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PassPorter News
News, Announcements, Updates, and Tips
May 24, 2007 * Issue 7.21
PassPorter.com - http://www.passporter.com
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Welcome to PassPorter
News, an online newsletter
about PassPorter travel
guidebooks, the
Walt Disney World Resort,
and Disney Cruise Line.
PassPorter News is
available by free subscription to all readers and friends of our labor of love
--
PassPorter Travel
Guidebooks.
Learn all about them:
http://www.passporter.com/aboutpassporter.htm
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In This Newsletter:
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From the Authors:
Remembrance
Travel Feature: Taking A
"Greener" Trip To Walt Disney World
Disney Feature: Food &
Wine Festival
Updates: What's New and
Changed
Tips: Guide of the Day,
Great Groceries, Memo Memories
Captain's Corner: Jack's
Play
Q&A: What should we do
with our bags on rides?
Our Sponsors: We
Recommend...
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FROM THE AUTHORS: Remembrance
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Hi,
{{user("firstname")}}!
Memorial Day Weekend is
nearly upon us. Whether you travel out of town or stay home and dodge record
prices for a gallon of gas, whether school just let out for the summer or
classes resume on Tuesday, we wish you a good holiday. May the memory of the
men and women who sacrificed all out of love for their country be honored and
respected not only this weekend, but every day of the year.
To mark the occasion,
we're holding a "little" Memorial Weekend Sale with 20% off ALL books
in the PassPorter Store ... and you can use a coupon on top of these discounted
prices for excellent savings. For example, if you use the PassPorter Newsletter
Subscriber coupon code (look at the very bottom of your e-mailed newsletter for
the code), you can get a copy of PassPorter Walt Disney World 2007 spiral (or
pre-order a 2008 spiral) for just $17.21. And if you already have a PassPorter
and you register it to get a coupon, you can get those same spiral editions for
a mere $14.92. This sale ends on Monday, May 28 at midnight ET. For details,
visit http://www.passporterstore.com/store/memorialsale.aspx
PassPorter's Club Update
* Nearly 600 vacationers
are now enjoying access to all our e-books and e-worksheets -- thank you for
your continued support!
* THREE new e-worksheets
-- Daily Highlights, Souvenir Tracker, and Budget Comparison -- are available
for download in the Club. We now have more than 30 e-worksheets in our library.
* Passholders can enter
our contest for the most creative e-worksheet idea -- winner receives a free
e-worksheet commission and a free month in the Club. Learn more in the Parlor!
* More details at http://www.passporter.com/club
Peer reviewer and friend
Bruce Metcalf continues his live trip report of his trans-Atlantic crossing
cruise on the Disney Magic. To read his live reports, visit 25 Days on the
Disney Magic at http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-your-adventure-disney-cruise-reports/127931-25-days-disney-magic-europe.html
Meet us in person: Will
you be at July's sold-out MagicMeets event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania? We sure
will! We'll be on hand to meet, greet, and maybe put on a presentation or two.
In this issue, Beverly
Carr and Craig Jackson describe how you can "offset" the carbon
dioxide released as you travel to Disney in Taking a "Greener" Trip
to Walt Disney World, and Newsletter Feature Columnist Cheryl Pendry describes
some of the tasty morsels to be had at fall's Epcot Food and Wine Festival.
Enjoy!
Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Publishers and
Authors
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TRAVEL FEATURE: Taking A
'Greener' Trip to Walt Disney World
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by Beverly Carr and Craig
Jackson, PassPorter Guest Contributors
The flights are booked,
our Beach Club Villas studio is confirmed and the dining reservations are made.
I am in Disney planning heaven! My husband and daughter share my passion and
excitement for everything Disney. However, my excitement is tinged with a
little guilt. I love my Walt Disney World annual trip. I love sharing happy
times with my family and friends, but I'm not being a friend to the
environment.
I am told that airline
flights are among the fastest growing sources of global warming gases. Our trip
in August will include a return transatlantic flight of 8,455 miles. Each one
of us will add about a ton and a half of CO2 to the atmosphere. Obviously, the
greenest option is not to fly at all -- I could sell my Disney Vacation Club
points and holiday much closer to home ... but I love Walt Disney World!
