Gatorland? - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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's Florida Destinations Beyond Walt Disney World > Central Florida Attractions: SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens
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 02-15-2009, 10:23 PM   #1
GinaMo76
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
GinaMo76's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Illinois
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 544

Post Thanks / Like
Gatorland?

GO or NOGO? Have some extra time before cruise, already done KSC. If NOGO any suggestions? Doing Universal after cruise. Not enough time for WDW only half a day.
GinaMo76 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 04:25 PM   #2
Julian
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
Julian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 938

Post Thanks / Like
I've been there (a few years ago now) it's somewhere reasonably interesting to kill a few hours - if you're into aligators obviously!

There were a few activities which were fun and there are loads of aligators there, although unless they're "performing" (which kind of meant leaping out of the water to catch dead chickens!) they didn't actually do much!

I tried "aligator nuggets" while I was there, and yes they DO taste like chicken!!! Just a little bit tougher!!!
__________________
Julian.
My Countdown Counting down to: Our next Walt Disney World holiday in
We are on our way!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDW Nov 1992, Aug 1994, Sep 1996, Oct 1998, Oct 2001, Dec 2006, Dec 2008, Dec 2009, Dec 2013, Oct 2014 DLRP Apr 2007
Julian is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 04:26 PM   #3
Julian
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
Julian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 938

Post Thanks / Like
Did I mention all the sleepy aligators?
__________________
Julian.
My Countdown Counting down to: Our next Walt Disney World holiday in
We are on our way!
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDW Nov 1992, Aug 1994, Sep 1996, Oct 1998, Oct 2001, Dec 2006, Dec 2008, Dec 2009, Dec 2013, Oct 2014 DLRP Apr 2007
Julian is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 10:04 PM   #4
Sue M.
Community Rank: Legend
 
Sue M.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Concierge Level: 2
Posts: 15,667

Post Thanks / Like
I passed it on the way to WDW in Jan! It looked a bit hokey from the road. I'd go to the outlet malls
__________________
My Countdown Counting down to: WDW WL
back to the lodge
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDW Aug 2003 LBV Marriott Courtyard, Universal/Sea World/Busch Gardens Aug 2005 Hilton Garden Inn SeaWorld, WDW Aug. 2007 CBR, WDW Jan. 2008 POP & WL, Universal/SeaWorld/Aquatica Aug 2008 Hyatt Place,Sheraton 4 Points, Hard Rock Hotel & Doubletree Universal., St. Pete Beach Aug 2008, WDW Jan 2009 AKL, WDW Aug 2009 POR & WL, WDW Jan 2010 Poly, WDW Jan 2011 POR, WDW Aug 2011 POR & BC CL, WDW Jan 2012 WL, WDW Aug 2012 AKL CL, WDW Jan 2013 POFQ, WDW Aug 2013 Pop, GF, YC: WDW Jan 2014 POR, WDW & Universal August 2014 GF & Portofino Bay, WDW Jan 2015 POR, Aug 2015 Poly, Aug 2016 GF, Sept 2017 DL, Dec 2017 PoP, May 2018 DL, Sept 2018 WL, Nov. 2018 DL And too many trips to count to DL in the 80's.
Sue M. is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 10:22 PM   #5
scottjs
Community Rank: Explorer
 
scottjs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: san francisco
Posts: 13,151

Post Thanks / Like
I would go to The Wonder Works. But then I may be the only person around who likes upside down Science buildings.
scottjs is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2009, 10:39 PM   #6
GinaMo76
Community Rank: Adventurer
 
GinaMo76's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Illinois
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 544

Post Thanks / Like
We did Wonder Works in Gatlinburg, my kids loved it. Are they all the same? Ripley's is another one they would love to try.

Thanks for all the info.
GinaMo76 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2009, 07:50 AM   #7
home4us123
PassPorter's Club Passholder


What's this?

Community Rank:
Legend Extraordinaire
 
home4us123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Endicott, NY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,154

Post Thanks / Like
We are thinking of doing Wonder Works this time to
__________________


