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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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 don't post too often here, but we just got back last week and I thought I would put in my two cents. We were at Disney for 5 nights and the Nick Hotel for two followed by Universal on 6/22-6/24 and stayed at the Portofino for two nights to get the early access to the parks for Harry Potter. Because we stayed onsite, we could get into IOA at 8:00. We were at the gate at 7:30 and they already had the gates open. We all walked "in queue" through the Dr. Suess area until we got to the Harry Potter area and by 8:00 we had already gone on the ride. By the time we got off and wanted to check out the shops (Olivanders etc.), there were lines to wait in just to get into the stores. We waited about 20 minutes to get into Olivander's where it was shoulder to shoulder and unable to move once inside. My kids are too young to go on the other roller coasters in the Harry Potter area, so after checking everything else out (all in all about 2-2 1/2 hours)we were ready to leave the Harry Potter area. They told us as were leaving to be sure we were done here because there was no re-entry at that point. We left and headed to the Dr. Suess area and rode everything with no waiting (because everybody was in line for Harry). By the time we made it around to the area with the Hulk roller coaster, the line to enter the Harry Potter section had started there. And like the earlier poster said, it was slow moving. We heard 4 hours from that point to get into the area---not the rides!! A 3 hour wait to get into Olivander's!!
Get there early!! WWofHP is absolutely GREAT--not worth 4 hours in line in the hot sun though!! If you have any other questions, I would be glad to answer.
I don't post too often here, but we just got back last week and I thought I would put in my two cents. We were at Disney for 5 nights and the Nick Hotel for two followed by Universal on 6/22-6/24 and stayed at the Portofino for two nights to get the early access to the parks for Harry Potter. Because we stayed onsite, we could get into IOA at 8:00. We were at the gate at 7:30 and they already had the gates open. We all walked "in queue" through the Dr. Suess area until we got to the Harry Potter area and by 8:00 we had already gone on the ride. By the time we got off and wanted to check out the shops (Olivanders etc.), there were lines to wait in just to get into the stores. We waited about 20 minutes to get into Olivander's where it was shoulder to shoulder and unable to move once inside. My kids are too young to go on the other roller coasters in the Harry Potter area, so after checking everything else out (all in all about 2-2 1/2 hours)we were ready to leave the Harry Potter area. They told us as were leaving to be sure we were done here because there was no re-entry at that point. We left and headed to the Dr. Suess area and rode everything with no waiting (because everybody was in line for Harry). By the time we made it around to the area with the Hulk roller coaster, the line to enter the Harry Potter section had started there. And like the earlier poster said, it was slow moving. We heard 4 hours from that point to get into the area---not the rides!! A 3 hour wait to get into Olivander's!!
Get there early!! WWofHP is absolutely GREAT--not worth 4 hours in line in the hot sun though!! If you have any other questions, I would be glad to answer.
Wow, the shops weren't that crowded at 5 pm, but they were very crowded. I got my Harry Potter wand at a little booth outside the HP&tFJ gift shop. I had to wait in line for about 10-15 mins, but I guess that beats 2 hours.
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I just got back from there and the 1st day we went went early in the morning and had to wait roughly 2 hours to get into Wizarding World of Harry Potter area. The rest of them time, we went in the afternoon and it was much better for us and not quite as crowded (still crowded though). I'd suggest going after lunch.
Thanks for both First Hand reports. Really appreciate your information.
Got it - stay on-site and go early ( not us) or go in the late afternoon (us!).
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