We Definitely Need a Vacation! - TR - 5/6-5/16 - UPDATED 7/21 - Page 4 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Shena, I've been catching up on your TR today! Your days are jam packed with fun! Sorry about the lousy sercie at Kona. We've yet to try this restaurant and your trouble with the wait staff makes me not want to rush. You got a great picture of Lilly! She is so adorable. for sharing!
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.
Another report is on its way, we have had an very busy weekend and start to this week. We had a car break down and had to get a different one so I assure you that we haven't forgot abut the TR!!!!
__________________
*Shena & Ryan*
Check out our PTR for our upcoming Christmas trip to see Mickey!
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.
Long time no see....and completely my fault! I've let myself get busy with other things, but have no fear, I WILL finish this TR! Not making any promises of when because I will inevitably not be able to meet my own expectations!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nimros
So glad you got a peek at Lilly and Luna - so sweet.
I absolutely Flame Tree! I'd eat there every time if I could...but others in may family aren't as into BBQ as I am.
I LOVED seeing the 2 little ones, they're just the best! We're from the Kansas City area, so BBQ (as long as it's good) is a must for us...and FlameTree is pretty great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
We find also that by midday we are done at the AK, sometimes we find the two mornings work better as it just gets so hot.
So true! I think it's the only way to go--I want to share this tip with everyone, but at the same time I'd hate for mornings to be more crowded when I go .
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Great day!!! So glad you got to see Lily!!! She is so stinkin' cute!!!!
You got alot of rides in at MK! Love those late night hours!!!
Late hours at MK are the BEST! This was actually an earlier night compared to the last night of our trip...as you'll see later in the TR (if I ever get it written)!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OCEANGRLLG
Awesome day and yall got to see Lilly! Once again....yall got alot done!
She's so adorable, I could watch her forever! With it just being the 2 of us and no strollers or anything else we can cover alot of ground! Although sometimes I feel like I'm jogging to keep up with Ryan (He's over 6 ft tall and I'm only 5 ft tall).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Shena, I've been catching up on your TR today! Your days are jam packed with fun! Sorry about the lousy sercie at Kona. We've yet to try this restaurant and your trouble with the wait staff makes me not want to rush. You got a great picture of Lilly! She is so adorable. for sharing!
Thanks for finding us! Whenever we've been to Kona before, always at breakfast, the service has been good, so we were pretty shocked with what happened. I'm hoping this isn't a pattern but maybe just a bad server (fingers crossed!)...
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneyfan1219
Another great day!
We visit each park at least twice on our trips, and we always eat Flame Tree both times in AK. It is soooooo good!
You sound just like us! If we're at AK, Flame Tree is just a must do!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Sorry to hear about the car.
Thanks for the pixies! We've gotten a new (to us) car and are in the process of selling both of our old cars so I think things are looking up
I'm working on the next actual post right now, so hopefully it'll be up later tonight. Thanks so much for reading!
__________________
*Shena & Ryan*
Check out our PTR for our upcoming Christmas trip to see Mickey!
See--I can update! I've gotten a couple of entries at least partially typed up now, so the updates should move at a quicker pace. Thanks to those of you who are still along for the ride!!! Enjoy!
Day 5 – Tuesday, 5/10/11
Our 2nd Beach Day! Since we went to the GulfCoast side of Florida on Saturday, we decided we’d even things up and visit the AtlanticCoast side and go to CocoaBeach. We got a fairly early start in the morning and grabbed pastries to go from Everything Pop for breakfast to eat in the car on the way. After a little over an hour of driving, we reached CocoaBeach and tried to figure out where we were going to park. We drove by the HUGE Ron Jon’s Surf Shop a couple of blocks from the beach and decided we needed to stop and look around there before we went anywhere else. Needless to say, we spent over an hour here and we walked out with a new beach cover-up for me, a shot glass, a t-shirt for Ryan, and a cute little dress outfit for a co-worker’s baby (by request). We ended up leaving our car parked at the store and just walked to the beach from there since it was so close. We got to the beach, which wasn’t too crowded yet, and found a place to set up shop. By the way, the sand was HOT—It was actually cooler this day by a few degrees than it was the day we went to ClearwaterBeach, but the sand here was significantly hotter! I thought my feet were going to burn off—reason #1 why I prefer the gulf-side better. We played around in the ocean for awhile and lay out in the sun for awhile before we finally decided we were hungry and it was time to go. The atmosphere here just wasn’t the same fun-loving atmosphere we’d seen in Clearwater—reason #2 why I prefer the gulf-side better—so we were a little disappointed. But it was still a beach and that part was amazing. We looked around CocoaBeach trying to find a beachside restaurant to eat at, but we couldn’t really find anything—reason #3…I’m sure you’re seeing a pattern … So we held off on eating anything. We drove down A1A a little ways to Patrick AFB, which is south of CocoaBeach, and found another cute little beach where we collected a few shells before we decided to head back towards Orlando.
Cocoa Beach:
View down the Beach--not very lively!:
Beach near Patrick AFB:
As we were driving back towards Orlando, we decided to take the scenic route and go by the Kennedy Space center since the 2nd to last shuttle would be launching on Monday. We didn’t really get to see much since we didn’t want to pay for the tour (expensive!) but it was still cool to drive by the visitors center. By the time we made it back to Orlando we were famished since it was late afternoon and we still hadn’t had lunch. We went back to our resort and cleaned up from the beach and decided to go to DTD. We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express—one of the BEST counter service meals on property; Ryan had a margherita flatbread and I had the chicken alfredo, with crème brulee for dessert of course. So incredibly good! After this we hit a few of the downtown shops and headed back to the resort for the night…we actually stayed out of the parks ALL DAY . I can’t believe it, but the next couple of days were madness so we needed the rest.
Outside Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center:
This guy is on top of the ticket booth!:
More to come soon!
__________________
*Shena & Ryan*
Check out our PTR for our upcoming Christmas trip to see Mickey!