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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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We are taking a family trip (9 of us) in August/Sept. 2010. On this trip we are going to Universal/Sea World and maybe a park in Disney. Of course I could not live without my Passporter or this site when planning our Disney only trips, so I am feeling a little lost planning for Universal/Sea World. I would love to hear what other people have used to help plan their trips to Universal/Sea World.
We've been to Universal Studios quite a few times. If you stay at an onsite hotel, your room key let's you into the Express line for all rides and attractions. We used that to our advantage during our last trip. Like Disney has the Dining Plan, Universal now has an All You Can Eat Meal Vouchers Per Day and is maybe a little less per day than the QSDP. The Refillable Drink mug is extra, and I believe you pay per day for refills. There is an Italian Restaurant inside US that I can't remember the name, but the food was very memorable especially the Canollis. ET, Jaws, Twister are all not to miss rides/attractions. IO A has a little more thrill rides, but so much fun! Some of the Sit Down Restaurants in City Walk may have long Waits, but the ones we've enjoyed in the past have been Hard Rock Cafe, Pastamore, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, & Pat O'Brien. If you stay on-site, we loved The Hard Rock Hotel. Our friends who came with us loved the Portofino Bay Hotel on a previous stay. Hard Rock you can conveniently walk over in less than 5 minutes and walk back to enjoy the pool or take a nap. There also are plenty of hotels across the street from US! Happy planning! You may only want 2-3 Days tops between US/IOA as it's not as big as Disney.
Sea World is awesome. If you take any tours, I highly recommend the Guided Shark Tour. I loved it and all the shows are extremely entertaining. Sorry I can't give you any advice on the rides, since I missed out on them last time, but I hope you have a wonderful trip!
I bought the Unofficial Guide to WDW, and it has a pretty good Universal section. Last year the author of the UG put out a separate book for non-Disney attractions:
I had this problem as well and people on this site were very helpful in answering questions and making suggestions when we went. I absolutely love Universal/IOA. The kids loved it too and even though they say it's not as kid friendly, they found sooo much to do that they enjoyed. My favorite ride in US is Simpson Ride and in IOA Spiderman. I also liked MIB in US. And for the shows, the Blues Brothers was the best one for us, we LOVED it and danced and sung with them. : )
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Not long now....August 22-August 28, 2011. Fort Wilderness Cabins!
I have used The Unofficial Guide as well.
When doing Universal, last time I did a combination of on site at HRH, and The Doubletree.
We got Universal tickets on line for $99 2 park, unlim. use for 7 days. It was a great deal. We also bought a Sea World/Aquatica combo ticket. We went in Aug too. So going to a water park was good! If you will be there awhile, I would also recommend adding Busch Gardens. We loved it there, and they provide free bus service form several pick up locations. We did that a prev. trip, when we stayed across the street from SeaWorld, and used the Seaworld pick up location.
I wouldn't add a WDW day, 1 day park tickets are sooooo expensive, we do trips that are just WDW, and stay on site. WDW is it's own trip for us.
When we do Universal, it's Universal, SeaWorld, Aquatica and sometimes Busch.
The Orlando Flex tickets are good deals.
If you're a AAA Member look into what promotions they have for US Tickets. When my mom took me in 2001 for my Birthday,AAA had a Season Pass for $99. I may have only used it for 3-4 days but it paid for itself pretty much. Also they do give AAA Discounts for tickets at the gate, on Merchandise, & Food.
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Also I don't know if you or anyone in your travel party are Harry Potter Fans and if you're going after they open the new Harry Potter Theme Park by Universal Studios, but it looks out of this world. It might be a park worth checking out too.
Also I don't know if you or anyone in your travel party are Harry Potter Fans and if you're going after they open the new Harry Potter Theme Park by Universal Studios, but it looks out of this world. It might be a park worth checking out too.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is part of Islands of Adventure, so it won't be a separate park.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is part of Islands of Adventure, so it won't be a separate park.
Thank you for the correction to my post about the Harry Potter Part. The info on US' Website and an e-mail I got from them on the Grand Opening of it made me believe it was a whole separate theme park that was part of US.
Universal is calling it "a theme park within a theme park", but it is incorporating some of the existing rides in The Lost Continent section of IOA along with some new ones.
I have been wondering the same thing myself. I have my trusty PP for Disney, but I'm not sure how to plan for IOA. We have not visited US since 98. I am strictly a Disneyaholic, but with Harry Potter world opening in the spring, we are going to IOA just for that. We stay on property at Disney, but we are going to visit HP world for at least one day, maybe two after some of the reviews come in.
I used Universal Orlando:The Ultimate Guide To The Ultimate Theme Park Adventure, by Kelly Monaghan. While not as thorough as the Passporter is for Disney, it still helped me plan for our trip. I think it has a bit more info than the Unofficial Guide - many rides and/or shows merit a whole page or more in the book. I have used both, and I prefer this one!
I used Universal Orlando:The Ultimate Guide To The Ultimate Theme Park Adventure, by Kelly Monaghan. While not as thorough as the Passporter is for Disney, it still helped me plan for our trip. I think it has a bit more info than the Unofficial Guide - many rides and/or shows merit a whole page or more in the book. I have used both, and I prefer this one!
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