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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 see from the posts here that it would make better sense to do HP after 3? We (DH & me) are planning on doing both parks in one day only Fri Dec 11. I am hoping that the crowds will not be as bad on Fri since school will still be in session. I mainly want to see HP world but we will fit in as much as we can from both parks. We plan on leaving 2 1/2 hrs before opening, pick up our tickets at kiosk and enter the park. We will stay until closing. Do you think we will be able to fit the majority of stuff in the time frame? Do you think the crowds will have died down by then? is fri a good day? or will Christmas bring in even more? This is our first and probably only trip for quite a while so want to make that day worth it.
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Laura
1989-off property, 2000-All Star Movies, 2008-Pop Century
2010-Caribbean Beach Resort, 2011- First Disney Cruise (Oct), May 2012-First stay at DVC Vero Beach resort. May 2013 POP & Fantasy Cruise, Oct 2015 Saratoga Springs
Laura
1989-off property, 2000-All Star Movies, 2008-Pop Century
2010-Caribbean Beach Resort, 2011- First Disney Cruise (Oct), May 2012-First stay at DVC Vero Beach resort. May 2013 POP & Fantasy Cruise, Oct 2015 Saratoga Springs
I think it's quite a daunting task to try and do both parks in one day, even if it is during the slower season. I say do all that you can and enjoy yourself!
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I have another stupid question. Are you allowed to bring your camera on The Forbidden Journey attraction? Is there anywhere you are not allowed to take pics?
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Laura
1989-off property, 2000-All Star Movies, 2008-Pop Century
2010-Caribbean Beach Resort, 2011- First Disney Cruise (Oct), May 2012-First stay at DVC Vero Beach resort. May 2013 POP & Fantasy Cruise, Oct 2015 Saratoga Springs
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
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I also would not try to do both parks in one day. For me, IOA and US are really a three day visit. One day for each and then the third day to catch anything you missed and redo anything you really liked.
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I have another stupid question. Are you allowed to bring your camera on The Forbidden Journey attraction? Is there anywhere you are not allowed to take pics?
Only if it fits in your pocket. You cant have any lose items, and you'll have to store them in a locker. You're allowed to take pics throughout the waiting area, but not during the ride, since you can't be carrying anything.
I understand that there is a place to stash stuff under your seat, can you put camera in there?
Most of the big rides at US/IoA dont have places to put things. They provide lockers right outside the ride free of charge, for the first 45-50 min anyways. You have to put ALL your stuff that cant fit into a pocket in there. DW carries a cross shoulder bag that has no way of coming loose and was made to take it off and put it in a locker.
You can "technically" do both parks in one day but you're gonna be RUSHING! If you only have one day though I suggest buying fast passes or stay at a Universal hotel to get the fast passes that are included in the resort stay. Note though that fast passes are not accepted for the Forbidden Journey ride, keep in mind you will wait the full amount to ride it......BUT they are accepted at all of the other really poplar attractions which will drastically reduce the amount of time you spend waiting to ride those therefore you can do more!
Even though December, before Christmas, is considered "slow" season.......remember too that Grinchmas at IOA and the Macy's Parade at US is during that month so it sometimes can get a little crowded.
When we went on the Forbidden Journey there is no place to put your items on the ride, you have to use lockers. If you want to bring a camera to take pictures of the castle (you won't be able to take pictures during the ride) make sure it fits in your pocket and that your pocket is secure.
We were just there this past Monday and Tuesday. We stayed onsite so had front of the line privileges. School started in Orlando on Monday so we were hoping for a smaller crowd. We arrived at US around 12:30 and were able to do Shrek, Twister, Disaster, Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black and the Simpsons Ride in about 4 hours. Even with the smaller crowds, the only way we were able to accomplish these rides in that amount of time was because of our front of the line access. We didn't do all the rides in that park and did none of the shows. Crowds there were pretty manageable so we decided to head over to IOA to check out WWOHP. This is where everyone seemed to be. The wait time for FJ was 90 minutes.
I know there are still families there since school hasn't started everywhere yet so it's not the same as going in December but I don't think you can really see both parks in one day, especially if you want to spend any amount of time checking out the WWOHP. Express pass and resort guest front of the line privileges don't work on FJ so there is no "short cut way" to see this ride, unless you use the single rider line which skips the queue through the castle (and which is part of the whole experience IMO). Also, if you are not staying at one of the Universal resorts, when you arrive in the morning, you will be about one hour behind all those guests who did stay on site and had early entry privileges. On a side note, IOA was very empty during the first two hours on Tuesday morning with the exception of WWOHP so you could probably get a lot done if you arrive there early.
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Susan
Last edited by WeLuvTheWorld; 08-26-2010 at 03:27 PM..
Reason: spelling
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