So, this year, part of my
Disney-obsessed vacation planning took the form of investigating ways to help
the environment in exchange for us taking those flights. A fitting choice
seemed to be to offset the CO2 from our flights, so I began checking out
various web sites. It transpired that a friend and colleague of mine is a
regular transatlantic Disney-goer too! He'll be in Orlando again this year and
has already offset the carbon emission for his flights. He knows what he is
talking about, too. He's an architect who specializes in environmental design,
so he understands the issues behind carbon emissions and climate change and the
effects that we can have on the environment in our day-to-day lives. I asked
him to explain the technology behind my proposed solution.
In an ideal world we'd be
able to hop across the 'pond' in aircraft that gave out no emissions, but we
live in the real world so have to be a little bit more imaginative in our
approach. Carbon offsetting is one of those imaginative approaches and one that
a 'light' green like me can get behind. It's still a bit controversial because
it doesn't stop harmful emissions taking place, but it does invest money in
technologies and projects to counteract (or offset) those emissions.
Offsetting works like
this. We know that a UK to Orlando flight produces around 1.5 tons of CO2 per
person. A simple online calculation estimates the monetary cost of preventing
1.5 tons being emitted somewhere else to balance things up. There are lots of
ways in which CO2 can be offset. Your money could be used to plant new trees to
help absorb CO2, or it could be invested in renewable technologies like
hydro-electric power stations or even something as simple as providing
additional insulation in houses.
But before we all rejoice
at such a simple solution let me sound a note of caution. Sites are springing
up all over the web offering to stamp out your carbon footprint at the click of
a mouse. "Deep" greens will tell us carbon offsetting schemes don't
work and that all we're doing is lining the pockets of a few dot com
entrepreneurs who appease our guilt at flying by taking our cash. So we need to
be aware that not all carbon offsetting sites are necessarily the same.
It's very important to do
your research before you part with your money and make sure that the measures
you are paying for really are going to make a difference. They are using your
money, so only give it to those who will use it wisely.
Look for sites with a wide
range of carbon offset projects where your money can be invested. Make sure
they have a strong verification processes and are regularly reviewed and
audited independently. Good sites will have a clear Corporate Responsibility
statement where you should be able to check these things out.
Another good sign is if
the site follows the Carbon Neutral Protocol. This is currently a voluntary
standard, but it's likely to form the basis of the UK Government's
independently regulated Code of Practice early in 2008.
Once you've done your
research, actually offsetting your carbon is easy. It's just like booking your
park tickets online. You tell the site where you're traveling from and it'll
work out the cost. All you need then is a credit or debit card! At the moment,
we in the Western World are using up natural resources at such a rate that we
need three whole Earths to support us. In the future we want our children to be
able to enjoy their own visits to Walt Disney World and to introduce their own
children to the magic. They have a much better chance of being able to do that
if we all make a few simple changes now.
About the Authors: Beverly
Carr is the Finance Manager for a Housing Association in Sheffield, UK. She is
Disney Vacation Club member and with her annual trip planned for August 2007
she's already getting rather excited. Craig Jackson works with Beverly in the
Architects Department and is a Disney novice in comparison. His next visit in
late August will be only his fifth since 2000!
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Did you enjoy this
article? Have questions? E-mail us at news@passporter.com or visit
http://www.passporterboards.com to discuss your Disney travel plans. Also check
out our Article Collection at http://www.passporter.com/articles for more great
information!
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DISNEY FEATURE: Epcot's
Food & Wine Festival
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by Cheryl Pendry,
PassPorter Feature Columnist
We all know that Disney
loves to celebrate. Whether it's a birthday, anniversary or family gathering,
Disney will do all they can to make it especially magical. So when you think
about Epcot's annual Food and Wine Festival, immediately you just know that
Disney will do something to make these things, which many of us hold dear to our
hearts, extra special. That's what I discovered on our first real exploration
of the Festival last year.
