Just booked 2 nights St. Pete Beach Need suggestions - Page 2 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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St. Pete vacation veteran of too many years to count now here. Love the beach and I'm a creature of habit. Check out St. Pete beach wave runners just south of the Sirata for the best value in wave runner rental and see Rick. They don't charge you for the gas. Book before 11 am for a discount, youll need a CC and driver's license. IMHO skip Crabby Bills. Haven't eaten there in years and it's walking distance for us when we're there. Right on Gulf Blvd. there are 2 great! places to eat, Mad Fish and Snappers. Again, great food! The same people own both. Another great place is Oyster Shucker's on Corey Ave. They have all you can eat crab legs on Tuesdays. agree with the poster who recommends John's Pass for some touristy but fun shopping. Fort DeSoto is nice as well. As you head down there you'll pass Billy's Stone Crab which is a good place to eat too. If you want to eat like a local and don't mind the lack of atmosphere, head south on Gulf Blvd. to Pass a Grill and try Sea Critters or the Wharf both are on Gulf Blvd. and next door to one another. Overlooking the beach down there is The Hurricane which has a rooftop bar for great sunset viewing while enjoying a beverage. Also, there's a cute little artsy/crafty gallery on Gulf Blvd. just pass "The Don" (the pink hotel), the Nancy Markoo Gallery which is nice. For touristy St. Pete souvenirs we prefer Beach Mart to Wings. In the Dolphin Village where the Publix is there's a Candy Kitchen which has fun candy. There are also a couple of fun stores there. Behind Dolphin Village there are sight seeing cruises etc. I can't remember if the Sirata has been included in the Tradewinds complex just up the beach but the Tradewinds has a big blow up water slide and some slides etc. out in the gulf that you buy tickets to use. If Sirata is included in Tradewinds now, you can get a discount. Parasailing is offered up and down the beach but we like the operator in front of the Dolphin Hotel (the orange hotel). There are a few cute shops along Corey Ave. as well for non touristy things. Plenty of ice cream stops along Gulf Blvd. Our favs are the Twist Cone, can't miss that one right on Gulf Blvd., and Uncle Andy's at "The Don". Dockside Dave's has a good grouper sandwich for lunch. If you want a bit of an up scale meal head north to Reddington to a place on Gulf Blvd. called Salt Rock Grill. It's awesome. A bit pricey but worth it. They do have some early specials. A fav lunch spot of ours is in Pasadena, 10 minute drive, called Ted Peters. World famous smoked fish and fantastic burgers. They're closed Mon. Or Tues., I forget which. They've been in business for 50 years. Also in Clearwater is the aquarium where the dolphin from the movie Dolphin Tale lives. It's convieiently located by Salt Rock Grill's sister restaurant, Island Way Grill. Another great place and they serve sushi If you're into aquariums, the Tampa Aquarium features lots of native Florida fish etc. Have a great time.
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If you haven't went already, I too loved the Tampa aquarium. One of my favorite place to eat was Silas Dent's, for the pretzel bread and prime rib! The beach was the best for me in the pass-a-grille area. Not very crowded, even on the 4th of July. I did the Shell Island cruise once when I was younger and loved all the shells I collected and the beach was awesome.
Thanks for all the tips. We went in Aug, only there for a couple of nights pre WDW. Had a great time. Just relaxed. Walked around Corey Ave, had a dinner at an Italian restaurant a local recommended.
Sirata isn't in the Tradewinds, just next door. We saw the slide! But my dd is 26, lol, so not interested!
It was a nice relaxing time. Just what we needed after 2 weeks of packing up my mom's condo. Bought some pool noodles and floated around the gulf