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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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So this is going to be my first time at Universal Studios, we are planning a day there during our June Disney vacation. We will be there on a Monday and are primarily going for Harry Potter part of the park. Anyone have any advice, pointers, planning etc that we should be doing? We are a group of 9, youngest is 13 so we have no small kids but lots of Potter lovers!
Thanks
Dina
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Get to WWoHP as early as you can. Lines get long very quickly for Ollivander's and for Forbidden Journey. If you are a group of Potter lovers, make sure to check out the bathrooms to hear Moaning Myrtle If you want to try Butterbeer, the lines at the outdoor carts can get very long. Bypass the long cart lines and purchase your Butterbeer at the Hogshead Pub inside The Three Broomsticks. MUCH shorter lines! When the WWoHP part of the park is crowded, the shops can be brutally crowded (just an FYI). The shops are very small and there's not much room to move around. If you're going to be at the park all day, WWoHP tends to be less crowded the last hour that the park is open.
Buy your park tickets ahead of time so you don't have to wait in line to buy them there! Cut through Seuss land to get to WWoHP, get in line for Olivanders right away if you want to do that show. The line for Forbidden Journey is very cool, so you won't mind that wait as much.
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We never did get into Ollivanders. The line was long from the start and stayed that way. But we never waited more than half an hour for Forbidden Journey and rode that 3 times the day we went. And that was during spring break! I agree...you have to try to butterbeer, simply because you're there and it's part of the experience. And we went into Three Broomsticks for ours too. Ate lunch there...geez... nobody better tell me Disney is expensive after hitting Universal!! If you are members of AAA you can get a pretty good discount on park tickets and get them in advance. But I wouldn't buy the Express Passes beforehand. They were a waste of money for us. We'd have done better waiting till we got to the parks to see if we needed to buy them. But, since it was the height of spring break, we expected long lines. Oh...one other thing! Several of the rides at Islands will get you DRENCHED. You may want to let the kids wear swimsuits and shorts instead of those cute outfits that will take forever to dry. lol You can always put a change of clothes in a bag and put them in a locker for later. A lot of the rides won't let you take bags on them, so probably you'll be using a locker anyway. Have a great time!!
As others have mentioned, be there at opening...keeping in mind that folks staying on property can enter WWOHP an hour ahead of you. Bear left in front of Green Eggs & Ham in Seuss Land for the short cut to WWOHP. If you want to see the show in Ollivander's, I'd suggest going there first. From what I saw in February, the lines just get longer as the day wears on. You don't *have* to see the show to purchase a wand, though. Even if there's a line for Forbidden Journey, you won't be bored, as there are many things to see along the way. If you're not a fan of coasters, you might still want to walk the queue for Dragon Challenge, to see all the Tri-Wizard Tournament banners. We had both breakfast and lunch (on different days) at the Three Broomsticks and really enjoyed the food. Oh, and remember to look up if you sit down for a spell in the Owlery.
Have fun!!! Your Potter lovers will be in heaven. The attention to detail in the WW is amazing.
We were there on Monday, April 16th. We got there before park opening. They started letting guests in around 8:45, and we walked to WWoHP (along with everyone else). We skipped Ollivanders, and just got our wands at the cart outside the FJ. We got in line for FJ first, and pretty much walked on as we made our way thru the queue. Then did the small roller coaster. Then DD and DH did Dueling Dragons while DS and I shopped in the magic and candy store. Got in a long line for butterbeer. Then walked around the world enjoying the sites. Also went into the Owl store (if that's what it's called). Sorry, I haven't read the books, only DD did. We did some sites outside the area (DD and DH rode the Hulk while I took DS to Seussland). Then we went back to Three Broomsticks for lunch (reasonably priced and good food). Then DD made her purchases in the candy store and the Owl store (t-shirt) and we were done!
It did get very crowded, the shops especially, but we were able to find a table no problem for lunch (probably ate between 11:30 and noon).
Keep your eye open for the entertainment. The Frog Choir was quite good and then there was the girls from the girls school whose name escapes me and the boys from durstrom (?) doing their thing.
I think I need to brush up on my Harry Potter. LOL
Honeydukes candy shop is enjoyable. We had to get a chocolate frog just for the card and I plan on buying some other candy in the Honeydukes jar just for the cool jar. The chocolate itself isn't very good.
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If you want to try Butterbeer, the lines at the outdoor carts can get very long. Bypass the long cart lines and purchase your Butterbeer at the Hogshead Pub inside The Three Broomsticks. MUCH shorter lines! When the WWoHP part of the park is crowded, the shops can be brutally crowded (just an FYI). The shops are very small and there's not much room to move around. If you're going to be at the park all day, WWoHP tends to be less crowded the last hour that the park is open.
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