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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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'm headed to Universal this weekend for a mother/daughter trip with my 11 year old DD. She's been to WDW a bunch of times but this is her first trip to Universal. The only other times I've been there are for work so she's excited to see it and I'm excited for her! She's a big Harry Potter fan so she's most looking forward to the Wizarding World.
We're staying at the Royal Pacific for three nights so we plan to take advantage of the early opening and our express passes. We'll also take a detour to WDW for a character breakfast before we head home. I'm so excited!
Have a great time. US / IOA is a lot of fun. One caveat: some of the the rides at IOA are very intense. Nothing at WDW evens comes close as a thrill ride
She's going to love it! I loved the convenience of Royal Pacific: you can walk the trail or take the boat. Both ways are great. I loved early entry because those stores in HP part of park are teeny tiny. They fill up fast, and you can barely move around in there once they do. We high-tailed it for Forbidden Journey, and then jumped right back in line for it. I wanted to ride a third time, but the line was too long. I didn't waste time stowing stuff in lockers. I just carried it (camera, too, although they fussed not to use it) onboard the ride--no problems.
Also, even if you don't plan to ride some of the coasters in HP part of park, still walk the queue, since there is some cool theming along the way like Hagrid's hut.
If you feel too cramped once emptying out of a ride into the teeny tiny gift shops, there is Harry Potter merchandise in Universal Store at CityWalk: robes, scarves, wands, etc. (Not everything that is in the park, but some of it.) I found it easier to try on the robes at the Universal Store than to attempt it in the theme park gift shops.
I also liked the other parts of the park like Jurassic. My husband enjoyed the superhero stuff. I wasn't as big a fan of the Spiderman ride as some people are, but Hulk was incredible (you feel your cheeks go backward due to G forces!), but I felt like I had whiplash afterwards. It's intense. LOL.
Have loads of fun and try the butter beer! It's yum (if you like butterscotch flavor).
Spiderman in IOA and Mummy at US are 2 of my favorite rides. The Hulk at IOA is very intense and Rip Ride Rock It at US is super intense as well. Take a good look at both of those before you get on it. Especially RRR.
IOA has a cool show thing called Poseidon's Fury I think it is called. Amazing little show. And US has several very cool shows. I would get a park map/times guide right when you get inside Universal and check out the show times and cater your touring plan around the show times. (If you want to see them)
The Horror Make Up Show and the Beetlejuice Rock n Roll show are my 2 favorites. I didn't much care for the Terminator show but the Blues Brothers show out in the street was pretty cool.
I would go in to IOA and head straight for Forbidden Journey. That's the ride in WWOHP that usually has the longest line.
Enjoy your trip.
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10/27-11/6/11 All Star Music Family Suite (QSDP) --Family trip
1/26-2/1/12 Quality Suites Lake Buena Vista --Adults Only trip
4/16-4/21/12 Rosen Inn --Adults Only Trip
10/27-11/4/12 All Star Music Family Suite (DDP) --Family Trip
4/14-4/19/13 Quality Suites Lake Buena Vista- Adults Only Trip
11/10-11/17/13 Wyndham Bonnet Creek- Adults Only Trip
11/2015 Wyndham Bonnet Creek- Family trip
We're leaving in the morning! My DD saw video of RRR online and has decided that she may not be ready for that one (which is quite alright with me!) She likes the Disney "thrill" rides like Everest and RnR Coaster but we may not be ready to move on to actual thrill rides.
I'm just as excited to spend some time alone with her while she's still happy to be my little girl, middle school starts this year and I'm sure it won't be long before she's embarassed to be seen in public with me!
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My DD saw video of RRR online and has decided that she may not be ready for that one (which is quite alright with me!) She likes the Disney "thrill" rides like Everest and RnR Coaster but we may not be ready to move on to actual thrill rides.
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