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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Yes the Riverwalk is a must! The Alamo is nice also especially for a learning experience. Seaworld and Six Flags are near S.A. and Schlitterbahn is near S.A. also. It's a HUGH water park and would be a nice side trip.
My parents live in the Hill Country and the drive through there is beautiful. If you have a chance to drive to Austin, you might enjoy that as well.
Thanks for all the info and links . Now, our next decision is fly or drive? We live in the Atlanta area, so it will be at least 2 days driving , but with a family of five we are looking at a minimum of $1000 to fly ! We even looked at driving to Birmingham to fly Southwest and it is still expensive.
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Susan
Our family: Me, DH, DS10, DS7 and DS6 at Chef Mickey's September 2006
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Will you be staying downtown? On the North Side of San Antonio we have Six Flags Fiesta Texas which opens during Spring Break week in March and should be open at least on weekends in May. Also someone mentioned Sea World which is in NW San Antonio. At the River Center Mall (on the Riverwalk) we have an IMAX theatre. Also, consider visiting the Market Square downtown for some souvenirs from nearby Mexico and some great Mexican food at Mi Tierra.
If you are going to have a car, consider a day trip to Fredericksburg Texas...a beautiful drive to the hill country which will land you in a charming little German town with great shopping, wineries and wonderful restaurants. There is a children's museum downtown, and the Texas Institute of Cultures. (near the Tower of Americas...which has an elevator ride to the top. You will see it looming over the downtown area.) Also downtown is a wax museum and Ripleys museum.
Thanks for all the info and links . Now, our next decision is fly or drive? We live in the Atlanta area, so it will be at least 2 days driving , but with a family of five we are looking at a minimum of $1000 to fly ! We even looked at driving to Birmingham to fly Southwest and it is still expensive.
That's a tough one! We flew the other way....from San Antonio to Atlanta last summer and we had to go through Chicago to get to Atlanta (on United) to get a great price. It ate up two days of our vacation traveling to and from, but then again driving take about four days to and from! Spirit Air now flies into San Antonio. I don't know if they will have a price drop between now and then, but I have seen occasional good fares there. Too bad there is no service on Southwest from Atlanta! Southwest does fly out of Jacksonville, but then that's not terribly close to you either. Hmmmm....good luck with your decision!
DH has a business meeting in San Antonio in May and we're thinking of tagging along.
I'm bumping this thread in the hopes of getting new and more info.
Been a while and have posted my trip long ago. Riverwalk boat tour is a must. There is a zoo and park out by Little Aussie Bakery which is heaven for em, gluten free. Alamo is a must. I love the park the most and they had the cutest train around the park and the zoo, got to visit that if you can. Space Needle is an option if you want to go up and see all the area.
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Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
The Institute of Texan Cultures is really very interesting. It shows how different international cultures (German, Czech, Chinese, Mexican, etc.) influenced the development of our state when settlers from those countries arrived here.
The Riverwalk and the Alamo are probably the main attractions. But there is a bus tour of several of the missions (other than -- or perhaps including -- the Alamo) if you have any interest in history. As others have mentioned, there is Sea World (look for a coupon - it is EX.PEN.SIVE) and Fiesta Texas for amusement parks. My kids enjoyed the Ripley's Believe It or Not and the wax museum.
We live 2.5 hours from San Antonio so I've visited there many times and I always love it! You will have a great time.
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Oh Debbie, Mi Tierra is to die for!!!!!!! Every trip I take to San Antonio has to include a stop off at Mi Tierra. Awesome Mexican food, and the bar is magical, all wood.
Susan/ Carolyn, I strongly recommend eating at Mi Tierra (Mi Tierra Cafe Y Panaderia), it is in the Market Square, which is located between Commerce and Dolorosa Streets off of I35. The parking is a bit limited, but not all that bad. If you go in the morning or late night hours, try the Menudo and Bar ba coa; both are great Mexican dishes. Also, if you go at night, you can usually catch a Trio (Three-O) walking around the restaruant. What they are, is a group of three men playing guitars and serenating those who pay to be serenaded. Everytime we go, I request "Gema" (pronounced Hem-aa). If you can pass this to your hubbies, it is a very romantic song from Mexico. English translation does not do it justice.
All in all San Antonio is rich in culture and as far as things for you all to do, well that depends on what you all want to do. They do have a waterpark, museums, two theme parks, shopping malls (La Cantera Mall is my favorite to visit, outdoor but nice atmosphere), plus San Antonio is centralized between Houston (2hrs away) and Austin (1hr away). The Hill Country is very nice scenic driving, which my family has always enjoyed visiting. The drive up to Fredricksburg, via Texas Highway 16, is very nice also, plus the old German town is nice to visit and walk around. The Botanical Garden in San Antonio is nice, and not far from the Witte Museum ( Welcome to the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas ) and the San Antonio Zoo.
As far as the food is concerned, San Antonio stems from deep Spanish and Mexican roots, so there are plenty of foods of that sort, but you can get a variety of other stuff there as well. Bill Millers is a "fast food" type of barbecue joint, but a must for DGF to eat anytime we are near one. Rudy's is also good barbcue. Big Lou's Pizza (featured on Travel Channel a few times) is a good place that I finally ate at about 4 years ago.
If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask any of us Texans and we will gladly steer you in the right direction.
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Last edited by Charlie97; 12-15-2011 at 03:12 PM..
take teh boat tour on the River Walk, best part of our trip there... be careful of the hotels that state they are on the riverwalk, we got not only a horrific hotel but it was NOT *on* the riverwalk but about a block away... we were not happy.
We live up near Austin, and San Antonio is one of our favorite weekend road trips. Of course you have to see the Alamo, but then the other four missions are fantastic too. The zoo is nice and historic as well. If you are up for some short day trips out, the Hill Country is nice (Guadalupe River State Park is a family favorite), lots to see, and just to the east is some great places to visit. Gonzales where the revolution started and the outlaw John Wesley Hardin lived (the jail house museum there is cool and free) is a nice trip (plus there is a state park just north of Gonzales has some great nature trails).
New Braunfels does has Schlitterbahn, the #1 rated waterpark in the world. But it also has Greune, a tiny town with one of the oldest dance halls in Texas.
To the Northeast is Lockhart...home of Kreuz's BBQ...one of the highest rated BBQ places in the country.
But my number one suggestion would be to enjoy the riverwalk, but fine food elsewhere as they are mostly chains, and there are so many great places elsewhere such as just south near the King William District (The Liberty Bar is a family favorite).
And of course, you are near enough to Austin to see out fantastic locations as well, such as the state history museum and Barton Springs.
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. Now, our next decision is fly or drive? We live in the Atlanta area, so it will be at least 2 days driving 
, but with a family of five we are looking at a minimum of $1000 to fly 
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