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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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Another great update!! Loved the pictures from the park, especially the waterfalls! We seem to be having cooler than normal summer weather here in the north. Someday, summer will show up!
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Awesome update! Sounds like you all had such a good time. Especially since the weather was so scary when you started out.
Your griddle meals do sound delicious. That's a good idea to take the griddle. Also, thanks for the report on Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I've put it on our list.
The griddle has been great; we've put it to good use! Last summer we camped and we were able to grill a lot of meals... This summer, staying in hotels and such I needed an alternate way to make some easy meals so we weren't eating out too much and the griddle has been great!
You would love Cuyahoga Valley NP; it's a great park!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Another great day! These trails sound wonderful! I'm actually wondering why my parents never took us here as kids as we traveled annually when I was growing up to visit my mom's family in Ohio. We usually used national parks as additional vacation points.
Given that it's the tenth most visited park, seems like they would've heard of it.... It definately would have been a great place to visit!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
That park looks wonderful! The falls are beautiful and the ledges trail looks challenging and fun. I love the moss-covered ledges.
I loved the moss-covered ledges as well!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDolphin
Looked like a great hike on the Ledges trail!!
It was!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, you have been busy - what a beautiful park that was.
It was a beautiful park!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Another great update!! Loved the pictures from the park, especially the waterfalls! We seem to be having cooler than normal summer weather here in the north. Someday, summer will show up!
The weather is definately different here.... In Georgia, we were getting into the 90's when I left and now here we are doing good to hit 60.... In general it feels really nice though, just cold mornings... Although I'm a little concerned as to how cold Isle Royale be may...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
More great days Brandi! Looks like a great park and that you are having a great time!
Saturday June 15th- Sunday June 16th We had a long drive ahead of us, so we were set to get going as soon as we got up. Today we were driving to Saint Ignace, Michigan/ MacKinac Island.
We got up around 6am, ate the hotel’s breakfast, packed up, and got going.
Other than a few potty stops and a lunch stop at McDonalds we were making pretty good time. With every stop, I was noticing the outside temps dropping and I was increasingly concerned about our lack of warm clothing. Last summer, I made this same mistake and we got so cold we ended up stopping off for sweat suits at Wal-Mart. I just couldn’t believe I had set us up for failure once againL. I did pack long pants for everyone this time which was an improvement, but I didn’t pack jackets. Madilyn brought along a jacket/vest that is ¾ sleeves, so she was better off than the rest of us; but none of us were prepared. I have plenty of things I could have brought for home…. But didn’t….
So, about an hour from the hotel, I spotted a Wal-Mart off the exit and made a pit stop for batteries, bottled waters, and jackets. They didn’t have a single jacket or sweat shirt for men, boys, or girls. They did have some jackets for women, but I didn’t get them as they were way overpriced and it would have only worked for me, and everyone else would have still been without. We got back on the road, and when we were literally about two miles from our hotel, I spotted a Family Dollar. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a single sweatshirt or jacket.
We finally made it to the hotel- Holiday Inn Express. It was very nice, we had two connecting lower level rooms that had balconies that walked right out to the lake front (Lake Huron). There were a TON of pigeons between the balcony door and the lake at any given time. They were fun to watch!
The hotel also had an indoor pool, that the little kids enjoyed swimming in- especially Winston as he practices his new swimming skills.
For dinner, we made hotdogs on the griddle. The front desk let me know that the earliest ferry to MacKinac Island in the morning would be at 7:30am. So, we went to bed with the alarm set for 6am.
The next morning, I woke up initially at 5am but managed to go back to sleep until the alarm went off at 6am. Once the alarm went up, we were all moving about and getting ready quickly. We headed down to the hotel’s breakfast which was really good and included items such as eggs, sausage, and biscuits. We really enjoyed it. My plan was to drive to the ferry at 7am. The ferry is technically in walking distance, at less than a mile but I figured we’d be walking enough on the island and decided to just drive to it. The lady at the front desk informed me that the ferry service offers a free hotel shuttle to and from the hotel. So, we decided to use that service instead. The van shuttle picked us up at 7:15am. We had purchased an island experience package that included a round trip ride on the ferry, a carriage ride, admission to the butterfly conservatory, admission to Fort MacKinac, and admission to the Grand Hotel.
Once at Arnold’s Ferry dock, we traded in our package voucher for ferry tickets. We had good timing and the ferry was ready to board right as we walked over.
It was pretty chilly outside and we opted to sit inside the ferry rather than up top.
Once on the island we were very disappointed to see that the Carriage Tour place was closed and wouldn’t open until 9am. It was only 8am. We tried going in some of the shops, but most of those were closed as wellL. We did find a few that were open early though.
