Tell me about your last non-Disney vacation in the US! - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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We often rent a beach house on the NC shore. We stay a week and just hang out.
The last vacation that we took somewhere really interesting was this summer to The Homestead Resort in the mountains of Virginia. It's a historic hotel that is just wonderful. We stayed two nights. People in our group hiked trails, swam in the indoor and outdoor hotspring fed pools, bowled, played tennis, took horseback trail rides, shot clay pigeons, ate a great meal in the dining room together to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary. I'd really like to go in the winter sometime too. They have an outdoor skating rink set up, ski trails on the mountain, etc. It looks like fun.
We recently got back from a family trip to Hawaii. It was Fantastic! We went with My fiances family and we were there for two weeks. Since his father is retired military we stayed at Bellows and then the Hale Koa. It was soooo beautiful! We did a lot, Pearl Harbor, they took surf lessons, went para sailing, hit the beaches, and we even stopped in at Aulani. We were there for christmas so it was really different for me growing up in Chicago and then having it be 72 degrees on Christmas! I had a wonderful time and would love to return in the future!
It was our last one - although we started at Disneyland and then did the Disney cruise to Alaska, after that it was all non-Disney, from Seattle, flying to Yellowstone and then road tripping through there, the Grand Tetons, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Monument Valley, Arches, Canyonlands and over to Denver, before flying to Chicago and then home. It was an amazing trip - and trust me, there are so many beautiful places to see in the US outside of Disney...
Two summers ago we went to Myrtle Beach. We stayed Monday-Friday. We stayed at the Ocean Reef resort in a two bedroom suite that we shared with my parents. The only downside was, unknowing to us at the time, my sister and her family were planning on moving down there. So a lot of the week was spent arranging things around my BIL's schedule because he was down there already while my sister had stayed up here trying to sell their house.
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1) Where did you go? Los Angeles, CA
2) How long did you stay? 4 days
3) Where did you stay? Embassy Suites in Arcadia (just north of L.A.)
4) What did you do? Went to a soccer game at the Rose Bowl, visited the Santa Anita race track, toured around downtown LA/Hollywood/Beverly Hills area
5) How did you like it? Honestly, I don't really care for L.A. I think it is a very dirty city, and it feels very small and crowded despite what a large city it is (land-wise). I'd been there before when I was younger and probably wouldn't have gone back if it hadn't been for the soccer game (it was the Gold Cup final and the US team was in it). The best part of the trip for me was touring the race track. It's beautiful and I found Arcadia to be a much cleaner and nice area than L.A. Can't say I'm in a big hurry to (ever) go back.
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
Every year in August we spend 2 weeks in Ocean City, NJ. We rent a condo very close to the beach and boardwalk, so close that we can sit on the front porch and people watch everyone on the boardwalk. We usually just relax, hit the beach and just enjoy our family time together.
We've gone on several smaller trips (long weekends mostly) within New England, but our last big, non-Disney vacation was an 8 Day trip to San Diego. We stayed at the Westin Gaslamp and we did so many things: San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park (now safari park), Sea World, Old Town San Diego, Legoland, we took a harbor tour, the Old Town Trolley Tour, we went swimming at Coronado Beach, we went kayaking in La Jolla, we visited Birch Aquarium and we took in a baseball game at Petco Park. We also went to a few of the museums at Balboa Park (where the zoo is). It is a beautiful city and we loved, loved, loved it there! Can't wait to go back some time.
I love to hear about your vacations! Next time we travel to the U.S., we're thinking about avoiding the "big places" - you know, the ones that attract lots of international visitors. I love the idea of renting a beach house or condo somewhere on the Atlantic coast.
I love to hear about your vacations! Next time we travel to the U.S., we're thinking about avoiding the "big places" - you know, the ones that attract lots of international visitors. I love the idea of renting a beach house or condo somewhere on the Atlantic coast.
I'd love to hear more!
