Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-23906605-20130930233425/@comment-5106672-20131001181749

Going back on topic, it might depend on the type of portal and on the situation. For instance, the Hat needed "thought guidance" from the LWM, while from FTL it would bring people in the "door room" and then give access to all the other realms. As for the wardrobe, maybe the use of the compass depended on it being "recharged" – indeed, Cora and Hook got to Storybrooke via a magic bean without the compass.

So yeah, I'd say it depends on the type of portal.