The Trip of a Lifetime to Alaska – Land and Sea – Trip Report - COMLETE!! 4/13/12 - Page 20 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Day 7 – Friday July 1st – Seward and boarding the Radiance of the Seas! Part 1
I forgot to mention that last night, after getting off the fjords tour, Matt had inquired about going out on a halibut charter with Colin on some boats. Unfortunately they were all booked up. Not only was our ship leaving from port today, there was also another one there as well, and in just a few days (on July 4th), Seward would be overrun with 30,000 people as there is a race to the top of Mt. Marathon and back down. Apparently for the good runners, it takes around 42 minutes to get up, and 3 to get back down! We would be happy to be leaving, as I can’t imagine the town swelling with so many people!
Since we had really nowhere to go this morning, we took things slow. Breakfast was downstairs in the lobby (free). They had a cool pancake maker that the pancakes come out on a conveyer belt after you push a button! It was a bit crowded, but we were able to find a table. After that, we went back out to walk around a bit. We could see the ship at the dock so we wanted to see if it was somewhat close and we could just walk our luggage over there. Plus, it was a beautiful morning with the sun out. My guess is that doesn’t happen all too often!
I believe this is Mt. Marathon!
This is a coal conveyer belt. The guys on the fjord tour yesterday said this belt/tunnel goes all the way up past Healey (which is just north of Denali NP)!
We discovered that the walk was not conducive to hauling all our luggage, so we gave up on that idea. We went back to the room and packed everything in up. In the process, I seemed to have lost my Tour Saver Coupon book! I had it out in the room because I was looking for the BOGO coupon for the Sealife Center, but by the time I had gotten to the Sealife Center, I couldn’t find it anywhere (and have yet to do so). I was mad at myself. Thankfully, there were no other excursions I was using it for (you can’t rip out the coupon until you get to the tour to prevent fraud and trading, etc.) but it had a bunch of souvenir coupons and such that I could have used!
We checked out of the hotel, and discovered that for $2/bag, they would hold your luggage for you and deliver them to the boat as well! Sold. That was the best $10 we ever spent! That done, we took some time and just walked around the area again. I saw the shuttle for Exit Glacier, but no one seemed to be thrilled with that! L We went into the Visitor Center for Kenai Fjords National Park (where we toured on the boat yesterday) and looked at some exhibits and got a map for the free shuttle bus that goes around Seward (old school bus). We decided we’d take that to the Sealife Center. Once there, you already know my tale of woe by not having the BOGO coupon. I did get a AAA discount. Better than nothing. I think I was losing my mind! The Sealife Center is SMALL. I think we went thru it in less than an hour. It was a nice diversion, but not a must do, IMO.
Matt’s pictures…….
As you can see from the pictures now, it is overcast again and looks like it is going to downpour any minute. We walked around the “downtown” area near the Sealife Center (which is about a mile from the “downtown” area near our hotel) and then caught the shuttle to the port.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
Are you making a scrapbook or something of the trip? I don't know how you're going to choose what pictures to use. There are so many gorgeous ones!
I'm going to do a photobook on Shutterfly, like I've done for all our recent vacations. However I think I'm going to have to go over the 20 page standard and add quite a few more!
How cool that the ship is so close, and for $10 what a great deal that they also transport your bags to the ship, I would have jumped on that deal as well. Sorry about your discount book, glad that you used it for the majority of what you wanted to use it for but I would have been upset too. Can't wait to hear about your first thoughts on the ship.
What a deal on the luggage transfer!
OK, seriously - 42 minutes to run up and 3 to run down? Sure they weren't rolling in a barrel!?! Doesn't sound like something I'll sign up for if I find myself in Seward!
The pancake conveyer belt sounded fun!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
All caught up now!
Marnie, what beautiful photos and so lucky for you to have 2 Mt McKinley sightings
Your kids will have so many wonderful memories. With our shorter holiday times, I really think our kid's generation is missing out on nature. David Suzuki says that kids "these days" are so programmed for instant fun, right from their early days in front of Sesame Street with it's 3 minute segments and that one of the best gifts you can give them is time spent in nature to learn how to slow down and be at peace.
I remember the feeling from my trips out west and camping to Alaska as a child. I became aware for the first time of being so small in this big world, and I'm sure yours will hold that with them forever.
(sorry for the philosophy, but I feel inspired ) Now enough about nature - let's get cruising!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
We would be happy to be leaving, as I can’t imagine the town swelling with so many people! 
It was a bit crowded, but we were able to find a table. After that, we went back out to walk around a bit. We could see the ship at the dock so we wanted to see if it was somewhat close and we could just walk our luggage over there. Plus, it was a beautiful morning with the sun out. My guess is that doesn’t happen all too often!
I had it out in the room because I was looking for the BOGO coupon for the Sealife Center, but by the time I had gotten to the Sealife Center, I couldn’t find it anywhere (and have yet to do so). I was mad at myself. Thankfully, there were no other excursions I was using it for (you can’t rip out the coupon until you get to the tour to prevent fraud and trading, etc.) but it had a bunch of souvenir coupons and such that I could have used! 
That done, we took some time and just walked around the area again. I saw the shuttle for Exit Glacier, but no one seemed to be thrilled with that! L We went into the Visitor Center for Kenai Fjords National Park (where we toured on the boat yesterday) and looked at some exhibits and got a map for the free shuttle bus that goes around Seward (old school bus). We decided we’d take that to the Sealife Center. Once there, you already know my tale of woe by not having the BOGO coupon. I did get a AAA discount. Better than nothing. I think I was losing my mind! 
PassPorter Guide Author
I hope you'll share the finished photobook, although I have no idea how you're going to pick photos to go in it! 
) Now enough about nature - let's get cruising!
Guess where we were headed??
Linear Mode
