I Have A Lot Of Questions && Any Help Would Be WONDERFUL!! - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
I Have A Lot Of Questions && Any Help Would Be WONDERFUL!!
Helo an thank you for taking the time to read this. I need your help! I have NEVER been to any theme park other than DollyWood & Six Flags (over GA). I have my 1st trip to Universal FL paid for && I am so ready to be there! I'm 25 so you can just imagine how excited I really am! We're spending 2 days an each park 1 full night in City Walk plus after the parks there as well. Has anyone traveled in Sept? Do you know how the crowds are? Also, what if your a thicker traveler? Not everyone is a size 2 of course. I've tried watching some youtube vids to see how the seats on rides are but I've not had much help. I know they have the test seats at the ride to make sure everyone will be comfy but still... Any advice at all on this would be wonderful. Any tips on extra good things to take with us would be wonderful to. I just wanna ease my mind an make sure that we have the best trip ever!! Thank you so much for your help
we were there last September, croeds were not bad, I would still recommend hitting Harry Potter Early. We were disappointed with the hours, closed at 6. The rides are pretty accomadating.
PassPorter Guide Author PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Navigator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Ohio & Florida
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 6,129
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 73
Likes (Received): 284
Thanks (Given): 7
Thanks (Received): 146
Pixie Dust (Given): 25
Pixie Dust (Received): 18
Welcome to the boards!
I just returned from there yesterday, but I'm afraid I don't have any answers for your specific questions.
The one thing to look out for is that MANY of the rides require all carry-on items to go into lockers before getting on the ride (free for 30 minutes, a problem if you're in a huge line, I suppose). Look for the most remote lockers--they're controlled from a few touch screens, and use your fingerprint for ID, and sometimes lots of people are queued up to use them. A couple of areas (including the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket) have a half-hidden row of lockers in the back that don't get so crowded. On this trip, instead of the usual string backpack, I carried one of the little Le Sac purses, and that worked well. I still had to check it on the rides, though.
For Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey, I kept my auto-focus digital camera with me so I could get photos of the theming, and it actually fell out of my pants pocket during the ride! Fortunately, I felt it fall out and managed to grab it and wrap the strap around my wrist to keep it safe. That ride has very deep seats...I found a bunch of change in one seat, so I'm not the only one to have stuff fall out of my pockets!
The funny thing about those deep seats is when you see your ride photos, everyone looks like these little short-bodied midgets because your bottom sits lower than your knees!
Thank you both for your help! I've been reading a lot of the boards on here. I think everything will work out the way it should. Any help at all is still great to have.. I'm a planner! We booked our trip in Feb for Sept. Now I'm doing the research! Can you ride with small bags? Or does everything have to go in the lockers? I also saw somewhere that Harry Potter FJ has compartments under the seats for your persone things? I'm not sure where I saw this. Oh and I've figured out some of the codes... but is there somewhere I can look to see what they mean? It can be confusing thanks y'all
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
No, you can't ride with any kind of bag. They will send you to the lockers. While the locker areas are a bit chaotic, they are easy to use.
If you can't make it to the Harry Potter area at park opening, then just wait and do that part in the late afternoon and take advantage of the other areas of IOA being more empty first. Make sure you look to see what the major rides are in each park are and do those first thing so you don't have long lines. Fill in the other attractions once you've accomplished those.
We're staying at RP. We wanted to take advantage of the early access to Harry Potter and breakfast at 3 broomsticks. We're thinking go there an then make our way around the park an later in the day head back over to HP. So maybe we should get a locker early at hogworts since we'll end our day there? They only thing I planned on taking to the park was my phone an camera, sunglasses, an CC with my ticket. I wanted to get something like the PP to wear on my neck an then worry abt the rest later.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We're staying at RP. We wanted to take advantage of the early access to Harry Potter and breakfast at 3 broomsticks. We're thinking go there an then make our way around the park an later in the day head back over to HP. So maybe we should get a locker early at hogworts since we'll end our day there? They only thing I planned on taking to the park was my phone an camera, sunglasses, an CC with my ticket. I wanted to get something like the PP to wear on my neck an then worry abt the rest later.
The ride lockers are only good for an hour or whatever the wait time is when you put your stuff in. There are some lockers at the train station but you won't want to leave your stuff in the locker all day. You'll want that camera with you.
The ride lockers are only good for an hour or whatever the wait time is when you put your stuff in. There are some lockers at the train station but you won't want to leave your stuff in the locker all day. You'll want that camera with you.
So you can't even take a camera with you? I know I wanna take pics, but I don't wanna get to the ride then go put my camera up an get back in line?