At one shop, we found a nice jacket for Austin that he was excited about. But didn’t find anything for anyone else…
A fudge shop was open as well, we all tried some samples and decided on a few we’d like to have for later. So, I purchased a total of a pound of fudge for the 6 of us, but put it in my bag to save for later. I also purchased a pound of fudge for my dad and a pound of fudge for the kids to give to their dad/my ex-husband for Father’s Day. The fudge shop mailed it for you for a $5 fee. I thought that was reasonable and I know it will be enjoyed even though both my dad and their dad will be receiving it a few days *after* Father’s Day.
Next we headed to check out a bike rental shop. They had reasonable rates and the kids were so excited to ride bikes on the island! The island doesn’t allow any motorized vehicles; everyone gets around by horse, horse carriage, bikes, and during the winter- snow mobiles. I told the kids we would see about getting the bikes after our carriage tour.
We still had about a half an hour before the carriage tour place opened. We found one more open shop where I purchased a post card to mail ourselves from Michigan.
When we exited that shop, we realized a line was now forming for the carriage tours so we joined the masses. The carriage center opened promptly at 9am and we were quickly able to exchange our package vouchers in for tickets. We were able to board the first carriage of the day that started at 9:10am.
The kids were really excited to ride the horse carriage as was I. Wesley and Dillon insisted they weren’t the least bit cold; but Madilyn, Winston, and I wished we had been able to find a jacket like Austin now had.
The carriage ride is informational as well. We learned that about 500 residents live on the island year round. They have one single school that houses grades K-12. This school year, they just had 7 graduates. A few years ago, they just had two graduates and they were twins. I thought it was pretty neat to learn about. They also said cops give out speeding tickets to bicyclist that not only cost money, but also take points of your license. Again, interesting…
The carriages first stop is a shop type area where you transfer to a different, larger carriage. At this stop point, we went in another shop where we were able to find a cute sweatshirt for Winston- so he was now warm as well.
In addition to the shops, the Butterfly Conservatory is at this stop as well. We were the only ones to enter the conservatory so we literally had it to ourselves. The kids really enjoyed this place and I did too- but it wasn’t as cool as I’d hoped/expected… I thought there would be thousands of butterflies flying all around you and it simply wasn’t like that…. It was informative though, I learned that moths have no tongues and literally cannot eat. They only live 3-10 days and they live off of the nutrients that they got before they hatched their entire lives – they receive no other nutrients.
We boarded the 35 passenger, 3 horse drawn carriage and headed onto more sights around the island.
We stopped at “The Arch” which was similar to arches you’d see in Arches National Park. It was beautiful with the big lake in the background of it!
Turns out 80% of MacKinac Island is a state park that use to be a national park. I found that interesting, as I didn’t know this. It hasn’t been a national park since the late 1800’s when the soldiers left and the fort closed up.
The next official stop was at Fort MacKinac; we were the only ones on the carriage stopping off to see the Fort. They have no idea what they were missing! The Fort was wonderful and I could have spent most of the day there! They offer several re-enactments; we only got to see two. I would have liked to have seen them all. The have preserved the fort very well and it was just so cool to see. It was very informative as well, for example in the fort hospital they had a film where the fort’s doctor talked about three illnesses that had went on in the fort and then a current doctor tells you what the illnesses really were and how they’d be treated today. These were three actual cases that had really happened at the fort. They had so many cool things to see, that I could just go on and on… It was just a ton of fun!
After the fort, we re-boarded the carriage and it took us to the Grand Hotel. The hotel was definitely grand! It was a beautiful place! We explored it for a little bit before heading to their lunch buffet. It was expensive and probably not worth the price; but we enjoyed it all the same. It had a very large selection and I thought it was delish. They had no “kid friendly” options, but I had warned the kids of that in advance and they agreed to be adventurous. And they were- they all ate very very well. And the cashier ended up not charging me for Winston- she said he was free, I told her he was seven- I’m not sure what age is supposed to be free… I think they don’t get a ton of children in there, so maybe that is why he was free….
After lunch, we took some pictures out on the big hotel porch, which I was told is literally the largest porch in the country! I can’t remember how big they said it was though…
We then walked back to town. We walked to the bike rental shop. I rented 5 bikes, Winston can’t ride without training wheels yet and Dillon offered to pull him behind his bike in a carrier. I haven’t ridden a bike in so long, I was worried I would have a hard time driving myself, let alone pulling a child behind me.