The most important thing
you need to know about the Food and Wine Festival, so that you're not
disappointed, is that the vast majority of food, wine, and activities offered
during that time will cost you more money on top of your park admission. Sure,
there are some things that you can do for free, which we'll touch on in a
moment, but the food and wine booths that you'll see scattered around the World
Showcase lagoon definitely aren't free. We saw the booths on our honeymoon in
1999 and I remember being very disappointed that the items they offered weren't
free samples being given away, but that you had to pay for.
Having said that, where
else can you sample food from around the world to see if you like it or not?
Last year's samplings, which ranged in price from $2 to $6, included such
varied items as kiwi and custard rolls from New Zealand, spicy beef empanadas
from Argentina, sauteed corvine from Chile, lingonberry mousse from
Scandinavia, and vegetable curry with jasmine rice and lemon grass from
Thailand. The beauty here is that if you take a bite of something and decide
you don't like it, you haven't wasted a fortune on it.
And let's not forget the
wines that accompany all the wonderful food at these booths. From green tea
plum wine in China to sake in Japan, and Irish Cream, unsurprisingly found at
the Irish booth, there was something for all tastes. As for wine, whether you
prefer white, ros, or red; dry or sweet, you won't be disappointed. The
Australian wine walkabout was a particular favorite of mine at last year's
festival, allowing you to buy a certain number of samples of wine and then pick
them as you walked about -- hence the name!
Beer drinkers aren't left
out either, with various offerings at the different booths, along with a hops
and barley market and great beers of the world, highlighting some familiar --
and perhaps not so familiar -- names. It seems that there aren't many people
who are fans of champagne, at least judging by the bottles still chilling in
our fridge. But if you are a fan of the bubbly, don't miss the champagne booth
and the delightful pairing with chocolate truffles, a must for anyone with a sweet
tooth.
Although the Food and Wine
Marketplace food booths are the most common way for visitors to Epcot to enjoy
the festival, there's much more to it, depending on how much money you're
prepared to spend on food. If the answer to that question is "nothing,"
then don't despair. There are a number of free events during the festival, but
you may just find you have to give up park time to wait in line for them.
Last year saw
complimentary cooking demonstrations, book signings, and even tasting sessions
of both food and wine. As you can imagine, these are exceptionally popular,
especially the ones that involve some eating and drinking for free! If you want
to try any of these out, grab a festival program as soon as you can and work
out which ones interest you, then be prepared for a long wait. You'll need to
get in line at least 30 minutes before the event you want to see gets underway.
Another free event during
the Festival is the Eat to the Beat concert series, staged three times a night
at the America Gardens Theatre. If any of the acts performing while you're
there appeal to you, arrive early to guarantee a seat, although we were able to
catch some of the final parts of Gloria Gaynor's performance on her last night,
standing at one side of the theatre.
Of course, if you love
your food as much as I do, then you might want to spring for some of the more
expensive options during the Festival, but be warned, when Disney calls them
the "exclusive wine and culinary programs," it's for a reason. These
events are not cheap and the prices would make many people faint! However, as
you'd expect from Disney, if you do attend any of these events, you'll have an
amazing time. We went to the Party for the Senses last year and I'll be
reporting on our experience there in an upcoming issue of PassPorter News, but
let's just say it was worth every penny and definitely something we'd do again.
In previous years, other
special events have included the Food and Wine Pairings, offering three
tasting-sized portions of food, along with their paired wines for $40 per
person. If you prefer cakes and pastries, then you could enjoy those at Sweet
Sundays, with three dessert items created for you by a celebrity chef, at $65
per person.
You could enjoy a
three-course lunch with a celebrity chef at The Cook, the Book, and the Bottle
for $150 per person, while the Chef's Showplace allowed you to learn from the
experts as you create a themed lunch with a visiting chef for the same $150. If
money is no object, then the Exquisite Evenings would set you back $195 per
person, but for that, you would get a team of chefs, some celebrity and some
from around the Disney resort, preparing an amazing five-course feast for you.
All prices are from 2006
and did not include tax. These prices may increase for this year's Festival and
the events are subject to change. As you can see though, there's certainly
something for everyone to suit all budgets, from free to megabucks.
