Another Whirlwind Trip to Arizona/Utah and the National Parks - 2015 - Updated 4/19 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
Another Whirlwind Trip to Arizona/Utah and the National Parks - 2015 - Updated 4/19
Another Whirlwind Trip to Arizona/Utah and the National Parks - 2015
Welcome to my pre-trip report. The thought for this trip came about as finishing up what we tried to do 2 years ago at this time. We were trying to get in most of the National Parks in Utah/Arizona that we could during spring break. You can read about our last adventures here….. A Whirlwind Trip to Arizona and Utah National Parks
In planning that trip, we were trying to see The Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Monument Valley, Arches, and Canyonlands. With the limited time we had available for spring break (sorry but there is no way I was going out there in the summer when it was close to 100 degrees) we just couldn’t fit them all in, and took Bryce and Zion out of the trip. Hopefully we could fit them in during another trip in the future. The future has now arrived. The benefit of traveling out West during our Spring break (this year April 11th thru the 19th) is that it seems most of the West Coast is not on break. The crowds were very low for our last visit, so I’m hoping the same is holding true for this one, which I think it should be as I have left some things to the last minute this week, and there was still availability for what I wanted to do.
The rough plan was to fly into Vegas, spend a couple of days at Zion, a day or two at Bryce, and then back to Vegas. Along the way, and thru my Trip Advisor guidance (I’d highly recommend them), I decided to add a couple of days at Page, Arizona as well. This was on my radar back for the first trip but there was just no way that we could fit it in. Couple that with the fact that there was a landslide on the main road to get to Page from the Grand Canyon which now caused a major detour, and it was out. They just reopened the road again last week, over 2 years later, although this time we are not affected as we are coming in from the West this time and not the South. I decided to book at canyoneering adventure with a company in Springdale (at the gates to Zion) after I got the okay from Alexa. For those who read my last report, Alexa is greatly afraid of heights. The Grand Canyon was a bit much for her if there wasn’t a guardrail separating her from the edge. Thru the canyoneering adventure, we’d be rappelling down some rocks and such, but she said she’d go for it. I also booked a river raft trip on the Colorado River in Page to see the sights (smooth water trip). At this point, the weather looks like it is going to cooperate. On our last trip, while mostly rain free, we did have some snow in Arches, and it was unseasonably cold for most of our stops (40s and low 50s). This trip is looking to be in the upper 60s and mid 70s, even Bryce which should be in the 60s during the day.
So here’s a rough view of our plans at this point……..
Saturday, April 11th – Fly out to LAS from BDL, direct on Southwest. Pick up rental car (small SUV). Overnight at the Marriott Grand Chateau (no casino ). Matt has requested to see the fountains at the Bellagio, which the rest of us have already seen. Otherwise get dinner and walk the strip.
Sunday April 12th – Drive to Page AZ with maybe some stops along the way. No real plans. Check into hotel (Comfort Inn). Maybe tour Upper Antelope Canyon if we arrive early enough, or Glen Canyon Dam. Sunset at Wahweap overlook.
Monday April 13th - Raft trip at 10:30. Tour Lower Antelope Canyon after that, or Upper Antelope Canyon if we haven’t made it there yet. And Horseshoe Bend.
Tuesday April 14th – Drive to Bryce Canyon. Do the scenic drive in the park and maybe do some light hiking. Check into hotel (inside the NP). Sunset inside the park.
Wednesday April 15th – Up early for sunrise at Bryce. Drive to Zion. Go to the Visitor Center and do some light hiking. Check into hotel (Desert Pearl Inn)
Thursday April 16th – Canyoneering at 8:30 AM. Light hikes in the afternoon.
Friday April 17th – More hiking in Zion. Would like to do the Narrows if we could. See anything else we missed along the way.
Saturday April 18th – Drive back to Vegas. Stops along the way. The flight home doesn’t leave until 5 PM so we have lots of time to explore.
I guess that’s about it. If I’ve left anything out, or if anyone has any suggestions of things to add, by all means speak up! At this point, we’re all ready to go and are just waiting for the day to arrive.
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.
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.
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.
We're back! Got in at 2AM this morning. It was a great time! Bryce was a bust mainly due to the weather, Page was great - so glad I included that, and Zion was beautiful! A little cooler than expected, but what can you do. Hopefully will start the report sometime this week once I get everything put away and the shopping done!
Sorry your Bryce weather wasn't the best. We wished we had scheduled more time there (we had 3 days, 2 nights) because we had thunderstorms each afternoon that limited our time.
I so want to do that vacation again. Can't wait to relive it through your trip report.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.