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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 are going to go to Universal 11/23-11/24 if we book at offsite we can not get express pass until the 25th which is the day we check into Disney. I have never been to Universal so my questions are:
1. are the hotels that include EP blacked out for the holiday too?
2. are the EP waits going to be short even if it is busy due to the holiday?
3. is it worth paying so much more to stay onsite just for the EP?
My husband and I are not line waiters, we would much rather not go if it will be busy so I wanted to know from someone who has been to Universal.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
I've been to Universal at Spring break and in August and it was very busy both times. We stayed offsite and did not get express passes. We did have to wait in lines, but we were able to do everything we wanted in the parks. The key is to get to the gates before opening and do all of the big name rides first while some folks are still sleeping or having breakfast. Then later in the day, fill in with the lesser attractions and shows.
It completely depends when you go. We go in July and without ep it is miserable. When quieter you may not need it. Have a look at the undercover tourist crowd calendars it will pretty much tell you if you need it
Express Pass. I am going to assume that you are talking about the pass that you can buy either at US or IOA. The price of each fluctuates with each day. Depending on the amount of people they are expecting in each park. So with that you don't have to stay at a resort on property.
Now if you are talking about the early entry that is a whole nother story. You do have to stay on property for the early entry.
We did Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving without Express Pass (we stayed offsite -- got 4 nites for the cost on one at a Universal property) and it wasn't a problem. Nothing was a true walkon, but lines were short. Only Forbidden Journey was a long line (and Universal's line management rots in comparison to Disney) and express pass wouldn't help you there anyway.
We went last year the week before the Canadian March break and we paid the extra to stay on site. I would do it again and here's why:
1) there is a very long gauntlet to walk through just to get into a theme park from the parking lots so staying at one of the 3 Loews hotels just gives you a bit of a break on that at the start and finish of the day, which was great.
2) I agree that you could probably manage without an express pass but we loved the fact that with it we did not have to plan our day around the rides - we started in one point and worked our way around the park. there was no criss-crossing or running around and that was priceless! Really! I consider myself a pretty good FP manager at WDW but I loved Universal's system much better and didn't begrudge a penny that we paid to stay at the hotel because we had a much more relaxed day at the parks because of it. I didn't even wear a watch because there was no FP to keep track of
3) It really was not busy at the parks the first 2 days we were there at all, but there were still waits of over an hour for Spiderman when we got there in the afternoon and it was so nice to bypass most of that. When we knew we would only be waiting for one ride in each park it made it a piece of cake - we weren't tired of waiting, so it was not a problem! And FJ has a cool line up throught the castle so it was fun. I agree they do not manage the lines at all and there were people sneaking in from the exit within the castle and butting in....really bad form!
Unless packages have changed, there was an option to stay at a partner hotel and buy a Harry Potter package which got you into the parks an hour early (or at least into IOA to see HPFJ) so that might be an option, but if you can swing the extra, given that you say you don't enjoy lines, it might be a well-deserved splurge And this coming from someone who is frankly pretty tight with her vacation dollars. I have never stayed deluxe at WDW because I did not see the value in it, but like you - we were worried about line ups and knew that it would ruin our first visit to Universal if we spent hours each day lining up.
We enjoyed the parks and hope you do too!
We went twice to US and IoA. First time we stayed offsite - save $ - and bought express pass add to our tickets. We saved $ once it was only 2 of us. and we got a great deal at Hyatt! The second time we went with our DD and opt to stay onsite at Royal Pacific. It was much better. We could ride twice, three times our fav rides, we were walking distance to both parks and City walk, where we had great meals!
The express pass (or room key if you're onsite) worth the extra cost. Both times we went the parks were packed, long lines, and we did not wait 15 min in express line! Plus when we stayed onsite we had early enter at IoA and we went to Harry Potter theme park and managed to ride all main rides almost without line! (10 min to forbidden journey!)
Is it still possible to use you express pass on your check out day? We won't be leaving universal until about 3pm as we check in at AKV at 4pm. We will however have to check out at 11am.
The express pass is included if you stay at one of Universal's onsite hotels - there are no blackout dates so you would have it for the 23rd and 24th if you decide to stay onsite.
Quote:
Is it still possible to use you express pass on your check out day?
They changed the express pass a bit over the summer so now if you're staying at a Universal hotel you still need to get a separate express pass card in your resort lobby. It has your photo on it and has the dates that it's valid which will be the date you check in through the date you check out so you can use it all day even on your check out date.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
And this coming from someone who is frankly pretty tight with her vacation dollars. I have never stayed deluxe at WDW because I did not see the value in it, but like you - we were worried about line ups and knew that it would ruin our first visit to Universal if we spent hours each day lining up.
Guess where we were headed??
Linear Mode
