Monterey CA Touristy or Not - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
PassPorter.com
Award-winning travel guidebooks

   guidebooks   |   news   |   podcasts   |   boards   |   blog   |   worksheets   |   photos   |   articles   |   updates   |   register   |   follow us on


Forums Closed
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

Go Back   PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums > PassPorter Universe: General Trip Planning and Discussion > Globetrotting: General Travel Planning
Register


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.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-13-2011, 09:19 PM   #1
modisney
Community Rank: Trekker
 
modisney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 1,969

Post Thanks / Like
Monterey CA Touristy or Not

Throwing the idea of going to Monterey Ca. but am wondering if it's over crowded and touristy. Any thoughts?
__________________
We Luv WDW
My Previous Trips4 M.K. visits 70s/80s, Epcot '88 & '90, M.K. June '04; M.K., A.K., Cont. March '05; M.K. June '05; Epcot, MGM, M.K. Yacht Club March '06; M.K., June '06; Wonder 4 nights, March '07; M.K., Grand Floridian, June '07; M.K., Epcot, Studios, Yacht Club, March '08, M.K. & A.K.L. June '08; the Wonder, March '09, the Poly June '09; G.F. March '10, W.L. '10; W.L. March '11; A.K.L. June '11; Alaska July 2011; W.L., March '12; GF, June '12; Fantasy/Western, March '13
modisney is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2011, 11:14 PM   #2
Colexis Mom
RED SOX NATION!!
PassPorter's Club Passholder


What's this?

PassPorter Guide

Community Rank:
Legend VIP
 
Colexis Mom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854

Post Thanks / Like
I guess it would depend what time of year you go. We've been twice, in September and in October. It wasn't crowded and I didn't find it overly "touristy". We spent most of our time at the aquarium but did walk around the town a bit and down to the wharf for lunch one day. I would think in the summer it's a bit more crowded and there are more things going on geared to the tourists.
__________________
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsAUG '16 - POFQ, APR '12 - POFQ, JUL '10 - DL, AUG '09 - DCL Western, AUG '08 - POFQ/BC, AUG '06 - AKL/BC/DisneyWonder/Poly, DEC '05 - AKL, APR '05 - AKL/BC, DEC '04 - AKL, MAY '04 - AKL/BC, MAY '03 - WL/BC, MAY '98 -offsite, MAY '94 - BC, AUG '85 - Poly, AUG '83 - Poly, AUG '81 - Poly, JUL '79 - World Inn, JUL '76 - World Inn
Colexis Mom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2011, 01:54 AM   #3
chezp
PassPorter Message Board Manager
PassPorter Guide Author

Community Rank:
Legend VIP
 
chezp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Maidstone, Kent, UK
Concierge Level: 3
Posts: 190,285

Post Thanks / Like
We went in April and didn't find it crowded. I wouldn't have said it was touristy either. :
__________________

Relaxing on board the Magic. The trip report for our back-to-back cruises on the Disney Magic has started!
My Countdown Counting down to: 2019
Happy New Year!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous Trips21 trips to WDW, 6 to Disneyland in California, 9 to Disneyland Paris, 1 to Hong Kong Disneyland, 1 to Tokyo Disney, 1 to Aulani, 1 to Hilton Head, 2 to Vero Beach and 13 Disney cruises on the Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy
chezp is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2011, 03:05 AM   #4
bradbeckyk
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
bradbeckyk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Puyallup, Washington
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 529

Post Thanks / Like
It's a quaint tourist town. Wasn't Clint Eastwood the mayor there?
__________________
My Countdown Counting down to: Our Vacation To Return Home To Disney
My Previous TripsWDW Oct 1985 (Honeymoon), WDW Mar 1993, WDW Apr 1996, WDW Oct 1998, WDW & DVC members Oct 1999, WDW & DCL Oct 2001, WDW & DCL Oct 2002, DL 2004, WDW & DCL (New Years Cruise) Dec 2005, WDW & DCL Jul 2008, WDW & DCL Jul 2010, WDW & DCL 2012, WDW & DCL May 2013
bradbeckyk is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2011, 08:11 AM   #5
Colexis Mom
RED SOX NATION!!
PassPorter's Club Passholder


What's this?