It's worth knowing that
the Food and Wine Festival is a very popular event these days, especially with
locals. We found Epcot to be packed out on Friday and Saturday nights in
particular, meaning long waits at many of the food booths. If you want to
experience the festival at a quieter time, try heading for Epcot during the week
and at lunchtimes. Whatever you do, if you're heading to Walt Disney World
during the Food and Wine Festival, don't miss it -- there really is something
for everyone to enjoy there!
Note: The 2007 Food and
Wine Festival runs from September 28 through November 11.
About the Author: Cheryl
and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to America.
Their last visit to Disney World was in the fall, when they enjoyed both the
Food and Wine Festival at Epcot and the Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom.
Did you enjoy this
article? Have questions? E-mail us at news@passporter.com or visit
http://www.passporterboards.com to discuss your holiday plans. Also check out
our Article Collection at http://www.passporter.com/articles for more great
information!
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UPDATES: What's New and
Changed
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Here's a few relevant news
items:
Cell Phone Service is now
available on the Disney Magic. The service is only available in guest
staterooms and is provided by a wireless cellular network that supports over
340 cellular providers including Cingular, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and
Alltel. Users are billed by their cell service provider and rates vary
according to plan. The service will be available on the Disney Wonder by
mid-summer.
Jiko, the signature table
service restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, will be hosting two
Signature Wine Dinners during this year's Food & Wine Festival on October 4
and November 1, 2007. The cost for these dinners is $150 per person (including
tax & gratuity). Reservations can be made by calling 407-WDW-DINE.
Major League Baseball will
hold the 2007 First-Year Player Draft at Disney's Wide World of Sports on June
7, 2007. The Draft will be telecast live for the first time ever on ESPN2 from
2:00 pm - 6:00 pm ET. The Draft will then continue until 8:30 pm once the live
telecast has concluded. This event is open to the public.
Our thanks to AllEars.net
and MousePlanet.com from which we get some of our news leads.
>Things To Do: Hear
some news? Send it to us at
news@passporter.com
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DISNEY TIPS FROM FELLOW
READERS
==========================================
Our readers are a wealth
of information! Here are the winners in this month's tip contest:
GUIDE OF THE DAY
"My family of 15 will
be traveling to Disney in August. In order to get everyone involved in the
planning for our upcoming trip we designate "Guides of the Day." We
pair up the adults and children and then each group is in charge of planning
the daily itinerary for a different park during our stay. Then when we arrive,
they act as our tour guides leading us to attractions, shows and keeping us on
schedule for our meals.
Not only does this get
everyone more excited prior to our trip, it also takes some of the burden off
of the main trip planner and gives everyone a turn at leading the crowd."
-- contributed by Lois
L.
GREAT GROCERIES
"On our recent trip
to Walt Disney World we were traveling with quite a few little ones. We decided
to order from GardenGrocer.com to have extra food and snacks in the room. When
we checked in our items were waiting at the front desk. We had ordered bottled
water, yogurt, juice, snacks and fresh fruit. The prices were comparable to home,
and now that most of the Disney resorts have refrigerators in the room at no
extra charge this was a great money-saving and time-saving route! The fruit was
fresh and nice, and we could pack extra snacks and beverages in our daily
backpack before heading out. This is something we will definitely do
again!"
-- contributed by Laura B.
MEMO MEMORIES
"When staying at a
Disney resort, we take a photo of the memo board on the lifeguard's chair. The
board is usually themed with artwork to go along with the hotel. They list the
park hours, that day's weather, etc. It makes a great addition to our vacation
scrapbooks."
-- contributed by Teresa
W.