Mindy PassPorter Co-Guide for The Family Room, Going Behind the Scenes and The Porch
My Countdown Counting down to: Walt Disney World
My PassPorter Bookshelf <table width=100% height=75 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0><tr><td width=86 style='background-image: url(http://www.passporter.com/concierge/ticker/countdown22512-659.png); background-repeat: no-repeat;'><a href='http://www.passporterboards.com/concierge/walt-disney-world-2013-trip659.html' border=0><img src='http://www.passporter.com/forums/club/images/bookshelf/transparent.png' height=75 width=86 border=0></a></td><td align=left style='background-image: url(http://www.passporter.com/forums/club/images/bookshelf/shelf22512.png); background-repeat: no-repeat;'><a href='http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/club/bookshelf.php?member=22512&name=home4us123' border=0><img src='http://www.passporter.com/forums/club/images/bookshelf/transparent.png' height=75 width=200 border=0></a></td></tr></table>
My Previous TripsWDW 1988, WDW 1990, Feb. 08. OffSite, August/September 09 Saratoga Springs THV, August/September 2010 POFQ, August/September 2011 Pop Century, August 2013 SSR
home4us123 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2009, 07:55 AM   #8
alisonhinsley
Community Rank: Trekker
 
alisonhinsley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Chelmsford, England
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 1,438

Post Thanks / Like
We have done Gatorland a couple of times now. They do have shows with the gators and other reptiles. We paid extra and fed the gators. You are feet away from them and there is no barrier between you.

We went to Gatorland, as gators are not the norm in the UK and the people we went with, wanted to see gators.
__________________
Alison H
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDW Mar 2000 WDW Sept 2002 WDW Sept 2005 WDW Oct 2006 HHI Oct 2007 WDW Oct 2007 VB Oct 2008 WDW Oct 2008 WDW Oct 2009 WDW Oct 2010 WDW Oct 2011 WDW Oct 2014 WDW May 2013 WDW Oct 2013 WDW Oct 2014 HH Oct2015 WDW Oct 2015
alisonhinsley is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2009, 11:16 PM   #9
lkmom
Community Rank: Trekker
 
lkmom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 1,742

Post Thanks / Like
We enjoyed Gatorland last week. There were 3 shows, feeding Gators, a train ride and some great opportunities for the kids (and adults) to sit on a Gator. Your best bet is to purchase discount tickets before you leave home.

As others have said, its about where yuor interest lies. Wonder Works sounds like fun too! I worked in the Museum of Science here in Boston, so we wanted something different.

Here's a pic from the Gator Jumperoo show:
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0537a.jpg (39.1 KB, 3 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0539b.jpg (36.3 KB, 3 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0538c.jpg (49.4 KB, 41 views)
__________________
Kristin
My Previous TripsWDW 12 times since 1974, Poly 4X, AKL 1x, POFQ 3x, Carribean Beach 2x, ASM 1x, Pop Century 1X (Just for 1 day)
lkmom is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-02-2009, 12:17 AM   #10
dahlizyx
Community Rank: Day-Tripper
 
dahlizyx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Jackson MS
Posts: 10

Post Thanks / Like
I see the thread is from Feb, so this reply might be to late, but I ALWAYS recommend seeing some pre-Disney Florida attractions if you have the time and/or budget for it. I went to Gatorland years ago and had loads of fun.
__________________
I believe people still want to live like human beings. But there are a lot of things that could be done. I'm not against the automobile. I just feel that you can design so the automobile is there but still put people back as pedestrians again. I'd love to work on a project like that. -Walter Elias Disney
My Previous TripsWDW at least twice a year since 1974. First DCL trip in 2008.
dahlizyx is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2009, 04:50 PM   #11
FriendAim
Community Rank: Sightseer
 
FriendAim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
Posts: 82

Post Thanks / Like
We went to Gatorland when we were there in March. My uncle is a bigwig at the Orlando airport so we had free admission and we could do all of the extra stuff. I really liked the walkway through the mating area. It's not called that but it's a neat boardwalk that goes through this area where the herons have their nests up above the aligators.

My uncle told us a few years ago they had a fire in the main building and the flames were so big that they were shooting out of the fake aligator's mouth out front. That would have been a sight to see.
__________________
Sydney's first trip to Disney 3/28/09
Aimee
Wife of Joe ~ 9-9-00
Mom of Sydney ~ 3-29-05
My Previous TripsWDW Mar/Apr 2009 (Pop), WDW Oct. 2004 (GFR&S), DL & CA 2002 (GC), WDW & DCL Sept. 2000 (Honeymoon trip, BDWK), WDW 1996 (Y&BC), WDW 1992 (offsite), WDW 1990 (GFR&S), Other visits in high school (4 times). Stayed at Poly, Contemporary and Fort Wilderness as a kid. Many day trips to DL as a kid.
FriendAim is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2009, 08:10 PM   #12
scottjs
Community Rank: Explorer
 
scottjs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: san francisco
Posts: 13,151

Post Thanks / Like
I was thinking next trip of maybe doing The Holy Land Experience. Not sure how that would be for a family.
scottjs 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 06:31 PM.

-->

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