What do you see for the future of Harry Potter Land? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
What do you see for the future of Harry Potter Land?
Now that the last movie has been released and Universal has a year with Harry Potter under their belts, what do you think will be next? Have you heard any plans to the future? Is there room for them to add attractions? I haven't been there yet but I am a huge Harry Potter fan and after seeing the last movie, I was thinking a ride through Gringots would be awesome, or a show featuring a Quidditch match. I hope to visit next summer. Oh and by the way have they continued to add seats that would accommodate Pooh sized people on the Harry Potter ride?
Could you imagine a Soarin'-like ride where you were flying in a Quidditch game? That would be awesome. Bludgers flying past you, flying up high looking for the Snitch... I also like your idea of a Gringotts type ride, especially since the book gives such vivid descriptions of how wild a ride it is. Haven't seen the movie yet, so I don't know what it looks like on film.
I have no clue if Universal could actually expand or not. I haven't been to the Studios since 2001, and have never been to IoA. My DD and I are planning a trip for next May for her 10th birthday since she's almost done with Order of the Phoenix, and I just finished the last book (literally, just finished it yesterday). Our rule is not to watch the movies until we've finished the book. There's a few on ABC FAmily this Saturday, so we'll be watching those. I told her to read fast because Order is one of them! I may sneak in Deathly Hallows part 1, simply so I can see part 2 on the big screen. So we're definitely Potterheads and are very much looking forward to May!
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
The space looked rather landlocked -- but with all parks, you never really can tell what's there (backstage, buffer land, edges of other areas) that can be repurposed.
Personally, I'd like to see a couple more "family friendly" rides in WWoHP. I have motion sickness issues and a fear of heights. I won't do the dragon coaster, and it was pure willpower that got me through FJ.
The theming is fabulous, but truth be told there's not a lot to do there. Although to be fair, no one goes to WDW just for Adventureland, either....
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
WWoHP was a lot smaller than I expected. I don't see how they have room to expand, but you never know!
__________________
First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
I just saw the final movie last night and my FIRST thought during the Gringots part was 'this NEEDS to be a ride!' great minds think alike!
also--in response to the quiddich match soarin'-esque ride suggestion--you ARE briefly in a quiddich match on FJ. it's actually one of my favorite parts of the ride. wait--who am i kidding? the whole RIDE is my favorite part!
Practically? As long as the current attractions are drawing huge crowds, they have little incentive to add more. More shops and food? That would be more likely.
Yes, USF is short on expansion space. WWoHP was not an expansion, but a replace/retheme. So... What should go at IOA to make room for more HP? Or, more likely, what at either US or IOA would go to make room for an attraction(s) based on some other movie that's hugely popular with a different audience segment? The Twilight series, perhaps?
__________________
Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
My only wish is that they expand Hogsmeade. Very crowded and tiny. I wish they planned it better.
I know I'm in the minority, but I love that they did make it small and cozy. It feels like an old European village, and you can almost believe you're walking onto the movie set. Anything bigger and roomier would have been just wrong.
I know I'm in the minority, but I love that they did make it small and cozy. It feels like an old European village, and you can almost believe you're walking onto the movie set. Anything bigger and roomier would have been just wrong.
i completely agree, its like being back at home! everythin in the US is so much bigger than in the UK, its nice to be back in the tiny cramped surroundings, which is kinda odd as back at home all we do is moan about how everything is too small haha
That used to be the part of Lost Continent -- a few stores in front of the Dragons were the big casualties. Not a large space, which is why WWoHP is so squnched.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
The Enchanted Oak Restaurant was there - right in front of Dueling Dragons. It was our favorite place to escape the heat. I'm still bummed that it's gone.
Yep, that's right - I think Enchanted Oak got transformed to the Three Broomsticks. They did a great job theming the restaurant. The food is British now - meat pasties, fish n chips, etc so no more chicken & ribs & corn on the cob. I'm not sure I'd call it a winner in the taste department, but it's one of those things a Harry Potter fan has to try.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I also like your idea of a Gringotts type ride, especially since the book gives such vivid descriptions of how wild a ride it is. Haven't seen the movie yet, so I don't know what it looks like on film. 
Michelle - with my step sisters!
Hybrid Mode
