Florida Keys? Updated with after trip info at end - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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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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We rented a condo in KeyL Largo when the kids were high school/college aged and had a great time. My kids are nature lovers (DS2 is now a wildlife biologist) and they enjoyed exploring the islands.
We went over Christmas break and the weather was perfect. On the way home we had a stop in Orlando and it was freezing. My kids, who are used to the chillier waters off the northern New England coast, found it amusing that the beaches were pretty empty because the water was only in the 70's.
Kids loved kayaking, hiking, going over to Everglades National Wildlife Refuge and just relaxing. I would love to go back.
We rented a vacation house in Marathon, it was a perfect mid point so we could drive either way to Islamorada or to Key West and was very close to the Bahia Honda State Park.
We spent a couple of nights at the Crowne Plaza in Key West and loved it there, nicely located, although we were lucky enough to pay for it with our loyalty points, so it didn't actually cost us anything, and it may be quite pricey.
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1st trip we rented a condo through VRBO in the Marathon area with the whole family.
Last year Hubby and I did 2 trips. The first we stayed at a B&B in Key West. Pearl's was a nice older building (adults only) good location for walking to all in the Duval area.
We have also stayed at Casa Marina. Definitely a more resort feel and price. It is nice because it has a real sand beach (not very common in Key West).
Area I would love to try is Duck Key - I know there are a lot of rentals in that area too and it is closer to Mid Keys.
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Well, I've made all my reservations now. We're going to stay in a Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites in St. Augustine, then down to Key West to Avalon B&B, and then up to Key Largo to the Marriott Key Largo Resort. I'm not entirely loving how much I'm paying but I was more interested in location than savings for this trip. Next I've got to figure out the things we want to do and make reservations where necessary (Fishing, Snorkling, etc).
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Here's what we found:
The Holiday Inn in St Augustine was fine. Nothing special and not really in walking distance of the Old Towne, but a very short drive. We LOVED Old Towne. What a wonderful place. And we did visit the beach while there which was nice (had to search for free parking).
In Key West, The Avalon B&B was GREAT! Highly recommend. Nice breakfast, nice small pool, big rooms with comfortable beds and a nice staff. The place is one block from the "southernmost point" and within walking distance of most highlights in the old part of Key West. Across the street you could rent bikes for $7 a day or moped for $20 for three hours. We did a moonlight kayak tour through Blue Planet that was very good. And we enjoyed the interesting cemetary.
In Key Largo, I'm glad we chose the Marriott Key Largo Bay Resort. It was nice to have a resort to stay in with a nice pool, a beach, a pool bar, and activities (though we ended up not doing any because the water was a bit rough). We did get to do a Glass Bottom Boat tour (Princess out of the Holiday Inn) and even that was a bit hard due to seas conditions that day. We visited John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (where we had hoped to take a snorkel tour) and Theater of the Seas (where we enjoyed the Dolphin show and Parrot show).
It was really a great vacation. Spent more that I'd hoped, but everything was expensive. We did eat at a few good places and others we weren't as enthused about.
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Florida Keys? Updated with after trip info at end
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