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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Hello there!
MY boyfriend and I are huge Marvel fans and I am obsessed with Harry Potter. We're planning a trip to Universal Studios in November. I haven't been since I was 18 and I did not plan the vacation. We're kinda on a budget seeing as we're also staying in Miami a couple of days. We plan to do all our major spending in Orlando but would like to know ways to save and where are the must see's and must eat places. What is the weather like in November and will we need express passes? Anything Helps! Thanks!
While I can't answer every question, I will try with the Harry Potter. You will love the Harry Potter area!! My DD and I were there last year, in May, and it was amazing. I think I was smiling the entire time! I gathered lots of info and tips from *another* board, and this one as well. As far as the express pass, if you look on their website to purchase it: https://www.universalorlando.com/Tic...px?ExpressPlus
and go the place where it says to pick your dates, you can judge how crowded they anticipate it to be based on the price of the express pass. The more it costs, the more crowds they're expecting. Another site with crowd info was: FREE Universal Orlando 12-month crowd calendar with park hours and special events
Very useful site!
Depending on when you're going in November, it looks not to be too bad (avoiding Thanksgiving, obviously).
My DD and I took some advice to arrive at IoA and head straight to HP. First stop was Ollivander's, and we would have been the second show of the day. But after waiting about 5 minutes, my DD just couldn't stand to wait anymore and we left the line to ride Forbidden Journey! We walked straight on! And then got off and back in line to ride again! The second time took about 25 minutes which actually was a welcome wait because there are so many things in that queue to look at and take in. It's amazing.
We spent some time after that in the shops, lots of time in the shops! They're authentically small, so they're quite crowded. But awesome! Take time to look up, down, and at everything on offer. It's so cool! We ate early at 3 Broomsticks for lunch, and there was no wait and it was not crowded at all. We ate outside with a fantastic view of Hogwarts!
After a pool break (we stayed offsite and drove back and forth) we returned with 2 hours till closing and rode Flight of the Hippogriff I think 3 times (highly recommend!) and FJ 2 more times. We skipped the Dragon coaster cuz my DD won't do coasters, and I forgot about the flying car. It's in that queue, so we didn't see it. But the crowds were minimal to non-existent within that last hour prior to closing! I highly, highly recommend to visit during that time. It was quite an experience!
I can't help with much else about Universal (or IoA) as that's literally all we did. Oh, wait, we did ride the elevated train ride thing in Suessland. That was fun too. And weather could be anything from hot and 85 to cool and 40. For now, plan on bringing layers, but you'll just have to wait until it gets closer and then watch the local weather guys to see what they forecast!
Good luck, and have fun planning!
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I really love Universal. I am a somewhat reformed ride wimp and always found lots to do at both parks and never felt i was confined to "baby rides".
For me non Harry Potter must do's at IOA include Spiderman and all ofSuessland. I love all the very well done Suess themed attractions and services. I could just sit and watch all day.
I usually stay on site so have never dealt with lines. The Universal hotels are beautiful and I have found customer service at the hotels and parks exceptional and IMHO better than Disney.
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Can you do two days for Universal/IOA (one park each day)? That's the way I'd go.
November was a very good time to visit when I was there years ago at that time. I think you'll find that the crowds won't be too bad.
Express passes have always been well worth it for our family at Universal and IoA. We get them every time we go, allowing us to more or less just walk onto rides. It's fab and one express pass can cover both parks over one day. They are really quite expensive though and be warned they don't usually cover the newer rides like Harry Potter. Florida's weather is usually lovely even in November...so have a great time.
On site hotels give you unlimited express pass so compare the cost once you add in the pass. Keep in mind that the hotels are very nice and IMHO worth it even without the pass. You also get two days pass with one night. You can check in and pick up your pass anytime after 8 am.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
On site hotels give you unlimited express pass so compare the cost once you add in the pass. Keep in mind that the hotels are very nice and IMHO worth it even without the pass. You also get two days pass with one night. You can check in and pick up your pass anytime after 8 am.
We've gone the past couple of years, last year in early June, this year in late June. We needed those express passes as we wouldn't have ridden all the rides we wanted. Good luck!
If your goal is to see and do as much as possible, you really do need 1 day for each park. Last time we went, there were sooooo many people using the express pases that sometimes the regular lines were shorter!!!
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