Ack. Potter plus Legoland but no WDW? Are we nuts? - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Ack. Potter plus Legoland but no WDW? Are we nuts?
We're trying to squeeze in a quick trip at the beginning of November. Ideally, we'd like to do the usual, which is to go to WDW and nowhere else. But...our six-and-a-half year old is desperate to go to Legoland and Harry Potter. We know we won't have time for WDW this trip. We're planning a spring trip for that. But what should we do about this quickie trip? Where should we stay? I don't even know where to start. I know that most people seem to think Legoland is a one day park, but I can honestly see my son spending more time there. He's a complete Lego fanatic. As for Potter, I don't think we need more than a day. Does it make any sense at all to stay at Universal? Is there a neutral kind of place somewhere in the area that will be nice? We've been staying at places like the Poly, Contemporary, and AKL on our last few WDW trips, so our standards are set kind of high. I hope someone has advice!
You may want to consider doing WDW and Legoland, and holding off on WWoHP for a bit.
Yes, it's fun, and yes, there are other things a 6 year old can do at Islands of Adventure. But there are only 3 rides in "Hogsmeade" -- one is a kiddie coaster and the other two are pretty intense.
Even though he's pretty young, he LOVES Harry Potter (we've been reading him the books). I know that there's not much there for him (we were there once not long after they opened), but I think it's going to have to stay on our list for now.
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.
PassPorter Guide Author PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Navigator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Ohio & Florida
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 6,129
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 73
Likes (Received): 284
Thanks (Given): 7
Thanks (Received): 146
Pixie Dust (Given): 25
Pixie Dust (Received): 18
The chief advantages to staying on Universal property are the front-of-the-line pass, forget top of my head what it's called, and quick transportation to the parks.
My family (minus DH) did a quick 2-day visit to Universal & Islands of Adventure over a long weekend in early May this year, because the three of us--me, DS17 and DS12--have also been dying to see WWOHP but had no desire to see it with huge crowds. If your son is a roller-coaster and motion-simulator rider, he'll be fine on Forbidden Journey, although I don't recall what the height limitation is. Duelling Dragons is a fairly intense roller coaster and I recall Flight of the Hippogriff as not exciting. But the main attractions are FJ and the village, and he'll love them! Just take plenty of pictures in the village and FJ, and the DD ride queue, and you'll have a blast. We didn't miss WDW at all...but we have been there quite a few times.
You'll have a great time, trust me! I think you have a good plan for your family.
If you aren't going at a peak time, you can save money with a "partner hotel" (booked through the Universal website) over an onsite. We stayed three nights at a Fairfield by Marriott for less than what one night onsite would have cost. With those savings, we didn't mind paying for parking. And we could have bought the front of the line passes if we'd needed them.
We've stayed at Royal Pacific resort when we visited US and IoA. It is walking distance to both Universal parks and the room key works as a kind of fast pass .
If you're going there I'd try both parks - I think it worth it!
We like to spend time at resorts, and we liked RP, and I'd consider staying there again. We also hear good things about Portofino Bay but we did not try it. If you liked Poly you'll probably like Royal Pacific - it has a similar atmosphere. I read the resorts you've stayed and probably either Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific will be great choices. I'd not go for Hard Rock mainly because I'm not a big fan of music and its style. I booked trough Loews website, but it can be booked directly trough Universal's . You can check the link and see if it is what you're looking for.
We've stayed at Royal Pacific and Hard Rock Hotel and loved both of them. I think their onsite hotels are beautiful, and they have fantastic pools. Being able to walk to the parks is so convenient. And - with your room key you have unlimited entrance into the Express Pass line, although I believe the Harry Potter section of the park does not have Express Pass.
We've stayed offsite at the Doubletree which is across from the entrance to Universal. It was a beautiful hotel. The rooms were spacious.
The first time we went to Universal I felt the same way you did - that I would be missing WDW. Guess what? I didn't. We had a blast at Universal, and we love it as much as WDW. It's a different experience, but it's still fun.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Hybrid Mode
