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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Holy Heck - it's been over 20 years since I've been at US and the changes are phenomenal. I feel totally lost...
In a nutshell, my challenge is that I am not the person in charge of planning our trip - our famiy was invited to go with my sis-in-law and her husband for a four day vacation. They want to do 2 days of WDW and 2 days US/IOA. AND....the trip was booked just last week for May 21-26.
We are staying at Sapphire Falls so we'll have transportation and early admission.
My game plan is to make sure the girls and I get to fully experience the Wizarding World - the rest of US/IOA we can do more leisurely. I knowif we don't get to take our time, avoid the worst of the crowds and see as much as possible we'll be very frustrated.
So - I've read two different approaches. One is to do early mornings, leave and then return in the evening. The other is more immersive touring plan over several hours.
Problem is that the aunt and uncle are not Potter fans and I don't know how well to incorporate them into this and still make sure we are spending "family time"
together.
I have a feeling that we may end up having to just make this trip into a "small taste" of WWoHP and just plan on returning in the future to enjoy it in detail.
Opinions of whether one day of hard-core touring will work or should we opt for getting in and out around the crowds?
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
So - I've read two different approaches. One is to do early mornings, leave and then return in the evening.
That is exactly how we do the Universal parks. Leave around noon and eat at the pool of your resort and go back at dinner time. However, we usually have three days.
I think even if they don't love HP, the theming and the rides will pull them into those areas.
Just make sure you get to the park before opening time. If they have other priorities besides HP, you might think about doing them to begin with while more folks are flocking to HP. I'm thinking Minions, King Kong, Hulk, Men in Black, Simpsons.....
Location: Panhandle of Florida - The Emerald Coast
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 894
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 0
Likes (Received): 13
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 7
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 1
We've found that the later in gets in the evening the shorter the lines to the rides in WWoHP. Hopefully, you'll have the park-to-park passes so you can ride Hogwarts Express.
I wouldn't stress about getting to see everything. There's only the 2 parks, (unless you're also doing the new water park) they aren't huge like WDW parks, and hopefully the crowds will be manageable. We easily do both parks in 2 days and use a 3rd day to hit the rides we really like over and over.
Perhaps while you're at WWoHP doing rides, the others can stroll around and take in the shops, etc. Cell phones can let you touch base with each other's whereabouts when you get off the rides. Oh... a word to the wise.... those cell phones and cameras will NOT be allowed on the rides. You'll have to use the lockers. I'd suggest using the lockers by the stationary Hogwarts Express. That area is much smaller and less congested than the one by FJ.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
Quote:
Originally Posted by mamasann
Oh... a word to the wise.... those cell phones and cameras will NOT be allowed on the rides. You'll have to use the lockers. I'd suggest using the lockers by the stationary Hogwarts Express. That area is much smaller and less congested than the one by FJ.
The only problem I see with this, is that the use time for a locker at the rides is set by the how long the ride wait is. If the Hogwarts Express wait is a lot shorter then Gringotts or Flight then you might end up paying for the use that went beyond the use time. Make sure you look at how long the use time is at a locker when you go to use it. We just brave the crowd and use the lockers where the ride is.
Location: Panhandle of Florida - The Emerald Coast
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 894
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 0
Likes (Received): 13
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 7
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by HiddenMickey
The only problem I see with this, is that the use time for a locker at the rides is set by the how long the ride wait is. If the Hogwarts Express wait is a lot shorter then Gringotts or Flight then you might end up paying for the use that went beyond the use time. Make sure you look at how long the use time is at a locker when you go to use it. We just brave the crowd and use the lockers where the ride is.
Oh! You're right, about that! I wasn't thinking about both parks. I was thinking specifically of Hogswart, not Diagon Alley.
Something to keep in mind. I have been there where the line for minions is the longest one in either park. It is very popular with younger kids. Definitely get an app with accurate wait times so you can choose when to do this ride.
__________________
Planning for summer of 2017. 3rd week in August. We will get blown away by the rides, or a hurricane. Either way it should be alot of fun
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I was thinking specifically of Hogswart, not Diagon Alley.
Linear Mode
