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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I'm going to St Petersburg Beach Dec 3-7,2010. This will be my first time going and am looking for ideas of things to do. I would like to do something fun like parasailing or a dolphin watching cruise with reputable place. This is basically a trip for relaxing and being lazy. Busch Gardens is 45 minutes away acording to the hotel website but I'm not interested in doing a park.
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I was just in Clearwater Beach last week (just north of St. Pete beach) for work - so no help on the dolphin watching or parasailing (although I did see dolphins and parasailers). Clearwater beach has a really nice beach walk area with a wonderful white sandy beach with some great dining/hotel options. The Hyatt is brand new, and the Hilton we stayed at was really nice.
Where are you staying while there? I've been vacationing in that area for as long as I can remember.
Parasailing etc. is available on the beach by the Tradewinds resort (the one with the blue slide on the beach), the Dolphin resort (it's orange) or the Don Cesar resort (the pink one). They also have shelling/dolphin watch trips too. For the shelling I think they go over to Snell Island. You can also drive up to the John's Pass area fro dolphin trips. The big yellow Dolphin Racer boat leaves from there and they're pretty successful at finding the dolphins. We saw about 5 dolphins right in the water close by us this year and one lone manatee. It's not a dolphin mecca or anything but each year we see a few. There also are wave runners rentals in front of a pinkish-beige, pyramid shaped condo resort, St. Pete Beach Wave Runners. They have a hut with a blue top and usually a sailboat set up. Good prices. For any of these you'll need a credit card and river's license. You should find an orange Guide-Map in your hotel lobby that has a map, ads for various things to do and restaurants as well as some coupons to use. For restaurants right on Gulf Blvd. there are two really great places, Snappers and Madfish. They're owned by the same people and have great food. some folks would say they are pricey for the beach (some entrees at $25--$30) but worth it. Madfish is a little newer and the pricier of the two. Snappers often gets a wait. Over in an area called South Pasadena (about a 15 min. drive) is Ted Peter's Smoked Fish. It's been there forever and has great smoked fish and awesome burgers (they're closed on Tuesdays). Crabby Bill's is another St. Pete' favorite right on the beach. They have large windows so the view is nice (go around sunset time),it's not fancy and can be noisy but the food is good. Another great place is Oyster Shucker on Corey Ave. If you're in for a drive, about 30 minutes north of there is a great place called Salt Rock Grill. It's on Gulf Blvd. up by Reddington Beach Great everything. There is a Publix grocery store there on Gulf Blvd. for the basics (it's really in need of a make over though). If you are into the shells then be sure to visit the Shell Shop on Corey Ave. If you drive south on Gulf Blvd. toward the Pass-a-Grill area there's a neat little gallery on the right side just past the Don Cesar called the nancy Markoe gallery. It's in a white building. Nice hand crafted things. If the weather isn't great there's plenty to do in the area other than Busch Gardens. Downtown St. Petersburg has the Salvador Dali Museum. A very interesting museum dedicatied to Salvador Dali. In Tampa there's the Florida aquarium, there's the Museum of Science and Industry. You can drive up to the John's Pass area in Maderia Beach (a 15 min. drive) where you'll find plenty of touristy shops, restaurants, one of those floating casinos that goes out into the Gulf along. There's a new parking garage but otherewise it's metered parking. There are a couple of more local like restaurants and a Bubba Gump's now. From St. Pete's you can also drive to Ft. DeSoto state park. There's an old unused fort there, beaches, a playground, bike trails, picnic facilities etc. If you wanted to drive 45 minutes or so south to Sarasota there's the John Ringling circus museums and home to tour. In Sarasota you'll also find Saint Armands circle which is a nice shopping area. About a 20 minute drive south from St. Pete's and just over the Sunshine Skyway bridge is an outlet mall. I will say there's no Starbuck's but there are a couple little coffee places. There's a small, very old putt putt place down by the IHOP. Just north up by Treasure Island and Madiera Beach there are a couple of better places if that's your thing. If you have any other questions, just let me know.
I forgot one, there's also a stand with info. on different types of tours down by Publix right by where the CVS is. also, if you're more interested in local type eats, go south on Gulf Blvd. to Pass-a-Grill to Sea Critters and The Wharf. Nothing fancy at all about these places but good food. Still in Pass-a-Grill is the Hurricane and the Brass Monkey. Both are right across from the beach. Hurricane has good grouper.
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but there are a couple little coffee places. There's a small, very old putt putt place down by the IHOP. Just north up by Treasure Island and Madiera Beach there are a couple of better places if that's your thing. If you have any other questions, just let me know.
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