PassPorter Guide

Community Rank:
Legend VIP
 
Colexis Mom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854

Post Thanks / Like
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradbeckyk View Post
It's a quaint tourist town. Wasn't Clint Eastwood the mayor there?
He was mayor of Carmel....the next town over. Which is also a great town as well! Don't miss it!
__________________
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsAUG '16 - POFQ, APR '12 - POFQ, JUL '10 - DL, AUG '09 - DCL Western, AUG '08 - POFQ/BC, AUG '06 - AKL/BC/DisneyWonder/Poly, DEC '05 - AKL, APR '05 - AKL/BC, DEC '04 - AKL, MAY '04 - AKL/BC, MAY '03 - WL/BC, MAY '98 -offsite, MAY '94 - BC, AUG '85 - Poly, AUG '83 - Poly, AUG '81 - Poly, JUL '79 - World Inn, JUL '76 - World Inn
Colexis Mom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2011, 07:01 PM   #6
unewillow
Community Rank: Globetrotter
 
unewillow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: North Haven, CT
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 3,566

Post Thanks / Like
I went in September and I didn't find it too crowded at all. I parked in a garage and went to the aquarium for the morning and then walked around and had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co and looked in the shops for a bit. After I was done wandering around I decided to take the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. It's easy to get to and BEAUTIFUL! I do believe there is an entrance fee though, just to let you know. But you'll get a map and where the scenic locations are and some of the history. This is also where you'll find The Lone Cypress. I also took a drive over to Carmel to see The Mission, but unfortunately I got there too late and it was closed for the day.

I don't know what kind of trip you are planning or if you will be doing Napa at all but I enjoyed the Castello de Amorosa and Sterling Vinyards. The Petrified Forest is also neat to wander around and check out. We had dinner at The Culinary Institute of America and it was OMG, so fabulous.

Hope you have a great vacation!
__________________
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDL 1990/1993/1996 :: WDW Aug 2003 (offsite) :: WDW Oct 2008 (offsite) :: WDW Oct 2009 Pop Century :: WDW Dec 2009 ASSports :: WDW April 2010 AKL-Kidani :: WDW Oct 2010 ASMovies & DCL 7N-Western Magic :: DCL Sept 2011 3N-Bahamas Dream & WDW SSR :: WDW March 2012 OKW :: DCL Sept 2012 5N-NYC to Canadian Maritimes Magic :: DCL June 2013 7N-Alaska Wonder :: WDW March 2014 ASMovies :: WDW Sept 2014 Wyndam Bonnet Creek :: DCL Sept 2015 4N-Bahamas Dream :: DCL May 2017 7N-Southern Magic :: DCL Sept 2017 5N-NYC to Maine & Canada Magic :: WDW January 2018 CBR :: DCL Oct 2018 5N NYC to Bermuda Magic ::
unewillow is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2011, 03:42 PM   #7
Huntermom
Community Rank: Explorer
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Northern New England
Posts: 12,249

Post Thanks / Like
We went in October and had a wonderful time and got a nice hotel quite inexpensively. The only crowds I remember were at the aquarium on the weekend, but they were not overwhelming, you just had to wait a few minutes.

I loved the town, although we did a glass bottom boat trip that should have been canceled (the ocean was too turbulent to see anything). The kids loved all the Pelicans and seals/sea lions.

I think the wharf may have some souvenir shops that are a a little tacky (like the ones on 192 in Orlando) but the overall atmosphere was nice.

I second the 17 mile drive if you have time, but my kids just liked hanging out at the wharf.
__________________

Charlie
Huntermom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Reply



Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump














Please login or register to hide these ads -- it's free and easy!

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:42 AM.

-->

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like v3.4.0 Patch Level 1 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
(c) 1998-2017 PassPorter Travel Press/MediaMarx, Inc.
Celebrating 19 Years of Making Dreams Come True
Ad Management plugin by RedTyger