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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I just loved the Dr. Seuss area! We only had time for Harry Potter but I took many photos of Dr. Seuss land. I would definitely plan a full day or two at US/IOA on my next trip. It was just very visually appealing. And krustyland.
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We did two days at universal in the middle of our ten day stay at Boardwalk villas. We Kept our Boardwalk room the whole time but booked one night at hard rock hotel to take advantage of the front of the line passes that come along with that. We checked into HRH before 8 am to receive the passes and spent the day at US.
We spent the next day at IOA and returned to disney around 3 pm. It worked out great for us we were able to do everything we wanted to do.
If I do to Universal first then I will miss out on DME and I honestly don't want to deal with our bags. I was thinking of squeezing it in the middle of our trip but still stay at WDW. Has anyone done that? Is probably have to do two days. I know there's perks to staying in a Universal resort but hate switching rooms.i can use any advice you have to offer. Thanks.
Just wondering what you ended up doing? Did you go?
We went last August 2014! Did 3 days at Universal first and stayed at Portofino. I booked a town car, Quicksilver, to get us from Portofino to our WDW resort. They pick up at airport too, and think they deal with luggage? I was in Ft Lauderdale first so had rental car, so drove up to Orlando. But returned car after we arrived in Orlando.
We did it at the beginning of our last couple of trips. This past June, we took DME to our resort (we stayed at WDW the whole time) then rented a car from Alamo (picked up at the desk at the Car Care Center) for the 2 days we did Universal.
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Previous Trips
May/June '96 - WDW Off Site, May '07 - AKL, May '08 - Pop Century, September '09 - Ft. Wilderness Cabins, May '10 - POFQ, December '10 - WL, July '11 - DL - Offsite, November-December 2012 - Contemporary, May '13 - DCL Fantasy & WDW Art of Animation (Nemo Suite), September '14 - Ft. Wilderness Cabins, April '15 - Beach Club (Club Level), May '16 - AKL (Arusha View) / Universal - LRPR...
Did you feel 3 days was enough time at universal? Also, did you feel the express passes where worthwile (I assume you got them free)?
The Express Pass thing is my biggest question really
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sue M.
Just wondering what you ended up doing? Did you go?
We went last August 2014! Did 3 days at Universal first and stayed at Portofino. I booked a town car, Quicksilver, to get us from Portofino to our WDW resort. They pick up at airport too, and think they deal with luggage? I was in Ft Lauderdale first so had rental car, so drove up to Orlando. But returned car after we arrived in Orlando.
Loved Universal!!
__________________
Previous Trips
May/June '96 - WDW Off Site, May '07 - AKL, May '08 - Pop Century, September '09 - Ft. Wilderness Cabins, May '10 - POFQ, December '10 - WL, July '11 - DL - Offsite, November-December 2012 - Contemporary, May '13 - DCL Fantasy & WDW Art of Animation (Nemo Suite), September '14 - Ft. Wilderness Cabins, April '15 - Beach Club (Club Level), May '16 - AKL (Arusha View) / Universal - LRPR...
Did you feel 3 days was enough time at universal? Also, did you feel the express passes where worthwile (I assume you got them free)?
The Express Pass thing is my biggest question really
Yes staying on site we had Front of The Line passes included free. They were worth it. They don't include Harry Potter attractions but we also had early entry which is essential for Gringots. The queue builds quickly and it doesn't take long to get to 3 hr wait. The rest of the attractions we breezed thru with the pass.
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I haven't done Universal in many years but my DD wants to. If we did not have annual passes, I would add a quick weekend trip on this year but wuill wait until next.
I think the Universal Hotels are exceptional-great service, beautiful facilities and
FOTL access is great.
When I was a true ride wimp, I much preferred the Universal parks to Disney. I flrst there was a lot to do that was not too kiddie oriented and not too scary. I love Suessland and could spend hours there.
I would strongly advise anyone in Orlando to spend some time at Universal. the attractions are outstanding. You just need to go with the understanding it is not Disney and do not compare. I think so many people get into an "at Disney, they would mindset..." and don't appreciate Universal.
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