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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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For those who are concerned about fitting into the restraints of the new HP ride, I found this info on screamscape.com:
Quote:
which by the way are said to be coaster style Over The Shoulder (OTS) restraints. I’ve got a fair warning for all our larger readers out there… if your too big to fit on Hulk or Dueling Dragons, or require the “Big Boy” seats on those rides, there is a very good chance you will not fit into Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I’ve been told that the sensors on Potter’s OTS require it to go down quite snug over your body before giving the green light, which is going to disappoint quite a few Potter fans.
You would think with all the technology available today, Universal could make a seat to fit everyone. During our 15 day stay at Disney, we took one day off to go to Universal. My daughter left depressed and insulted. She was not the "perfect" body size for the Harry Potter ride. The worker at that attraction told me she has to turn away many people each day because of their body size or shape. She says she feels terrible about it. But I guess it doesn't bother Universal and Islands of Adventure.
I thought discrimination for any reason (race, color, creed, or body size) was not acceptable.
It is puzzling that my daughter has never been turned away from any ride at Disney because of the shape or size of her body. Guest Relations at Universal told me it was for safety reasons. If she was allowed on Rock n' Roller Coaster, does one assume that ride is not safe? I don't think so. My opinion is that Disney really cares about people, and Universal only cares about money.
Thanks! That helps tremendously. Unfortunatly both my DH and I are very pooh sized. The only problem we had at Disney was the teacups and that was because of height (he's 6'4" and I'm 5'11") rather than weight. Hopefully we have as good of luck at UIoA.
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My family and I just visited Universal in March and the only ride I was unable to ride was the Rip, Ride and Rocket Coaster. The only reason I could not ride it was because my legs are larger and it hurt too bad to push the guard down. They did give me 4 express passes for other rides because of it. When I went over to the Harry Potter ride, the girl told me to sit in the test seat and said I would not fit on the ride. I was devastated because that was the reason I wanted to go to this park. I decided I was going to try it anyway and waited until she wasn't looking and walked into the line. No one else along the way said anything to me. I asked for one of the bigger seats when I got up to the ride and I fit just fine. I am glad I walked past the girl and didn't listen to her. The thing that she was bigger than me! I should have asked her if she ever rode it.
this makes me nervous, we're planning a day here in Feb. my husband and father are bigger guys but we've never had problems on rides before... do you think if they were able to ride the rollarcoasters at Sea World they would be ok here?
We went to IoA back in September 2011 specfically for Harry Potter. I did not fit on the rides there, so I didn't even try the rest of the park. Even with the modified seating on Forbidden Journey, The bars would not lock and I had to get off. Don't waste your money on this park if you are over 300 pounds.