Universal On Site,Value resort/flex tickets? - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
We have decided to do a trip to universal between last and next Disney trip, We went a few years ago, and stayed off site as on site was so expensive. They are advertising a new "Moderate/Value resort". It looks nicely themed, opening in sections. W want to go for 7-8 days, doing a day at SeaWorld, and a trip to DTD to get our fix! I saw flex tickets that included multiple attractions. has anyone used these, are they a good value?
The new resort is much less expensive but it also doesn't come with the front of line passes the other resorts have, in case you wanted that perk. I'm not sure if they've opened up yet as I haven't seen any reviews.
If you plan to use all components, the Flex passes should be a good deal
We were contemplating staying at the Cabana Bay and adding on the Unlimited Express Pass but decided against it. Our trip is in May and it looks like there will still be construction then - some areas don't open until 7/2014. Plus it turns outs to be cheaper to stay at the Royal Pacific and purchase buy two get one day free park to park tickets. I'm not sure if you can add the Unlimited Express to the Flex but it's worth looking in to if it's important to you (I can't imagine any other way.)
Location: Panhandle of Florida - The Emerald Coast
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 894
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 0
Likes (Received): 13
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 7
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 1
We thought the Royal Pacific was beautiful and really enjoyed the brief walk to the parks from the resort. We were surprised though by how small the room was and how much wasted space was in the room. I think they need to consult Disney on how to make the most of small areas. LOL
We were contemplating staying at the Cabana Bay and adding on the Unlimited Express Pass but decided against it. Our trip is in May and it looks like there will still be construction then - some areas don't open until 7/2014. Plus it turns outs to be cheaper to stay at the Royal Pacific and purchase buy two get one day free park to park tickets. I'm not sure if you can add the Unlimited Express to the Flex but it's worth looking in to if it's important to you (I can't imagine any other way.)
The Royal Pacific is beautiful and if you stay in one of the Deluxe on-site hotels (like the Royal Pacific) it comes with the Express Pass (Unlimited front of the line pass) for select attractions. At this time you can book the new Cabana Bay starting April 1st 2014. For both you will have to pay to add on park-to-park passes so that you will be able to go to more than one park per day. The cost of this depends on how many days you plan on purchasing tickets for.
We used to only do one park per day, but starting this summer when Diagon Alley opens you will need to have a park-to-park pass if you want to be able to ride the Hogwarts Express between Diagon Alley in the Universal Park and Hogsmeade in Islands Of Adventure Park.
Whatever you decide, you will have a blast. Our family really likes Universal Parks & Resorts. They may not be Disney but they offer something different & exciting in their own way that can't be found anywhere else.
Have Fun!!!
__________________
Planning a trip to WDW is like planning a wedding... If you expect things to be flawless, you will be sadly disappointed. If you know that there will be less than perfect times & decide to just laugh them off, then you will be excited when you find the magic all around you.
We have decided to do a trip to universal between last and next Disney trip, We went a few years ago, and stayed off site as on site was so expensive. They are advertising a new "Moderate/Value resort". It looks nicely themed, opening in sections. W want to go for 7-8 days, doing a day at SeaWorld, and a trip to DTD to get our fix! I saw flex tickets that included multiple attractions. has anyone used these, are they a good value?
We bought tickets a few years ago for Universal/Seaworld& Aquatica. We stayed at HRH for 2 days to get the benefit of Express Pass, loved it!! Then moved across the street to The Doubletree for remainder of trip. Thought Doubletree had great park transportation, ran freq. many more drop off/pick up times then some other hotels in the area. And there was an I trolley stop at the corner we used to get to outlet mall!