Dillon said it was actually really easy to pull Winston behind him and that it was a very smooth ride. I really wasn’t sure how well I’d make out on a bike, but thankfully I was able to re-learn really quickly and it was a TON of FUN! Winston ended up falling asleep in the carrier behind Dillon. We all just had the best time riding around the island on those bikes! Our hour was up way too quickly…
We returned our bikes and headed back onto the ferry, and then were shuttled back to our hotel. We had the best time on the island! The kids all want to come back! Next time they want to stay *on* the island and rent bikes for the entire stay! I really hope to return here, it was just an absolute blast and beautiful as well!!
Back at the hotel, we swam for a bit in the pool. For dinner, we had grilled cheese on the griddle. I had bought canned tomato soup to have with it, but we had no way to heat it- so we just ate the grilled cheese alone. We still had our fudge that we had bought this morning, so we had that for dessert.
It’s 8:35pm as I type this and I plan for us to all go to bed before too much longer as we have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow…. Tomorrow we are off to Isle Royale National Park- the least visited park in the U.S.
I love the video! Such a beautiful place. It's been many years since I was there, but it looks just the same! You really did things right, too, stopping at the fort, buying fudge, having lunch at the hotel (gotta do it once, right?) and then exploring on your own on the bikes. Love the shot of Winston curled up in the carrier.
What a great day on MacKinac Island. I love the way you had parts of it to yourself. What were those people thinking, not getting off the carriage ride and seeing what it has to offer?
I love the video! Such a beautiful place. It's been many years since I was there, but it looks just the same! You really did things right, too, stopping at the fort, buying fudge, having lunch at the hotel (gotta do it once, right?) and then exploring on your own on the bikes. Love the shot of Winston curled up in the carrier.
MacKinac was just wonderful! And I feel lunch at the Grand Hotel is like Cindy's Castle at Disney- gotta do it once, but once is enough
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a great day on MacKinac Island. I love the way you had parts of it to yourself. What were those people thinking, not getting off the carriage ride and seeing what it has to offer?
I know, I couldn't believe how many people were choosing to miss out on such great parts of the island!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great day on Mackinac Island! Love the pictures/video!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Looks like a great day on Mackinac Island! It is someplace that I have always wanted to visit!
Thanks! I hope you get to visit someday; it's wonderful! And I hope we get to go back someday...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
What an awesome day at Mackinac Island! I had heard this was really interesting and from your TR I would say that was right!
Yes, MacKinac Island was truly wonderful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Just too good - a great tour of the Island, Swimming, Grilled Cheese, & Fudge (two of my favorites).
Reading your TR is expanding my Bucket List with each update.
Thanks for following along! It was really a great time at MacKinac!
Monday June 17th: I am writing up this portion of the report several days after the fact, so my memory may be a bit foggy…
We had a long drive ahead of us today including multiple pit stops, so my goal was to leave at 7am. We ended up leaving at 7:30am- so only a little late.
We had just an hour and a half drive to our first pit stop: Tahqamenon Falls State Park. I didn’t know about this park until shortly before we left, so it wasn’t in our original itinerary, but since it was only a few minutes out of the way I figured we could spare an hour or so to see the falls. They had very short trails- about a half mile- to the Upper Falls and then another half mile to the lower falls. At this point the weather was getting really cold. We enjoyed the Falls. I’m glad we took the time to see them. I wish we’d had a little more time to spare here so that we wouldn’t have been rushed, but I think this place worked best as a pit stop and didn’t leave feeling like we needed much more time.
Our next pit stop was an hour and a half away also to the National Lake Shore. This place was simply unbelievable! The lake shore with the pictured rocks was simply breathtaking; pictures don’t do it justice! I was so bummed that we had to leave here so quickly. We only got to go to one look out: Miners Castle. I really wish we had known of this place in advance- we needed to have stayed here overnight for sure! They offered boat rides around the lake shore that I really, really wish we would have had time for. The kids were able to get Junior Ranger badges here as well. I’m so glad we took the time to stop here, but I left wanting more and really hope to return someday…
We stopped for lunch at SubWay.
Our third pit stop was to be the Quincy Mine. Unfortunately their last tour of the day is at 5pm and we were officially running behind schedule and couldn’t get there in time. This was a huge disappointment. It turns out this place is part of the National Park Service and I didn’t know that beforehand. Once finding that out, I doubly wished we had been able to make it. I guess, it just makes for a reason to visit that area again in the future…
We were now officially making our way to Copper Harbor where we would board the Queen for a three hour ferry ride to Isle Royale National Park. On the remainder of our drive, we spotted a walmart where we stopped for groceries and found some sweat shirts which were much needed with the cold weather.
In Copper Harbor, we were set to stay in the Minnetonka Resort that had a cabin with a kitchen. Wesley cooked dinner- fried chicken, French fries, and mac n cheese. The cabin was cozy.
The next morning we were set to board the ferry to Isle Royale…
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