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
If your camera fits in your pocket, you can take it. Otherwise, you'd have to put it in a locker. You can do the walk-through line later for pictures inside the castle (that's what we did). That line is a separate queue that leads through the building next to the standby line and exits before you get to the ride vehicles.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We were there last summer, ride was great,but wait was horrible then ran us through the castle with no time to look at anything and rushed us onto ride.
Nit only that but we had breakfast at the three broomsticks and because they don't cook any food at any of the restaurants ( their wording, not mine) my wife got food poisoning and then heat stroke. Then I called for medical staff to help took over five minutes and they couldn't help all that much as their TWO wheelchairs were occupied took my wife 20 minutes to walk to van. When we got off ride my wife was laying on the ground, nobody managed to ask if she needed help no one from universal came to check on her.
Lost 3 days of our vacation thanks to them. Received absolutely no restitution from them or their insurance.
We surely won't be returning EVER!
Thank G-d for Disney. It saved our vacation
I think you will have a blast at Universal - we love it there! We've been 5 times and had great experiences every time. Are you staying on site? Universal hotels are great because they are in walking distance to the parks. And the perk of showing your room key and going in the Express entrance is awesome.
We've been once in September - Labor Day - and it was great - not crowded at all.
Get to the gates early - sometimes they open the gates before the posted opening time. Do as much as you can in the morning before the bulk of the crowds arrive. For some reason a lot of Universal guests are a bit lazier and don't get there early.
If your camera fits in your pocket, you can take it. Otherwise, you'd have to put it in a locker. You can do the walk-through line later for pictures inside the castle (that's what we did). That line is a separate queue that leads through the building next to the standby line and exits before you get to the ride vehicles.
It fits in my pocket!! I didn't even know they had a line just for the castle. I thought it was if you wanted to skip the tour! Thanks for the info! I'm super excited!!!!
I think you will have a blast at Universal - we love it there! We've been 5 times and had great experiences every time. Are you staying on site? Universal hotels are great because they are in walking distance to the parks. And the perk of showing your room key and going in the Express entrance is awesome.
We've been once in September - Labor Day - and it was great - not crowded at all.
Get to the gates early - sometimes they open the gates before the posted opening time. Do as much as you can in the morning before the bulk of the crowds arrive. For some reason a lot of Universal guests are a bit lazier and don't get there early.
We are staying on site at the Lowes Royal Pacific! We plan on being up early!!!! We are leaving on Sept 18th an we have 4 full days to use for the parks! We get the early entry for WWoHP that was one of many reasons we wanted to stay on site. Thanks for your help! Anything is helpful! I'm the one planning it all lol. We'll both be 25 so we can take advantage of City Walk as well. I see a lot of tips for traveling with kids, but this is a trip for just my cousin an I.
We were there last summer, ride was great,but wait was horrible then ran us through the castle with no time to look at anything and rushed us onto ride.
Nit only that but we had breakfast at the three broomsticks and because they don't cook any food at any of the restaurants ( their wording, not mine) my wife got food poisoning and then heat stroke. Then I called for medical staff to help took over five minutes and they couldn't help all that much as their TWO wheelchairs were occupied took my wife 20 minutes to walk to van. When we got off ride my wife was laying on the ground, nobody managed to ask if she needed help no one from universal came to check on her.
Lost 3 days of our vacation thanks to them. Received absolutely no restitution from them or their insurance.
We surely won't be returning EVER!
Thank G-d for Disney. It saved our vacation
I'm really sorry that this happened to you!!! When did y'all go?? I hope your wife was okay after an got the treatment she needed.
I need all the help I can get with planning too. I went to US (universal studios) when I was 13 & I've never been to IOA (islands of adventure) so this is really like a first visit for me too. I am very excited I'm sure it's gonna be great...But nothing holds a candle to my true love Disney lol I am a Huge Disney nut but no worries I'll get my Disney fix this trip too I wouldn't worry too much about not being a size 0 if that was the only people who could go on rides & enjoy the parks most of us couldn't enjoy them. If you really want some extra answers just try calling their 1 800 # that way you can rest easy knowing about that kind of stuff. Everyone here is wonderful so your in the right place for answers my dear. Happy planning it's a huge part of the fun!!
About This Page: 
I Have A Lot Of Questions && Any Help Would Be WONDERFUL!!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Welcome to the boards!
Michelle - with my step sisters!
I'm sure it's gonna be great...But nothing holds a candle to my true love
Disney 
I wouldn't worry too much about not being a size 0 
if that was the only people who could go on rides & enjoy the parks most of us couldn't enjoy them. 
If you really want some extra answers just try calling their 1 800 # that way you can rest easy knowing about that kind of stuff. Everyone here is wonderful so your in the right place for answers my dear.
Happy planning it's a huge part of the fun!!
Linear Mode
