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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Can we see everything in one day?
Now that we live in Florida, I have been talking to dh about driving up to Orlando for a day visit to see the Harry Potter part of the park at Universal.
We really don't want to spend the night....so we would be driving a little over 3 hours each way.
My question is, do you think we can see everything there is in a day? If we get there around 9 or 9:30 and leave around 6:00 - would that give us enough time?
Thanks!
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When we were there in Nov, people arriving at 9:30 couldn't even enter WWoHP until later in the day. They were given timed re-entry tickets and sent to other parts of the park.
Have you looked into the inexpensive partner hotels for one night to see if you could get early entry?
Carousel96 is right. You can pick up a cheap hotel right outside the gates and get early entry into the park.
Either way, get to IOA way before park opening and go directly to WWofHP (Forbidden Journey especially). If possible, go during the week or a Sunday. You might consider picking up Express Passes if you want to get on every ride in one day. FYI, when we went in October, Express wasn't available for HP rides but it still make a difference on everything else.
Another side note, the shops in WWofHP form lines as well (Olivander's, Honeydukes, the Butterbeer cart) since they are very small. If it's HP souviners you want, pick them up at the big store near the park exit. This saved us a long wait in a very crowded shop!
All that being said, we went to IOA on a Saturday (during October) and we did not get to see everything. In fact we didn't get to ride Hulk, Spiderman, Dudley Do Right, Jurassic Park or Flight of the Hippogriff. We did get to walk around the park and take in all the sights. We went to US the next day and practically walked on everything!
We will be going to WDW and also doing Universal during the week before Christmas 2011. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to plan which parks we see which days?
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You can definitely do IOA and Harry Potter in one day. We did half of IOA and half of Universal in one day on our most recent trip. Now, if you are big into the thrill rides (Which we skipped) You may need 2 days to see and do everything. But if the main reason for the trip is WWoHP and IOA, you should be fine. Good luck!
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hi there
my DH and i are planning on going in September on a wed or Thursday, does anyone know where i could find a crowd calendar for IOA/US...
My DH doesn't do any rides, so we plan to do both parks in one day, as he really wants to see Harry potter and i want to visit the studios....is it possible and anyone have any touring suggestions????
my DH and i are planning on going in September on a wed or Thursday, does anyone know where i could find a crowd calendar for IOA/US...
My DH doesn't do any rides, so we plan to do both parks in one day, as he really wants to see Harry potter and i want to visit the studios....is it possible and anyone have any touring suggestions????
ta
During the week is your best bet since locals go on the weekends. I don't know of any crowd calendar and if you don't do rides you should be able to fly through the parks! I you want to see HP, get to the parks before opening and head to Hogsmeade straight away. Other than HP, IOA is mostly rides so take your time exploring all the shops in HP, they are definitely worth seeing even if you don't plan on buying anything!
As for the Studios (which I prefer except for HP) there are less rides and more shows (Shrek 4D, Horror show, etc.) we just started at Shrek and went clockwise around the park.
I don't think you can do Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in one day and really enjoy yourself. It would be a mad rush the whole day. If you just wanted to sample bits of both parks, not expecting to see and do everything, then your day would probably be more enjoyable.
Yes, it really just depends on how crowded it is. When we went at the beginning of March the crowds were really low. And the morning rain helped keep people away too. During the summer you might have more trouble seeing everything because of the crowds. But it would probably be doable.
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Someone commented that IOA would be best on a Sunday - is that a common experience that other people have had? We will be going in March next year and our 3 days for the parks are Fri, Sat, Sun, so we are gearing up for crowds, but it would help if there is a pattern to the crowds.
thanks!
You can definitely do IOA and Harry Potter in one day. We did half of IOA and half of Universal in one day on our most recent trip. Now, if you are big into the thrill rides (Which we skipped) You may need 2 days to see and do everything. But if the main reason for the trip is WWoHP and IOA, you should be fine. Good luck!
I agree! I was at IOA/US last month - we got to the park at opening and completed all the rides in the HP area within 3 hours. We were able to do a lot of the other rides in both parks before we left at 5:30PM.
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