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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hi!
I've modified and modified my itinerary. I am now considering Universal Studios over Busch Gardens. To make a looong story short....we went to a small amusement park and my dd was in envy of the rides she couldn't go on and the ones that she could go on, appeared too mild for her. So,I am checking and rechecking height requirements and this looks like the better of the two.
Anyways....the reason for my post. Where would you stay near Universal Studios? Does Universal have any of their own hotels? and if so, are they worth it? Are there other ones that you find are good? We were looking at Country Inn and Suites (my favourite hotel) but the pool is lacking abit but the price and the breakfasts have been good. Please help me decide.
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We stayed on-site at Universal's Royal Pacific Resort. It's nice being able to take the boat to and from the parks. This is Universal's least expensive hotel (still not cheap), but it is beautiful. It has a south pacific theme and it's a very nice hotel. It can be a loooong walk from the parking garage, and I think from the shuttle buses. We got a rate of $175, I think. This will be our 3rd or 4th time staying there and we love it. The pool area is beautiful, and we've had nice meals at the restaurants. Staying on site gets you "express pass" benefits. Your room key is like an all day fast pass. At all the rides that allow express pass, you can show your room key and get in the express pass line all day. I know the Harry Potter rides are not express pass, but a new benefit is on-site hotel guests get into the park an hour early.
I have never stayed at another area hotel, but I can tell you we've loved our stays at the Royal Pacific! Good luck.
I thought the Universal hotels were too pricy -- we only use a room for a bed and shower.
There are other nearby hotels they partner with for packages -- we booked a Universal package through the Universal website but are staying at a Fairfield Inn.
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I've stayed at the Royal Pacific and Portofino Bay Resorts. I hope to get in a quick trip this fall and am looking at the Hardrock. The Universal hotels are lovely and even Royal Pacific, the "budget" hotel, is comparable to the deluxes at WDW. We have had the best customer service in them and highly recommend them.
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Hotel across the street from the entrance to Universal. It's on Caravan Ct. There are other hotels around it. It was about $100.00 a night. They have a continental breakfast with cereal, fruit, bagels and toast. The rooms are beautiful. They have a free shuttle that leaves about 9:15am. We walked the first day. It took me about 1/2 hr to walk. I'm slow,old and it was very hot. We drove the next day. It was about 5 minutes to the gate.
Universal's onsite resorts are AMAZING. I toured all three of them about a year ago and Royal Pacific was definatley my favorite. All three hotels are AAA Four Diamond recipients and the price will reflect that. You do get some great onsite benefits, the best one being front of the line access to all the attractions. I like the Universal resorts better than their parks.
While we were in the area, we stayed at the Hyatt Place across the street from the entrance to Universal's property. It was really nice! Our room was big and well equipped. The free breakfast in the morning was great, too.
We stayed at Hyatt Place, it was nice, clean and offered a continental breakfast.
We took the shuttle one day, and walked the other 2 (15 minutes, but no shadow so if it is too hot...)
We will try Royal Pacific (we booked using the HP package at universal orlando website)
We stayed at Portofino Bay many years ago and just stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort this week. Both are beautiful but for the price, I'd stay at the Royal Pacific again. As others have stated, the front of the line access is a great feature and the early entry was very nice this week.
The hotels at Universal are very nice but super pricey. However, I love love loved the Express Passes. (we did go before the Harry Potter exhibits though) If it's a short trip I'd spend the extra money for it but more than a couple nights I'd save the money and stay someplace nice close by.
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) but the pool is lacking abit but the price and the breakfasts have been good. Please help me decide.
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NYC-Canada Cruise Sept 2012
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Michelle - with my step sisters!
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