Forums Closed
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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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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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.
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02-26-2006, 09:26 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: second star to the right
Posts: 13,308
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Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report - Day 4 added
DH and I decided shortly after New Years that we were going to the Daytona 500. My mom told us that she had to use a week of her vaction in the first quarter and offered to use it to watch the kids. So, I said I wanted to go to Paula Deen's cooking school and DH wanted to go to the Daytona 500. Well, since the Daytona 500 can only be seen in February and we were unsure of when we would get the opportunity again - DH won (for now [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] )
We decided that since the race was only a little more than a month away, we would book a package thru a tour company with race tickets and hotel. We found Premiere Sports Travel and decided we liked their package. They had many options for hotels either in Orlando, WDW or Daytona Beach. Since we wanted to do all 4 days of races, we opted to stay right in Daytona Beach. After booking the package, we turned to airfare and found a decent deal on a flight from Newark, NJ direct into Daytona. I called our driver that takes us to the airport and he was available then I secured a rental car for a pretty good rate and all was set.
We departed Easton at 5 am on the 15th of February. Boy, was that an early start - but our flight was 8 am and to beat the traffic on I-78, we had to get going early. The drive went well. We bid adios to our dear friend, Lenny, who has chauffered us to the airport on many occasions and got in line for check-in. We had printed our boarding passes online but still had to check our luggage. This took a little while then we were off thru security and to the gate. We grabed some coffee and donuts on the way to the gate. Barley ate the donuts and it was time to board.
The flight was full - all people heading down to the races. We even had a celebrity on board - Chris Fowler from ESPN. I did not know who he was but I was told that it was him and he was famous. The flight was pretty boring - I tried to sleep with little sucess. We arrived in Daytona on time at about 10:40 am. Flying into Daytona, the airport is right next to the track. It looked like we were going to land on the super stretch!!
We claimed our bags and got our rental car. By 11 am, we were on our way. We drove out of the airport and right next to all of the haulers with the souvenirs. We headed toward the beach and spotted a Sonny's BBQ and decided to stop for lunch. We don't have any place like this up north here so we stop any chance we get. The food was yummy as always. The service was super speedy too. On the way out, samples were being given out in the parking lot of Full Throttle energy drink. So we nabbed a couple of those and headed out. It had the caffeine of 3 cups of coffee. I took a couple of sips and passed it to DH. He took one sip and tossed it in the garbage. ICK!!
We headed over to our hotel. The Ocean Walk Resort by Fairfield. It was only 12:30 so I doubted our room would be ready but it was. We got up to it and all settled in. The resort is part of Fairfield timeshare. All of the units are 1, 2 or 3 bedroom condos. Ours was a 1 bedroom with kitchen, living area, bathroom, bedroom with 2 full beds and even a washer/dryer.
The Fairfield Ocean Walk Resort
Our bedroom
Living Room
Kitchen
The view from our balcony
One of the pools - there were 2 outdoor pools, a hot tub and a lazy river plus 2 indoor pools
We took a nap and then headed to Publix for groceries. The Publix was only 2 miles away straight up the coastal highway. We got all the necessities like snacks and drinks then back to the resort. We unloaded it all, watched a little TV and decided to stroll down the beach.
Daytona's Pier
The view south of the pier
The view north of the pier - the Hilton and our resort
We played some skee ball near the pier and then decided to have dinner at Bubba Gump's (even though we'd be eating there Saturday with Terri). It was right next to the hotel in the Ocean walk shops - there was a surf shop, a bath shop, a Harley Store, Johnny Rockets and a mexican place as well as Bubba Gump's. I [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] the food here - it is yumm-o!! We split some shrimp cooked in beer and garlic. DH got fried shrimp and I got a shrimp po' boy. You know what Bubba says about shrimp - "You can boil, bake it, fry it..." We played some Forrest Gump trivia with the waitress. It was a lot of fun.
After dinner, we walked around the stores a bit. Didn't find anything exciting so we went back to the room. After a little TV, we sacked out early. It had been a long day and we had 4 big days of racing ahead of us.
Up Next - The Gatorade Twin 150's |
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02-26-2006, 09:47 PM
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#2
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NC
Posts: 12,270
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
I am sitting here ready to charge up my credit card looking at that website Crystal!! Did you look at the Speedweek stuff in Charlotte?? 9 and 10 night packages! (we loved speed street last year). I really want to do one of the packages to Bristol....but that'd be a little out of our range.
I LOVE your hotel!! How beautiful! Anything on the beach like that steals my heart [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img]
I CAN'T WAIT for more!!
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02-27-2006, 09:16 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Dreaming of the Future
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 24,867
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Awesome Crystal! What a view from the balcony!
More please!
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02-27-2006, 11:05 AM
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#4
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Facebook Addict
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Philadelphia
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 39,682
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
That's a great looking room. I went to the first night race at Daytona back in 1998 and I've always told DW that I want to do Speedweeks one year. I can't wait to read about your experience there.
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02-27-2006, 11:11 AM
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#5
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Wannabe Snowbird
Join Date: May 2002
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,137
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
[ QUOTE ]
We even had a celebrity on board - Chris Fowler from ESPN. I did not know who he was but I was told that it was him and he was famous.
[/ QUOTE ]
You sound like me, Crystal! I was sitting right beside Marlee Matlin at the 50's Prime Time Diner and you know how crunched in you are to the table next to you? Well, I was practically sitting on top of her and I didn't know who she was! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] The waitress told me after she left. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
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02-27-2006, 11:29 AM
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#6
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Great start Crystal [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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02-27-2006, 11:37 AM
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#7
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Great start Crystal!! Your hotel looks really nice and beautiful view!!!! Can't wait to read more!!!
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02-27-2006, 12:06 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Manchester NH
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 12,514
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Can't wait to read the rest Crystal!
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02-27-2006, 12:18 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 18,767
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Awesome Crystal!!! Love the room! MORE, MORE, MORE please!!
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02-27-2006, 12:27 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Posts: 13,817
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
What an awesome hotel! Great start!
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02-27-2006, 07:41 PM
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#11
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Community Rank: Navigator 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Davidsonville, MD
Posts: 6,563
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Is Sonny's BBQ as good as Famous Dave's???
And tell me please you got some Easy Cheese at the Publix. You went all the way to the beach. There has to be some Easy Cheese!
I am so loving that hotel. I've never been to Dayton. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
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02-27-2006, 08:22 PM
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#12
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: second star to the right
Posts: 13,308
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
[ QUOTE ]
Is Sonny's BBQ as good as Famous Dave's???
And tell me please you got some Easy Cheese at the Publix. You went all the way to the beach. There has to be some Easy Cheese!
I am so loving that hotel. I've never been to Dayton. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
[/ QUOTE ]
Sonny's is a little different that Famous Dave's - given the chance if Sonny's and Dave's were next to each other - I'd probably pick Famous Dave's.
Silly question about the easy cheese - of course we got some - that is a vacation nessecity!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
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02-27-2006, 08:52 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NC
Posts: 12,270
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Ohhh we are fans of Sonny's BBQ here! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img]
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02-28-2006, 09:36 AM
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#14
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: East Bridgewater, MA
Posts: 16,143
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Can't wait to read more, PLEASE!!!!!
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03-01-2006, 12:46 PM
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#15
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: Daytona Speedweeks - A Trip Report
Grat start Buddy!! I RARELY go to Daytona (not much to do there) unless I am there for work - and one day really want to make it to speed week!!
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