Ah, I didn't know this was your goal. I would suggest looking at two places and seeing if they strike your fancy - Tybee Island, GA and Jekyll Island, GA. Jekyll's a little less touristy and more natural, but Tybee is within 20 min of downtown Savannah so you can explore that easily too. (I don't really take vacations to these places since I live in Savannah, but we take day trips all the time! )
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MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
We enjoy the beach and have rented a house in the Outer Banks a few times with friends. Last summer, however, I hauled my family on an EPIC road trip. We live in Virginia. We drove to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, OH with the two kids and my hubby. We spent 2 days there. It was alot of fun. From there we drove to Chicago where we dropped DH off at the airport so he could go back to work. From there we dronv to Madison, WI where we spent the night. The next day we drove to South Dakota (totally drawing a blank on the name of the town, but it was cute!). The next day we headed to Custer where we spent two nights while exploring Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument. It was a beautiful area. From there we drove through Wyoming to Utah where we stayed for 3 days in Salt Lake City. From there we headed down for a night in St. George, UT before driving along the Grand Canyon in AZ. After this, we went to vosot my family who live in Northern AZ. DH flew in in time for my 25th High School Reunion, then we said goodbye to my family and drove to visit his in Carlsbad, NM. After about 1 1/2 weeks there (DH flew home), we drove on to Dallas, TX where we spent the night at a Great Wolf Lodge. The next day we hit the road with an overnight stop in Texarcana. The next day we made it to TN, but I have forgotten the name of that town as well. Our last big stop was in Gatlinburg, TN where we spent the day at Dollywood. From there it was a day's drive to complete the rather large circle and finally make it home. It was a long time to be away from home and I don't know that I could convinve my kids to ever do something like that again, but it was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget.
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1) Where did you go? - San Francisco, Yosemite National Park and Monterey, CA
2) How long did you stay? - a week total
3) Where did you stay? - Hilton Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco; the Lodge at Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park; Monterey Hilton Garden Inn.
4) What did you do? - LOTS!! Golden Gate Bridge; Walt Disney Family Museum; Pier 43 - the Pamanito submarine; Alcatraz; Cable Cars; Yosemite National Park - visited 2 of the 3 sequoia groves; toured the valley floor on an official tour; hike to Bridalveil and Yosemite falls; Monterey - toured the Monterey Bay aquarium; Drove down the big sur highway (took 6 hours!!!). We did lots - but missed many things and plan to return again.
5) How did you like it? We loved the trip and wish we would have had more time!!
Last summer, however, I hauled my family on an EPIC road trip. ...
It was a long time to be away from home and I don't know that I could convinve my kids to ever do something like that again, but it was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget.
Holy cow, that's one heck of a trip! Sounds like one of those Cheryl (chezp) and her DH tend to take when they visit the US
We enjoy the beach and have rented a house in the Outer Banks a few times with friends. Last summer, however, I hauled my family on an EPIC road trip. We live in Virginia. We drove to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, OH with the two kids and my hubby. We spent 2 days there. It was alot of fun. From there we drove to Chicago where we dropped DH off at the airport so he could go back to work. From there we dronv to Madison, WI where we spent the night. The next day we drove to South Dakota (totally drawing a blank on the name of the town, but it was cute!). The next day we headed to Custer where we spent two nights while exploring Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument. It was a beautiful area. From there we drove through Wyoming to Utah where we stayed for 3 days in Salt Lake City. From there we headed down for a night in St. George, UT before driving along the Grand Canyon in AZ. After this, we went to vosot my family who live in Northern AZ. DH flew in in time for my 25th High School Reunion, then we said goodbye to my family and drove to visit his in Carlsbad, NM. After about 1 1/2 weeks there (DH flew home), we drove on to Dallas, TX where we spent the night at a Great Wolf Lodge. The next day we hit the road with an overnight stop in Texarcana. The next day we made it to TN, but I have forgotten the name of that town as well. Our last big stop was in Gatlinburg, TN where we spent the day at Dollywood. From there it was a day's drive to complete the rather large circle and finally make it home. It was a long time to be away from home and I don't know that I could convinve my kids to ever do something like that again, but it was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget.
Wow what a road trip, how long were you actually away from home?
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. Our last big stop was in Gatlinburg, TN where we spent the day at Dollywood. From there it was a day's drive to complete the rather large circle and finally make it home. It was a long time to be away from home and I don't know that I could convinve my kids to ever do something like that again, but it was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget
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