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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Harry Potter expansion information
I've posted a link to an interesting article from Orlando Weekly and pasted some of that article information below. Looking forward to the new additions at Universal.
Regular readers of OW have already heard many of the recently revealed “secrets,” as I’ve been sharing leaks about the London-themed Potter project that’s replaced Jaws ever since the big shark jumped over two years ago. In case you’ve been hiding under a whomping willow, Universal is building on the phenomenal success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure – home to Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Castle and the world-class Forbidden Journey ride – by building a new area next door at Universal Studios Florida, based around the enchanted English shopping district where wizards stock up on magical supplies.
After Diagon Alley debuts this summer (I predict a mid-June grand opening), the two lands together will form “the first centrally themed multi-park experience” in the attractions industry, and a direct rebuke to Mickey’s molasses-slow progress on Animal Kingdom’s Avatar-land. Here’s a hint of what you’ll find when the construction walls – which recently had peep holes installed for easy observation – come down, and you can finally pass through the wall of moving bricks (a combination of forced perspective and physical effects) into Diagon Alley: Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is the slightly awkward official name of the expansion’s headliner attraction (hey, at least they didn’t tack on “the Ride 3-D”). It’s a “multi-dimensional multi-sensory” indoor dark-ride/roller coaster that resembles the love-child of Universal’s Mummy and Transformers rides. The recreation of the goblin-run bank’s trains seen in the first and final film will be thrilling, but more family-friendly (read: lower height requirement) than Hogwarts’ E-ticket. Equally impressive is the escaped fire-breathing dragon perched atop the entrance’s tilted column, which art director Alan Gilmore assured me is “amazing … so huge and detailed, it will look real!” Here’s hoping Universal can keep him working, unlike Disney’s Disco Yeti.
Open Link and read for more info on other additions...
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Can't wait to see it! We're thinking about a Thanksgiving trip, especially since they're now advertising it on TV. I only wish WDW would start coming up with new things to attract the teens and tweens.
Thanks for the info. US / IOA have long been must do's for us. I wonder if people will start splitting their WDW visit and stay at Universal hotels for front of the line service?
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I must admit, the Unlimited Express Pass that you get when you stay onsite is great! The only thing we couldn't use it on was FJ. It's So much better than figuring out limited fast pass choices at WDW. I don't think Universal's new "value" resorts will offer it as a freebie though.
I've posted a link to an interesting article from Orlando Weekly and pasted some of that article information below. Looking forward to the new additions at Universal.
Regular readers of OW have already heard many of the recently revealed “secrets,” as I’ve been sharing leaks about the London-themed Potter project that’s replaced Jaws ever since the big shark jumped over two years ago. In case you’ve been hiding under a whomping willow, Universal is building on the phenomenal success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure – home to Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Castle and the world-class Forbidden Journey ride – by building a new area next door at Universal Studios Florida, based around the enchanted English shopping district where wizards stock up on magical supplies.
After Diagon Alley debuts this summer (I predict a mid-June grand opening), the two lands together will form “the first centrally themed multi-park experience” in the attractions industry, and a direct rebuke to Mickey’s molasses-slow progress on Animal Kingdom’s Avatar-land. Here’s a hint of what you’ll find when the construction walls – which recently had peep holes installed for easy observation – come down, and you can finally pass through the wall of moving bricks (a combination of forced perspective and physical effects) into Diagon Alley: Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is the slightly awkward official name of the expansion’s headliner attraction (hey, at least they didn’t tack on “the Ride 3-D”). It’s a “multi-dimensional multi-sensory” indoor dark-ride/roller coaster that resembles the love-child of Universal’s Mummy and Transformers rides. The recreation of the goblin-run bank’s trains seen in the first and final film will be thrilling, but more family-friendly (read: lower height requirement) than Hogwarts’ E-ticket. Equally impressive is the escaped fire-breathing dragon perched atop the entrance’s tilted column, which art director Alan Gilmore assured me is “amazing … so huge and detailed, it will look real!” Here’s hoping Universal can keep him working, unlike Disney’s Disco Yeti.
Open Link and read for more info on other additions...
Thanks for the info! Very excited!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmymac
Thanks for the info. US / IOA have long been must do's for us. I wonder if people will start splitting their WDW visit and stay at Universal hotels for front of the line service?
We are . Going 3 days Portofino before WDW! Although I heard there are no Express Passes for either Harry Potter attraction
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sue M.
Thanks for the info! Very excited!
We are . Going 3 days Portofino before WDW! Although I heard there are no Express Passes for either Harry Potter attraction
No express pass for Forbidden Journey, but...if you're on-site you get early entry. Also, there was a single-rider line for it when I was there a couple of years ago. Take the regular line to start with, so you can see the interior of the castle!
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