you probably already know this, but Harry Potter is [crowded] - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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
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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.
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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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We were in the park during early august, we stayed in HRH so we able to get in early, but didn't get in until 8.30am.... Lines were already 1hr+ so we went over the studios and took advantage of the free unlimitrd fastpasses. On 3 occasions we went to HPFJ after 9pm and waited less than 30mins
I was at IoA earlier in July on T/W; we stayed at HRH/on property and took advantage of early entrance and express pass. Made the mistake of heading to the regular line for Forbidden Journey first time; we have a young child and DH and I could have done child swap and saved some time. (In the waiting area, there's a television screen that plays HP movies). Others in our party used the single rider line too.
At one point, FJ ride was delayed/suspended and after waiting 20-30 minutes we decided to go on another ride. During that first hour, without the crowds you can take the time to view the surroundings that keep you entertained while you're normally waiting in queue. A must if you're a HP fan and I saw several people doing just that while other walked quickly to the ride itself.
I didn't find DC as entertaining but will keep thrill-seekers happy. Once was enough for me. FoH was DD's absoute favorite ride. It's similar to WDW's Barnstormer, which unfortunately was closed this time we were there so I was glad there was something similar for DD to enjoy. A thrill-seeker, we went on this ride no less than 10 times so that express pass *really* came in handy since there was NO WAY she could have dealt with the wait.
If possibly I would keep cameras/video out if you want to catch students from Hogwarts/Beauxbaton/Durmstrang parade about. Luckily didn't have to wait at the Three Broomsticks. Butterbeer was way to sweet for me; also like the fish and chip platter best out of the choices. I agree with another poster, do Ollivander's first if that is on your must list.
Shopping was a mad house and my least favorite part; it was ridiculously crowded and many of the items I got were actually availalbe at the airport store! So if you're flying down, maybe stop by there instead or in addition if you just want to look at merchandise without being practically shoulder to shoulder with another customer.
Since DD is on the young side we also spent a lot of time at Seuss Landing. One Fish Two Fish was probably her second favorite ride. We didn't bother to venture over to US at all. With our group, the majority of the children were 10 and under. (And honestly I was only interested in HP for me and Seuss for DD.)
Friends of ours left this morning for a quick trip to surprise their 11 year old DD on her birthday.
Historically, this week is supposed to be a low crowd time, so we're all hoping the kids are back in school and crowds have died down since the original post.
Friends of ours left this morning for a quick trip to surprise their 11 year old DD on her birthday.
Historically, this week is supposed to be a low crowd time, so we're all hoping the kids are back in school and crowds have died down since the original post.
No such luck for us. We were there last week on the 24th and it was still very crowded. We arrived a little before 8am and were among the first to enter when they let in the non resort guests. We decided at the last minute to forgo Ollivander's because the line was already very long so we went directly to FG, fortunately we went quickly through and were done with that in about 20 minutes. We then rode the other two rides without much wait at all, but during this time the crowds were quickly growing. so we left and explored the other areas of the park. We returned around 5pm and got dinner at The Three Broomsticks which wasn't busy, but the stores were still jam packed and the line for Ollivander's still extremely long. We decided to ride FG again, we waited about an hour and by the time we finished and did our shopping the park was closing (8pm that night.)
I'm really glad that we went first thing in the morning as that was the only time we had that the crowds weren't bad. Maybe it was because of the early closing that it stayed so busy up until the end. We enjoyed our time there, but won't be back anytime in the near future.
Reading back through some of the other posts, I guess it wasn't so busy for us. Yes it was crowded, but we didn't have to wait to get into any of the stores. I also forgot to mention that we rode DD in the evening with no wait at all. I won't complain at all after reading about the waits and crowds others have encountered!
.......we took a day out of our 9 day stay at WDW to go to Universal and WWoHP today. I've been to the "regular" side of Universal before (maybe 5 yrs ago)...but never to the Islands of Adventure side. My 2 daughters (particularly the 22 yr old) have grown up with Harry Potter.....so we had to take them there. We got there at about 11am this morning....and went directly to the Harry Potter attractions. I must say.....I was surprised with the crowds....since I was prepared for +1 hour lines. It was definitely not the case today. The first thing we got to was the Dragon Challenge.....there was a 5 minute wait!! It honestly took us no more than 5 minutes to walk through the line to the ride boarding area! Of course....after being on that ride.....I said, "no more" to being flipped upside down and sideways.....and sat out the next ride. So my daughters proceded to the Forbidden Journey ride...and there was only a 20 minute wait. I wish it was longer though...because the wife and I really enjoyed sitting in the Hog's Head Pub!! It's hard to beat cold Guinness....and air conditioning!! I really enjoyed the "atmosphere" of the Harry Potter attractions....you do feel as if you're in the movie (or all the books...as my older daughter exclaimed.....just like a little kid!!....which made it all worth it!!)
.....I should add......Pumpkin Juice.....and ButterBeer......are yummy.
We were also fans of the frozen butterbeer and pumkin juice.
We went Thursday 25th around 6 30 pm and found the line for FJ to be 10 mins and DD with the same wait. The stores were nearly empty. We walked on Flight of the Hippogriff which we probably would normally pass up but I liked the views from a higher perspective.
We also went Sunday 28 th for our offical IOA day and decided to do everything but the Wizarding world which we would try again in the evening. When we walked through just before 11am the line for FJ was 20 min and DD showed a 10 minute wait. So we did 2 trips on the dragons and returned in the evening to shop and do FJ.
We returned about 5:30 and FJ was showing a 40 min wait vs DD 10 min wait. Hippogriff was a walk on. The shops were more crowded than the Thursday evening but still manageable. The wait time around 7pm for FJ was 20 minutes and was accurate but good because our first time through we didn't really slow down in the queue and missed out on some great details. We went back and did single rider line but it probably still took about 15 minutes.
The Olivander wand line was huge no matter what time we passed it. I overheard someone at the front of the line tell someone that they had been lined up for almost 2 hrs.
We enjoyed trying all of Universal for the first time but the Wizarding world is hands down the best part of both parks.
We went Thursday 25th around 6 30 pm and found the line for FJ to be 10 mins and DD with the same wait. The stores were nearly empty.
Wow!! We picked the wrong day for sure. We were there on the 24th and as I stated in my previous post, the lines were much longer than this. Can't complain too much though it could have been worse and we loved the WWoHP! I agree with you that it's the best part of both parks.
oh my goodness this has shocked me so much! I was there last September for two weeks and we visited WWoHP twice, and we had no problems at all!!! dragons challenge was around 10-15min wait...we only waited 40min for FJ!!! i know its slightly different seasons, but i just cant believe the difference!!!!
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