Half Beach, Half Disney Trip...Any Recommendations? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Half Beach, Half Disney Trip...Any Recommendations?
I'm thinking about different vacation possibilities for next summer. My girls will be 16 & 13. I was thinking it might be nice to stay on a beach somewhere for 2 or 3 nights for more of a rest and relaxation kind of vacation and then head to Disney for full on touring for 4 or 5 nights! I know we can do R & R at Disney but I'm looking for something a little different and would like to expose my kids to other areas. Any suggestions in Florida of hotels or areas to stay? I've started looking a little. We could go someplace close enough to drive (like Boca Raton) or far enough away we would want to fly (like the Florida Keys). Any thoughts? Thanks!!
Anna Maria!!!! It's amazing and gorgeous. Destin is on the panhandle and I have a ton of friends who vacation there.
If you're looking for the Atlantic side, we go to Melbourne. It's about an hour drive from Orlando and not quite as "touritsty" as other areas.
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
We have stayed at Disneys Vero Beach Resort and really enjoyed it. Its about an hour and a half southeast of WDW right on the Atlantic.
Thanks! I started looking into it. I tried a few dates for next summer but it says no room availability. I wonder if it's hard to book without being a DVC member. I'll keep playing around with it.
We love St. Augustine area. Lots of hotels and restaurants, plus interesting historic sites, parks and beaches. We have stayed at the not fancy but clean and adequate Hampton Inn on A1A near the fishing pier. They have direct beach access which is great; park, beach, sleep, even get something to eat across the street without driving. Free breakfast is included and they do have an outdoor pool too.
My top choice would be Sanibel & Captiva Islands. It is a very doable drive. My second choice would be Clearwater Beach. Sanibel is so nice and it is just a short drive from Fort Myers and all the fun & excitement there ands well. It has a lot of exploring options including the Ding Darling Preserve and there are those amazing sunsets and shelling that the islands are famous for.
Boca is about a 3 hr drive to WDW on the Turnpike. We stay about a mile south of Boca in Deerfield Beach. I fly into Lauderdale and pick up rental car then when I check into WDW resort I return car to Disney Car Care Centre. (Alamo). It’s located near TTC.
Love Deerfield or Boca beaches. We stay in a little hotel half block from the beach in an efficiency, I like to have breakfast in my room. And handy for making sandwiches for lunch. I have family in the area so we always start our trip here.
We’ve also spent time in Key West. Stayed in Sheraton Suites, very spacious. Near a beach and the resort has a shuttle to take you into the tourist area. We did a catamaran Cruise one day, and another did the open air bus tour that looks like a train. I wish I had a 3rd day to do a eco kayak tour.
We drove from Ft Lauderdale, the drive thru the Keys was amazing. If it weren’t for the fact that we were staying in Deerfield area I would have flown into Miami, book arrival night at a hotel then hit the road bright and early.
Cocoa Beach is fun. My daughters loved to take surf lessons from RonJons surf shop. The last time they had the same instructor that gives lessons at Typhoon Lagoon. We stayed at The Hampton Inn.
It’s about a 45 min drive to WDW.
We also enjoy the gulf, St. Pete Beach. Stayed at Sirata Beach Resort. The sand is like powdered sugar, so fine. And the water is nice and calm. I just float around on my pool noodle! About a 90 min drive to WDW.
So many fun places to explore in Florida, it’s great for those who can spare extra time to take a few days pre or post WDW to explore. Imo the Everglades is a must do. We like the Shark Valley entrance. They have a worthwhile tram tour with a naturalist. There is an old road the trams go along. Used to have an oil rig out there. Only thing that remains is the road.
Boca is about a 3 hr drive to WDW on the Turnpike. We stay about a mile south of Boca in Deerfield Beach. I fly into Lauderdale and pick up rental car then when I check into WDW resort I return car to Disney Car Care Centre. (Alamo). It’s located near TTC.
Love Deerfield or Boca beaches. We stay in a little hotel half block from the beach in an efficiency, I like to have breakfast in my room. And handy for making sandwiches for lunch. I have family in the area so we always start our trip here.
We’ve also spent time in Key West. Stayed in Sheraton Suites, very spacious. Near a beach and the resort has a shuttle to take you into the tourist area. We did a catamaran Cruise one day, and another did the open air bus tour that looks like a train. I wish I had a 3rd day to do a eco kayak tour.
We drove from Ft Lauderdale, the drive thru the Keys was amazing. If it weren’t for the fact that we were staying in Deerfield area I would have flown into Miami, book arrival night at a hotel then hit the road bright and early.
Cocoa Beach is fun. My daughters loved to take surf lessons from RonJons surf shop. The last time they had the same instructor that gives lessons at Typhoon Lagoon. We stayed at The Hampton Inn.
It’s about a 45 min drive to WDW.
We also enjoy the gulf, St. Pete Beach. Stayed at Sirata Beach Resort. The sand is like powdered sugar, so fine. And the water is nice and calm. I just float around on my pool noodle! About a 90 min drive to WDW.
So many fun places to explore in Florida, it’s great for those who can spare extra time to take a few days pre or post WDW to explore. Imo the Everglades is a must do. We like the Shark Valley entrance. They have a worthwhile tram tour with a naturalist. There is an old road the trams go along. Used to have an oil rig out there. Only thing that remains is the road.
Thank you for all this information!! Plenty of options.
When I first moved here, I asked which beach to go to and Anna Maria Island/Bradenton Beach/Longboat Key was the one everyone recommended. It has the powder fine sand of Clearwater and usually much less crowded. Great local eateries and cute shops. It's about 2 hours from Disney.
We like the Gulf side as there are less sharks and it's usually calmer. Plus, if you stay toward the evening you get the beautiful sunset. We go to Indian Rocks in St. Pete. I've also been to Sand Key in St Petes which is a park and offers all types of rentals/ kayaks etc. They are both 1-1/2 away.
__________________
Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
About This Page: 
I know we can do R & R at Disney but I'm looking for something a little different and would like to expose my kids to other areas. Any suggestions in Florida of hotels or areas to stay? I've started looking a little. We could go someplace close enough to drive (like Boca Raton) or far enough away we would want to fly (like the Florida Keys). 
Any thoughts? Thanks!!
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Hybrid Mode