>Notes: Send us your
tips! You may see them in this newsletter and win a copy of PassPorter! Visit:
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/tipsandstories.htm
>>Want more Disney
tips? For Walt Disney World fans, we've collected 500 of the best tips
submitted by readers over the past six years. All have been edited for accuracy
and categorized. For details, visit the PassPorter Disney 500 info page at http://www.passporter.com/wdw/disney500.asp
>>For Disney Cruise
Line fans, we have an e-book with 250 cruiser tips, as well as a special cruise
line comparison section and seven customized packing lists. For information,
visit the Disney Cruise Clues info page at http://www.passporter.com/dcl/cruiseclues.asp
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CAPTAIN'S CORNER: Treasure
Hunting Game
==========================================
Play our fun and quirky
treasure hunting game, hosted by Captain Jack Skatt from our book,
"PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World."
The Captain makes a study
of the delightful details -- sometimes hidden, sometimes in plain sight but
often overlooked -- at Walt Disney World and aboard the Disney Cruise Line.
Using notes from his journals, he will lead you to this "treasure" at
Disney with clues, questions, photos, or riddles. Your challenge is to discover
the answer by searching your memory, visiting Disney, or even just looking
really hard on the Internet. If you think you've found the answer, e-mail it to
jackskatt@passporter.com -- the first person to correctly submit the FULL
answer will receive a free PassPorter enamel pin or PassPorter name badge pin.
Here is this week's
journal entry:
"Today I bumped into
a fellow old salt by the name Jack (common name for sailors, I gather). After
catching up on old times, Jack gave me a ticket to some sort of production he's
in this weekend. It's probably a silly little play, knowing that old Captain,
but I figure I'll give it a look-see. He says it's called "Lands'
End" ... no, wait, that was his new jacket. I think his play was called
"At World's End" or something to that effect. I wonder if anyone else
has ever heard of it."
What is the official name
of Jack's play and when does it open?
Send your full answer to
jackskatt@passporter.com -- the winner will be notified by e-mail and announced
in the next newsletter, along with the correct answer!
Congratulations to Mary
Spina who was the winner of last week's treasure hunt game! Mary correctly
identified the chair as bring a shoeshine chair located in the Harmony Barber
Shop. To view the original clue,
see last week's newsletter at http://www.passporter.com/news/news051707.htm#captain
If you enjoy treasure
hunts, we've got an entire book with over 100 distinct treasure hunts and over
1500 questions, complete with clues and contributions from Captain Jack Skatt.
Get more details on "PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney
World" book at http://www.passporterstore.com/store/1587710269.aspx
====================================
Q & A WITH JENNIFER
& DAVE
====================================
jldisney2007 asks:
"What should I do with my camera bag and backpack? On our previous visits
our children were much younger and we were able to carry our back pack and
video camera with us on most rides. However, we plan to ride more aggressive
rides and don't know what to do with the camera and backpack. For example,
we'll be riding Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and more. Is there a
place close to rides where we can secure items? or should we trust Cast Members
to hold our backpacks?"
Dave and Jennifer answer:
"On the rides other than soaking-wet Kali, the strategy is to place the
bags under your seat, behind your legs. I usually also make sure my foot/leg
goes through one of the straps. The ride operators may be willing to help you
out if you ask, but it's probably a better idea to not ask - they've got so
many guest safety issues to attend to, any distraction is probably not a great
idea."
Have a question? Post
questions at http://www.passporterboards.com/ -- and if you're lucky, you may
find that folks have already asked and answered the same question that's on
your mind!
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WANT TO GET PUBLISHED?
===================================
PassPorter News is
published weekly and we're always on the lookout for good quality Disney and
travel articles! We seek guest columnists who want to contribute articles to
this newsletter. No professional writing experience necessary, just a desire to
share your experience with others! Not only is this a great way to give something
back to the PassPorter community, but you get to see your name in
"print" and receive a $25 gift certificate.
===================================
OUR SPONSORS: We
Recommend...
===================================
PassPorter only accepts
advertising from services of the highest quality -- we recommend these
companies because we use them ourselves. Please support our sponsors and, in
turn, support this newsletter! This week's sponsors are (in order of
appearance):
MouseEarVacations.com --
Disney Cruise Line special offers
Mouse Fan Travel -- Magic
Your Way with FREE Dining Specials
ALL STAR Vacation Homes --
Choose from more than 150 homes within four miles of Disney World
Thank you, sponsors!
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