?
3. Is it advisable to book through their website or should I book somewhere else?
4. Should I buy the 7days/2parks ticket now (as long as it's available) or should I wait to see if a better deal for us comes out - after all, we'll really only need two days worth of admission...
1) I believe you just show your room key at the Express entrance and they let you into that entrance. You can use it multiple times per ride.
2) I believe they take reservations up to one year in advance.
3) A travel agent may be able to get you a discounted rate on a room, but booking directly through them cuts out the middle-man.
4) Their current admission prices are about what they offer year-round. I doubt you'll find a 2-day 2-park US/IOA pass for less than what the current 2-park unlimited visits within 7days costs.
I'm sure others will be able to provide more complete answers, but I just wanted to get the conversation going.
3. Is it advisable to book through their website or should I book somewhere else?
Based on your AAA/German Auto Club question, I'd call a local travel agent first, then Universal directly.
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4. Should I buy the 7days/2parks ticket now (as long as it's available) or should I wait to see if a better deal for us comes out - after all, we'll really only need two days worth of admission...!
Yes. It's the best deal out there. They're still selling 2day/2park passes, but the pricing for the 7 day is much better. Even if you don't use all 7 days, you're still getting a better deal.
1. If you stay at an on-site resort, does "FOTL" pass mean you get to skip the lines completely, and can you use your room key more than once a day for the same attraction or only once per day?
"Front of the line" is a tad bit misleading, because you don't get to the very front of the line, but as Rob said you can enter the Express pass line, which is similar to Disney's Fast Pass. The difference is that Universal charges for their Express passes where Fast Passes are free. So, that cuts down on the number of people who are usually in the Express line. I've never waited more than 5 minutes in the Express line. And you can wear that room key out - use it over and over and over!
The great thing is that you can get 2 days worth of FOTL with one night's stay in their resorts. We check in early in the morning and pick up our room keys. Our room is not ready, but we can head to the parks and take advantage of our keys. Then the day we check out we use our room keys all day. It used to be that they expired at 3 pm, but I've heard where people use them much longer.
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4. Should I buy the 7days/2parks ticket now (as long as it's available) or should I wait to see if a better deal for us comes out - after all, we'll really only need two days worth of admission...
I think it's a good deal. It's hard to say how long it will last or if there will be similar promotions in the future, but we've always gotten good prices on admission at Universal.
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Sorry about all the questions!
No need to apologize - we love talking about Universal here!
So are the FOTL passes good for ALL attractions at US/IOA or just a few? I read that the Express tickets you can buy are for certain attractions only (like the best 6 or so?).
Jennifer, I can't book a US vacation through ADAC directly here in Germany. We don't have local ADAC travel agents or anything similar... Could I book via a AAA travel agent in the U.S. at all? Can you only get the AAA discount if you book directly through them?
Universal Express is a paid Fastpass system. Your onsite hotel room key acts as an unlimited Universal Express pass.
Universal Express is valid at all rides and attractions except:
IOA: Pterandon Flyers, front seats of the Hulk Coaster and Dueling Dragons
USF: Slide at Fifel's Playland
You don't need a travel agent to get the discount, you can go directly yourself. You can also joins Lowes First club for free, and get some nice goodies. We got a free room upgrade when we were there. The FOTLP is very similar to FP, but you can use it over and over.
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Got me thinking... Lots of questions!
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Michelle - with my step sisters!
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